Forrester analyst Ted Schadler lists three key benefits to cloud computing, starting with speed. Software as a service (SaaS) enables businesses to get up and running in a flash. The analyst says a financial services firm migrated its employee portal to a cloud-based vendor and launched it in two months, while another firm he surveyed has spent the last 18 months building its employee portal in-house.
In short, the cloud is ready-made. Customers don't build; they subscribe and receive services--including anything from Web conferencing and hosted e-mail to enterprise applications such as CRM and HRM--immediately.
Two, he says businesses should ship IT tasks to cloud computing specialists, who "worry about the nuts and bolts so that you don't have to." This enables the IT staff to focus on more important business processes.
Finally, he says CFOs should be attracted to the by-the-drink payment plans of cloud computing because it keeps cash in the bank longer.
Source: eWeek