UPDATED 07:25 EDT / AUGUST 17 2011

Is the Cloud Ready for IT Outsourcing? Bridging Migration and Challenges

Arguably, cloud computing is now beginning to define the future of technology and the human race’s way of managing data. With cloud consumerism striking an upward trajectory, next level enterprise solutions become all the more essential.  Solutions do not have to necessarily be created within the company; these days businesses could actually acquire services from outsourcing firms.  This branch of the services industry has been building up for a while, but what does seeking external help mean to you and your organization?

Three things: low cost, more efficient services and focused experts working on cloud migration.

In his Wikibon article, Rick Blaisdell provided insights on how an organization should work on cloud computing in conjunction of software outsourcing:

“As well as IT departments, the IT outsourcing industry must also change and adapt to the cloud computing trend. Cloud computing integration and migration services are already included in some outsourcing offerings. If you decide to go this route, probably the best advice would be to choose your software outsourcing partner carefully.”

Having a third party vendor to assist in cloud migration could take away some of the burden for enterprises. These loads include identifying which data and applications to take in the cloud, and integration with the present infrastructure.  Automation of cloud migration may be done by some IT outsourcing companies, and it’s an area of growing interest for service providers like HotLink and Cloudera.  Not to mention, their specialization will be able to do so much more than a usual IT department can perform, like testing, building and developing applications.

While IT outsourcing may be deemed a potent solution, the cloud still faces quite a few other challenges. eWeek reports that cloud computing brings with it dilemma for the healthcare industry, when it comes to storage and privacy.  The human race is already treading the path of the medical IT era, but the road is rough and the transition challenging, with the massive amount of highly personal patient data at hand.  Every single patient record contains confidential information that could put one’s well-being at risk in an instant.

Many cloud professionals have seen this coming, and have already identified ways on how to utilize data for back-up and disaster recovery.  There were, are and will be tons of blockades as enterprises’ moves closer to full throttle in cloud adoption and migration. But as they say, the road going there will never be smooth, but the journey is sure worth it when you get there.


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