The most important value the cloud brings is not lower costs. It is improved agility, not just for IT, but for the business as a whole. The biggest cloud computing benefits are being gained in business effectiveness areas such as speed, availability, responsiveness and innovation.

This workbook is intended to help you get up to speed on cloud computing, considering issues such as quality, cycle time and customer/employee satisfaction, and then run a workshop jointly with business and IT staff that:

• Examines cloud opportunities.
• Reviews potential issues.
• Considers where and how specific information should be processed.

Related Links

The Workbook contains some tables for you to copy and use in your workshop. These tables are also available as Powerpoint files here.

Since knowledge about the cloud varies widely both within the IT community and within the business, we have found it useful to start a workshop with the Wall Street Journals cloud computing quiz. Download the Powerpoint version here

The Workbook concludes with some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). To view a full list of these questions and answers and to submit further questions of your own, click here

Further information

If you would like the LEF to support you remotely or onsite with running a workshop described in this workbook please contact your Account Representative.

We also offer tailored, bespoke Cloud Computing Workshops as part of our range of Advisory Services. If you would like more information on this service, including the benefits to be derived, please contact Tudor Rees in EMEA or Marc Posner in the USA.

Read Connect World's article – Europe Edition from June 2010 on Cloud Computing: Future directions and management implications

Read Corp! Magazine's article from 15 April 2010 on Future Directions and Management Implications of Cloud Computing