One of the challenges with adopting a leading-edge technology like cloud computing is a lack of implementation experience – not only within your own IT organization, but more generally across the IT industry.
In the fourth segment of our five-part analysis of cloud computing ROI, we asked our expert panel – Mark Kovarski of the Bank of Montreal, Rene Marquis of the Laval School Board, and Doug Jones, Business Unit Executive for Cloud Computing at IBM Canada – to identify the factors leading to successful implementation of a cloud solution.
Rene Marquis addressed the skills issue early in our discussion. Reflecting on his experience a the Laval School Board, he said, “One of the issues we faced is that we realized that the people that should work on this project have to have higher skills than regular people, so make sure that you have people [that are] topnotch.
Video: Implementing Cloud Solutions
Because when you have problems or you must investigate to find them and try and properly and quickly solve them, find solutions. So you need properly skilled people, higher skilled people, and it's going to require a little bit larger number of people than you would have normally.”
Mark Kovarski expanded this perspective to include business processes in addition to IT staff. “Definitely, the people skills need to come along” as BMO rolls out cloud initiatives, but “people processes” – the ways in which the cloud technologies are integrated into business activities – “are the key to performance.”
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