Conducting a Fit and Readiness Assessment for Public Cloud IT

July 6, 2011

Conducting a Fit and Readiness Assessment for Public Cloud IT

Saugatuck advocates the use of a two-step Fit and Readiness filtering process to evaluate any application or process for Public Cloud IT.

By Bill McNee and Robert McNeill, Saugatuck Technology

Saugatuck Technology’s experiences with IT users and executives continue to emphasize the fact that not every IT workload is suitable for Cloud IT. When IT operations, business processes, and applications are assessed against defined business objectives, the economics and risk of Cloud use and management can be much more prohibitive than widely believed. Every significant workload, every significant application or operation, needs to be evaluated regarding its fit and readiness for Cloud deployment and use.

This "Strategic Perspective" builds on prior research to propose a number of process filters that can be used within a Fit and Readiness Assessment for using Public Cloud IT. Enterprises are rapidly moving to the Cloud, and they need to establish formal frameworks and governance to help manage risk, deal with resource allocation, and communicate with users.

Based on our numerous advisory sessions and inquiry work with user organizations on how to leverage Public Cloud IT, as well as briefings with providers that are helping enterprises assess and build Cloud IT strategies, Saugatuck advocates the use of a two-step Fit and Readiness filtering process to evaluate any application or process for Public Cloud IT.

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