Many people have written that cloud computing will become
pervasive in the enterprise and I certainly agree. Recently, I spoke with Miko
Matsumura, Vice President and Chief Strategist at Software AG and author of the
Wiley book “SOA Adoption for Dummies” about how mature organizations can best
adopt cloud computing. We also covered some related enterprise 2.0 adoption
issues. I liked what he said so I am cross-posting this from the AppGap.
Miko said he is working on a long paper on cloud adoption
and shared some of the thoughts he is working on. He began with a definition of
an enterprise as an organization that requires size, and longevity to carry out
its mission. This has
implications for IT. First longevity tends to create IT segmentation and silos
and this leads to complexity in IT supply. Size and growth create
organizational fragmentation that leads to complexity in user demands on
IT. These factors can impact IT
strategies. For example, SOA can be a rational response to simplify the
complexity of IT supply but it can fail to address the complexity of user
demands in not implemented correctly.
Miko puts these complexity factors in a 2 x 2 grid. Organizations tend to start in the
simple supply and demand quadrant. The ideal situation would be a simply IT
supply that can meet complexity users needs. However, most organizations have
developed a complex IT supply before all of their complex user needs had
emerged. So, lacking a green field, this approach becomes difficult. If there
is already a complex IT supply, the cloud can add to complexity, rather than
simplifying it.
Now I asked Miko how can you be successful in this
typical situation. He replied that several factors need to be present. First
you need a mature understanding of how the behavior of the organization
connects to the mission. This requires strong leadership. Then you need an
enterprise IT architect that reflects this understanding. Unfortunately, most
IT architectures are limited to IT issues and not business issues. It is not
about optimizing IT, but optimizing the business.
This lead us to a discussion of process. Miko said that
processes are done at the micro level. Part of the challenge for an
organization is to become best in class in the many niches that their processes
inhabit. Processes are often done in a silo and not at the enterprise level.
The goal should be to align these silos but not to tear them down. Miko said
that the goal of enterprise 2.0 is not to break down silos but to align them
allow for cross-silo communication and collaboration.
This makes a lot of sense to me. It reminded me of some
work I was involved within the early 90s that was done in the spirit of
enterprise 2.0 but with the tools of the day. In a property casualty insurance
company we created new processes for underwriting, claims and sales. The best
practices of the organization where embed in individual applications. Then
these applications were aligned and connected. We were trying to break down silos of communication but not
silos of processes and applications. These latter two types of silos were
essential for efficient processes and should not be destroyed. Now alignment of silos along a value
chain is an enterprise level task and can benefit from enterprise 2.0
approaches.
This line of thought took us back to the question of
cloud computing. To be successful it needs to recognize and deal with the
complexity of user needs and the alignment of silos, but not the destruction of
necessary silos. I am sold.
