Ces derniers mois, l’enthousiasme autour du Cloud computing n’a eu de cesse de croître. Les prévisions 2011 laissent présager une forte croissance du marché des SaaS, IaaS, PaaS, justifiée par la flexibilité et les coûts avantageux de ces solutions.

Pourtant, quelques voix s’élèvent pour dire que si le Cloud a de nombreux avantages, il y a des points de vigilance à garder à l’esprit.

Voici des extraits, en anglais, d’un de ces articles intitulé « Cloudy Forecast », trouvé sur le site Gantthead :

The value proposition of “software as a service” is gaining more visibility and traction in the marketplace. Coupled with the fact that that global economy is trying to inch its way out of a crippling recession and cloud-based technology seems positioned for staying power from the sheer business case opportunity it provides. What does this transition in the marketplace mean to a project manager (or projects, for that matter)? This article will explore the role and opportunities of a project manager for cloud-based technology projects.

For companies who deliver cloud-based technology in addition to value added services, there is a project opportunity to redefine a company’s internal processes once they have transitioned to both on- and off-promise technology. At a minimum, the list below is designed as a checklist to ensure no gaps exist with a company’s run-management processes and a company’s broader stakeholder expectations are ultimately met.

Run Management Process

A company that purchases cloud-based technology needs to address how the platform will be managed once the initial activation has been completed. In particular, will the off-premise technology be managed via a traditional IT department or will individual departments be responsible for interfacing directly with the hosting provider for ongoing management and troubleshooting?

Annual Planning and Budgeting Processes

Ensure annual budgeting processes are in place to forecast for any hiring surges or reductions. The budget should be allocated at a minimum of a half-yearly timeframe. Any change in headcount should be communicated back to the group managing the cloud-based service so it can be capitalized once activated (or deactivated if the service is no longer needed).

Communication Processes

Communication plans should address the following:

If the cloud-based service is down, how is the occurrence communicated to the centralized point of contact within a company–and subsequently within a company’s broader stakeholder community? Are there any special timelines around SLAs? If so, how are they communicated within a company?

When the cloud-based service augments or changes its underlying capabilities, how will that event be communicated back to their customer organizations and within the broader stakeholder community?

Change Management Process

Requirements and change management processes should be evaluated to see if any aspect needs to be redefined once the cloud-based service has been implemented. How will a company’s requirements and change management processes change when using a service in the cloud? Is there a difference with a company’s traditional processes and timelines? If so, how should it be communicated to the stakeholder community?

Exception Handling Process

Businesses embark on reorganization or “realignment” exercises on a regular basis. An exception handling process should be defined in case a business realigns functions and the underlying cloud-based technology capability does not readily support the proposed business change. In the case the cloud service doesn’t meet a reorganization requirement for a business, how will exception handling be managed to ensure the realignment is successful?

With the great value that cloud-based computing can offer, it has yet to gain critical mass in market. Amazon has entered into the cloud-based arena; it offers services such as database storage solutions to infrastructure capacity in the cloud. Microsoft has been trying to enter into the space as well with the Azure platform. Google has started to offer services in the cloud such as spreadsheets and docs; however, it has not been widely adopted as a standard business practice. A recent article was published on cloud-based technology in which Gartner predicts an 18 percent growth in the software as a service business model. All indicators point to the fact that while SaaS may be in its infant stages, it is a matter of time before more companies start to define and ultimately move forward with their service offerings in the cloud.

While the technology world is changing, it can also be a tricky conundrum. Many providers mentioned above are trying to enter this space while at the same time they do not disrupt their traditional software (SKU based) and hardware revenue models. One thing is certain: As cloud-based technology gains more traction in the marketplace, it offers new opportunity for the project management community and how we think about scoping projects which continue to build on the business value cloud-based technology offers.

source : http://www.gantthead.com/content/articles/255438.cfm