6 New SPM Trends: Trend 5 - Transition to the Cloud

Much has been written about the advantages of cloud based computing.  It’s not that cloud computing is new in 2011, but rather that many large organizations had thought that cloud based computing was only appropriate for small to medium sized businesses.  They were concerned that cloud solutions:

·     Would not scale to their volumes

· Would take away the ability to control upgrade timings

·   Would fail strict security and audit requirements

·  Could not offer the flexibility to meet specific and demanding requirements of large enterprises

There are compelling arguments for why cloud based solutions do provide significant benefit.  These include:

·      Reduced burden on existing, overburdened IT staff

·      Faster project start times (avoiding hardware procurement process)

·      Reduced initial investment and shared risk pricing model

·      Improved vendor support  - as they manage the entire hardware/software environment

The good news is that cloud computing has matured; the early adopters have paved the way, and software vendors have expanded their capabilities, offerings and platforms.  There are more options available to meet the specific needs of today’s complex organization.  For organizations that don’t want to co-mingle their data, there is a single-tenant cloud solution.  For those with security and firewall concerns, there is a new movement towards private cloud deployment. With this flexibility and configurability in deployment options, most organizations are now choosing cloud-based options for new Sales Performance Management implementations.

With the increasing array of options and flexibility in SPM offerings, it’s not simply an on-premise versus cloud decision facing organizations.  It’s much more complex.  Project teams are well advised to make sure that they consider both their requirements, and the specific options offered by their short-listed vendors.