Cloud Computing at my Company

All of the topics presented for our disruptive technology assignment were very interesting. Out of the eight topics presented, I would most like to see cloud computing implemented at my company. The company I work for is very large and employs countless applications and technologies throughout. Because of this they would benefit greatly from the advantages of cloud computing.

Due to the size of my company, they would be able to build their own cloud computing environment with enough scale within the organization. Currently, there are multiple copies of the same software and hardware components throughout the company. For example the application I work on is an Oracle database. There are numerous other Oracle databases, each with their own license. Multiplied across the company, for each hardware and software product, the cost adds up fast. Pretty much each application or group of related applications has its own support team consisting of IT, DBAs, process/requirements people, and production support, for example. The repetition of these teams is expensive.

Cloud computing would provide shared resources. The number of support teams could be reduced which would result in cost savings. Software and hardware would also be shared, therefore such costs would decrease. In today's economy it is especially important to find ways to cut costs so the company can continue to operate and grow. Due to the structure of cloud computing, upgrades would not be the nightmare that they are today. The company would be able to focus more on the needs of the business and on keeping up with ever-changing technology. This would be possible because of the freed resources resulting from cloud computing. I also believe that cloud computing would help unify the company. Oftentimes it is difficult for teams from two different applications to work together. Each team reports to different management teams and have different instructions to follow. Funding is always the first issue that needs to be tackled. And there is often pushback when a new request is made by an outside group. With cloud computing everything would be shared, and the dividing lines between groups would be blurred. A stronger company working toward a common goal would be the result.