Enterprise Cloud FEATURED ARTICLE

Much has been said about the cloud this year. Companies are more readily adopting strategies that leverage cloud-based applications; security provisions in the cloud are proving to be more robust than we once thought; and the benefits for business users are extending beyond merely saving money.

At the enterprise level, however, things aren’t as smooth. For enterprise cloud penetration, numbers are relatively low, according to this IT Portal report. A number of analyst firms are reporting that penetration is at a rate of less than 10 percent. While a number of organizations have started down the path to the enterprise cloud, real growth is expected in 2016.

In fact, nearly 75 percent of all organizations will adopt some form of a hybrid strategy by next year, with a mixture of IaaS, PaaS and SaaS (News - Alert) expected. Organizations making this shift appear to be focused on increasing agility and their core business processes instead of IT. The modernization of the application stack is one motivator and with security concerns put to rest, the enterprise cloud is taking on the shape of that more suitable to the business.

While some die-hard legacy users may want the old systems to stay in place, there’s a reason why legacy IT no longer has a place in the enterprise cloud. Clouds, for one, are built to be managed by APIs. The automation companies need today to be competitive isn’t available in legacy IT. Plus, the enterprise, like other companies, is looking for ways to reduce administration overhead and enhance the economics of cloud computing.

At the same time, legacy solutions were never designed to efficiently run new software defined infrastructure solutions with non-traditional interfaces. Plus, the economic benefits provided by these solutions aren’t realized through legacy solutions. Despite the investments that were likely made in the legacy applications, it just doesn’t make sense to maintain that cost and lose the potential benefits the enterprise cloud provides.

Integrhythm is one company focused on taking the enterprise cloud to the next level and ensuring companies can experience the potential benefits. This boutique firm is focused on integrating business and IT in an effort to create the operational rhythm needed for the enterprise. The goal is to help clients maximize their IT resources in order to stay relevant in today’s dynamic business environment.

Like many others, this company is helping the enterprise to identify those areas of weakness that are keeping them from realizing the benefits associated with the enterprise cloud. If there are key players in your organization that aren’t quite ready to let go of legacy solutions, this is one company that may help with that separation.