Alsbridge Explains Cloud Computing is the Oregon Trail of Today

“Cloud Computing is like U.S. Westward expansion in the 1800s. Every person is out for themselves and they will either strike it rich or die trying,” says Ben Trowbridge, founder and CEO of Alsbridge Inc.

According to a recent report Alsbridge, Inc. titled, “Cloud Computing: The Oregon Trail of Today,” providers are already jockeying for the opportunity to define the standards of Cloud Computing, meanwhile new cloud offerings and companies are popping up everywhere at a rapidly growing pace.

Just like early American pioneers who traveled Westward into uncharted territories, those embarking on the Cloud journey must carefully choose which supplies to take and which to leave, which route they are best suited for, and enlist a trustworthy trail boss in order to successfully reach their desired destination.  

“We are dealing with a pioneer mentality when it comes to the Cloud,” Trowbridge says. “The trail dust has yet to settle.”

The Right Supplies for Survival

According to Alsbridge, there are many resources available to help CIOs and executives determine which tools are best for their organization by offering buyers an opportunity to see how common applications are performing globally across various cloud providers.

 “There are at least some attempts to help Cloud pioneers understand the market, but little to actually help them enter the market” Trowbridge explains. “However it is a good idea to find a trail boss; someone who has made this journey many times before and can offer suitable advice based on your requirements and capabilities while offering a repeatable methodology and process that has assisted others who have traveled before you,” he says.

Finding the Right Route   

Oftentimes, companies are not sure they are strong enough to make the Cloud journey.

“This could be due to infrastructure dependencies not available in the Cloud, complexity of applications, or an organizational readiness that is just not up to par,” explains Trowbridge.

Trowbridge recommends companies take advantage of a Cloud Alignment Workshop.

“In this collaborative workshop, you are presented with various case studies from people who have already successfully made the Cloud journey, which discuss infrastructure and application maturity assessments and how the capabilities of various providers in the market stack up against your own requirements and capabilities.  If there are components that qualify, then it is a matter of setting a direction.  Remember, this is just a qualification – the journey has yet to be planned,” Trowbridge explains.


Which Route is Best? (IaaS and PaaS Compared)

According to the report there is no such thing as a “best route” in cloud computing. It is a matter of aligning your capabilities and requirements with a set of provider characteristics and delivery models that are either a match or not.  

According to Trowbridge, provider selection can mean the difference between success and failure in the Cloud.  

“Each provider is unique in their own right and no one provider can meet everyone’s needs, although some will lead you into believing so,” says Trowbridge.  “The last thing you want to do is go sign up for services before knowing what you need,” Trowbridge says.

Read the full report, “Cloud Computing: The Oregon Trail of Today.”

About Alsbridge Inc.

Alsbridge provides world class sourcing advisory and benchmarking services for IT, finance and sourcing executives. With over 150 consultants located globally, we’ve helped hundreds of companies reduce costs and get more value from their vendors.  Our experienced consultants leverage proprietary tools and information databases to identify and engage the optimal vendors for your situation, negotiate best practice terms at fair market prices, and improve the way you work with your vendors. Alsbridge clients utilize the most cost effective and value added sources globally for IT infrastructure services, hardware and maintenance, network services, software and maintenance, application support and development, business processes and cloud services. Our commitment to delivering value to our clients has made Alsbridge a distinguished member of the 2010 Inc. 500 fastest growing privately held companies in America.