IT execs are convinced that Clouds will save dollars; Well, I’m not!

Well F5 survey seems to really catch the IT exec totally off-guard who probably has a shotgun pointed to his/her head and really will do anything to save dough. Anything apparently because these numbers are shockingly high or probably run on some execs who were put on some drug that took them to believe and even understand what Cloud Computing was! Gosh, if I don’t talk about Cloud for a week I’m totally confused as to what a Cloud is.

I am mildly shocked at some of the numbers contained in a recent survey about cloud computing, conducted by Applied Research West for vendor F5 Networks. According to the survey, 66 percent of IT managers have money in their budgets for cloud computing and 71 percent expect funding for cloud computing to grow over the next two years. Eighty-two percent said they are testing, implementing or using public clouds. A like number said the same about private clouds.

I find this interesting, since not all the respondents even agree on what constitutes “cloud computing.” Apparently, most think software-as-a-service qualifies, three-quarters believe platform-as-a-service is a form of cloud computing, and 60 percent identify infrastructure-as-a-service as cloud computing.

Putting aside the confusion over definition, cost control is a huge driver for the cloud. Sixty-eight percent of respondents say public cloud computing reduces capital costs. Seventy-seven percent of respondents cite efficiency gains from using public clouds instead of further building out internal IT infrastructure, and 61 percent say the cloud eases staffing issues. I’d say both infrastructure and staffing go back to cost. In theory, the cloud saves you from shelling out bucks for additional servers and staff members.

I say “in theory” because no one really seems to know whether the cloud is more cost effective than on-premise infrastructure and applications over time, a conclusion I reached in my post “No Clear Forecast for Cloud’s Cost.” (I know. I really need to get my addiction to cutesy headlines under control. Is there a 12-step program for this?)

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