If you're looking for a broad overview of current cloud-enablement topics in the enterprise, I invite you to check out this new white paper by Michael Klimentiev, Frank Stienhans, and me.
Here's the abstract:
When it comes to cloud computing, the enterprises of today tend to invest in a hybrid approach that allows customers to provision software on on-demand infrastructures which are at the same time hosted on the premises. We refer to this on demand/on-premises hybrid approach as "cloud enabling," with which the focus is on realizing all the benefits of cloud computing – including zero installation, automatic configuration, cost-savings, and immediate access in scalable data centers – while also preserving the benefits of on-premises hosting. In this paper, we talk about the current state of this research and development and its potential for enterprise products and service offerings in general.
In this paper we take you through a broad market overview, discuss challenges and market drivers, and examine some of the technical and educational barriers to overcome when tackling cloud enablement in the enterprise.
For bonus points, we cite external sources from current thought leaders including a few of my personal favorites Jonathan Zittrain, Tim O'Reilly, and, of course, Vishal Sikka.
On an editorial note, regular cloud connoisseurs among you will no doubt notice my (stubborn?) usage of the term "on-premises" based on the actual grammatical differences between the words "premise" and "premises." I invite discussion!
