Cloud computing has created an added dimension to technology decisions.  Software selection decisions that have traditionally been made comparing the fit of an application to business requirements are now more complex.

Cloud and the buzz around it still remains a mystery for many business managers, and in many cases they are not interested in evaluating cloud options or their own internal systems options when deciding how to best address their technical needs.  IT organizations within many companies do not always have the necessary skills or a broad enough perspective to be able to support this enterprise need. It takes a comprehensive approach to take optimal advantage of Cloud services.  “Consider enterprise or business architects, for starters. This emerging discipline will help bridge the gap between IT and the business at a time when it could be extremely costly to have such a gap,” says Joe McKendrick’s, in Forbes. 

This unique combination of skills that bridge the gap between business need and Technology is going to be critical for organizations to be able make smart decisions when looking for ways to leverage the speed and cost savings that cloud computing can potentially provide. The decision making process is no longer identifying the right software package that can address a companies needs.  The decision making process will now include technology platform, business function,  and service level to name just a few additional criteria.  Organizations need to understand the new pricing models in order to determine the true total cost of making the selection.