A silver lining for system integration

Developments in the cloud herald new opportunities for integrators, suggests Ferenc Szelényi

Szelenyi: The cloud is a tool for integrator agility

Cloud computing has all the qualities that support a global outsourcing environment, reducing organisational hardware requirements and costs as well as offering scalability.

Crude business process outsourcing (BPO) environments with a lot of lift and shift are evolving towards Software as a Service (SaaS) delivery models with plug-and-play cloud functionality.

The cloud is an IT tool that many companies can add quickly to their arsenal.

Large organisations may have enough internal resources for their routine requirements, but cloud delivery can help them quickly develop their business units or product lines.

Optimising the demands on IT infrastructure is crucial. We are emerging from this economic slump, and companies need to be ready to scale up their support infrastructures accordingly.

Established providers with robust infrastructure, skilled staff and a legacy of delivering high-quality services are finding their traditional markets saturated.

Cloud computing is a logical next move, offering opportunities to grow their businesses.

The scramble to offer more benefits at a cheaper price could well rival the marketing wars in the automotive industry. This can only result in brighter prospects for organisations seeking cloud cover in an economic storm.

Outsourcing for the sake of cheap labour will always generate some savings in the short term, but those costs will soon return if you don't follow through with the improved processes and technology that allow for global service delivery.

Simply shipping out your mess for less is never going to make much of a difference to your bottom line, and will often end up costing you more in the long haul.

The bottom line is that when an organisation aims at global outsourcing, it must change the way it deploys technology platforms and business processes if it is to save money.

Embracing new developments in the cloud is a sure way to make an outsourcing experience work.

As such, businesses will continue to depend upon the services of a skilled and trusted systems integrator partner. Experience really is invaluable when configuring the right computing environment for business needs.

Ferenc Szelényi is EMEA managing director at Dell Perot Systems