The debate on Infrastructure as a Service

With the macro economy and business competition mandating a new approach to infrastructure decisions, CIOs today find themselves at a junction with regard to how they deploy resources. Some keep all their IT in house to retain control while others turn towards cloud computing and applications delivered as a service.

Whatever approach is taken, CIOs need smarter infrastructure components and controls that let them flex their capacity, keep a tight rein on costs and demonstrate value. By making smarter infrastructure decisions, bottom line costs can be radically changed, visibility markedly increased and the CEO has clarity about where his IT spend is going.

Dynamic infrastructure has caught the imagination of the business and technology world, no doubt in parts because of the rapidly changing world that we live. Since the collapse of Lehman Brothers and its resulting fall out CIOs have demonstrated a resilient capacity to reduce their capital expenditure, yet retain high levels of service to the organisation, its suppliers and customers. Having achieved this, the CEO expects more of the same as markets hopefully return. Equally CIOs are seeing major benefits from a lower capital expenditure.

Increasing the pressure on CIOs and their infrastructure is the impact of spikes of demand from a variety of areas such as marketing campaigns, emerging markets, financial and regulatory demands and wider events beyond the organisation. A dynamic infrastructure is designed to cope with these demands.

So the CIO Debate is looking to address whether Infrastructure as a Service has the possibility to make the CIO's life easier. This Debate will explore how to reduce capital expenditure; can the CIO flex IT capacity & increase business' an understanding of the cost components of a smart infrastructure and how to spot data trends to make informed decisions.

CIO recently held a Roundtable discussion with Rashik Parmar, IBM North East Europe,  CTO, Distinguished Engineersome and leading CIOs, including Richard Boulderstone of the British Library and Stuart Birrell of Gatwick Airport on this topic.

If you would like to contribute to the CIO Debate on IaaS you may like to answer the below questions which have been circulated amongst the CIOs that attended our roundtable, or if you are involved in IaaS please contact Mark Chillingworth with your thoughts and ideas.

CIO.co.uk Debate on Infrastructure as a Service Questionnaire

Please copy these questions and email them to Mark Chillingworth, Editor in Chief of CIO UK.

# Your name and job title?

# Your organisation?

# Where is your organisation currently in terms of IaaS adoption?

# Do you see great benefits for your organisation in adopting IaaS?

# What concerns about Iaas do you have?

# For IaaS to work in your organisation what is the primary business issue you will need to address?

# Do you view IaaS as similar in CIO managerial requirements as outsourcing?

# Is a problem with IaaS that as a cloud service, there are too many names for cloud services?

# Is there too much hype around cloud and Iaas?

# IaaS offers CIOs another choice for delivering certain services, is choice always positive?

# What lessons from your career & previous “new” technology will you use in implementing Iaas?