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Traditional ROI models only focus on simple cost benefits and overlook the real value of cloud. So how are we supposed to calculate and maximize ROI in this new cloud world?

Return on investment (ROI) in the cloud is more complex than IT leadership traditionally experienced. This is mainly due to the abstract nature of cloud services, the quantitative versus the qualitative benefits and the variety of the service delivery and deployment models.

In the latest installment of the Enterprise Cloud Forum Vice President of Rackspace IT Operations Rich Murr and I highlighted how IT organizations need to reorganize and retrain IT talent to be most effective in a cloud world. If you missed the live webinar, you can now view the presentation and download the mp3 recording.

Big Data can drive big dollars. For any growing business, that’s the bottom line. As the amount of information in the world grows, your enterprise needs to start turning these bytes into bank. One way to do that is to move Big Data to the cloud.

It once made sense to run data center consolidation programs that were widely focused on virtualization, but the cloud has since become one of the most flexible computing infrastructures for enterprises. As a Senior IT Strategist, I frequently interact with customers who are trying to shape a cloud strategy. This adoption process can be challenging, but the proper deployment of a cloud platform is likely to produce long-term savings in time, money and human resources – who can ultimately be repurposed for true value driving business initiatives. Cloud also affords scalability and elasticity that traditional IT models are unable to accommodate.

What? You missed the latest installment of the Enterprise Cloud Forum where Rackspace Vice President of Software Application Development Krishna Prasad and I, along with guest host Mark Majewski, Cloud Solution Architect, discussed how enterprises need to approach DevOps to ensure cloud adoption success?

DevOps is the tech term du jour, but it is much more than a hot buzzword. DevOps is a key component to successful cloud adoption and the future of enterprise IT. Applications and app development fuel IT and it is imperative for both developers and IT operators to understand cloud integration and the complexities that come with it.

In the IT world, few technologies have gained popularity without backing from developers. Applications are at the heart of the data center, and now the cloud. Let’s face it, they add value to data; therefore, it is imperative to get buy-in from your software developers if you want to make your application development project a success. Even in the infrastructure space, the cloud will be consumed through code (scripting in small- to mid-sized businesses and sophisticated application frameworks in big enterprises). So regardless of whether you are talking about IaaS, PaaS or SaaS, buy-in from the developer community will increase your chances of success many fold.

To win in the cloud, it’s necessary to adopt a service provider mentality and become a self-service organization. How do I know? We’re doing it right now at Rackspace.

As a leading brand commerce and digital marketing firm, Acquity Group needs the freedom to devote its time to its roster of Fortune 1000 Global Brands clients. Still, Acquity Group customers demand scalability and security, and it is imperative that Chicago-based Acquity Group remains as innovative as possible while maximizing its infrastructure.