As cloud computing moved up the hype-meter over the years, it inevitably moved onto many lists of overused
terms that make IT teams cringe when
uttered by their business counterparts.
However, the fact is insurers aren’t just
talking about cloud computing, they are
funding the use of it.
“It [cloud] is on the mind of every
carrier I talk to. Every insurer is looking
at moving to or starting a cloud-based
environment,” says Nigel Walsh, vice
president and head of UK insurance at
Capgemini in London.
However, there often is a lack of
common understanding between business and IT about what cloud actually
means.
“It’s not exclusive to insurance, but
there is a misconception as to what this
thing called ‘cloud’ is. It means lots of
different things to different people. But
on the flip side, those that get it, really
get it, and are pushing as much as they
can to cloud,” Walsh says.
“While the cloud is maturing, both in
terms of capabilities and business value,
There are reasons for that, Peters-
mark believes.
“At least in the earlier days of the
cloud, I think there were vendors who
did a disservice to this misunderstanding by marketing directly to potential
business customers and by being vague
about what the cloud really was and how
it really worked,” he says. “That caused
lots of problems when those business
people went to their IT departments
with a signed purchase agreement in
hand. It was often the IT department
that had to explain the pros and cons to
the business people, and more often than
not it wasn’t a happy conversation.”
Even if they are speaking the same
language around cloud, business and IT
may be focused on different things.
“What I find is that business is fo-
cused on initial benefits such as speed to
Magic
CARpeT
RIDe
Getting business and IT to speak the same
language around cloud is the foundation of
achieving maximum benefit. Industry experts—and
the success story of an insurer new to the cloud—
show how it’s done.
By Michael p. Voelker
