Open Group publishes cloud computing migration guide

Global standards group The Open Group has published a new book to help firms move into cloud computing.

The Cloud Computing for Business book takes an in-depth look at cloud computing and how enterprises can derive the greatest business benefits from its potential, representatives said.

The publication is part of the ongoing work of The Open Group Cloud Computing Work Group, which involves customers and suppliers working on delivering cloud security, scalability, business agility and financial benefits, they added. The Open Group itself is a consortium of suppliers, including SAP, IBM, Oracle, Capgemini and HP. The book is aimed at senior executives, business managers, IT and marketing departments and business architects.

Chris Harding, director for interoperability at The Open Group, said, “The book pays special consideration to an organisation’s technical and business requirements, and aims to help readers gain the greatest value possible from their cloud projects.”

Key themes include “establishing your cloud vision”, buying cloud services, understanding cloud risks, building ROI, and other cloud challenges,” he added.

Over half of firms in a recent survey said their top priority around cloud computing is “readiness”, rather than full migration.

IT infrastructure services firm Computacenter questioned over 200 IT decision makers at the recent Cloud Computing World Forum. Overall, 51% of organisations said their overriding priority this year was making their IT infrastructure “cloud-ready”.

The survey found that 28% of organisations are looking to migrate many of their workloads to the cloud this year, but a more cautious 72% were focusing on testing individual cloud functions, such as email, testing/development and hosting.