Cloudonomics, + Website: The Business Value of Cloud Computing

It has created vast wealth for companies that seemed to spring up overnight, and it has brushed aside corporate icons, even entire industries, that once seemed unassailable. It has helped topple brutal dictatorships and has brought IT from the backroom into the boardroom, making it the centerpiece of some of the most farsighted and successful corporate strategies of the new millennium. It is the cloud, and it has forever changed the way business is done. But what is the cloud, really? How does it work and how is it being deployed by some of today's most successful companies? More importantly, how can you harness its awesome power to help you wage and win the never-ending battle for profits and market share? Find the answer to these questions and much more in Cloudonomics . Written by Joe Weinman, one of the world's most influential cloud thought leaders, this book is a gold mine of ideas, insights, and inspiration for leaders of established companies and for aspiring entrepreneurs who dream of being the force behind the next Amazon, Google, Facebook, or Twitter. Using fascinating and instructive case studies to illustrate his points, Weinman drills down past the hype and hysteria, the myths and misconceptions, to uncover fundamental principles underlying how the cloud works, how it's used, and how it will evolve in a business context. Among other priceless takeaways, you'll discover: Where the conventional wisdom errs, and how to keep your IT and strategy on course How core characteristics of the cloud¿such as on-demand resources, usage-based charging, and geographic dispersion¿translate into business value: revenue growth, cost and risk reduction, and customer experience enhancement Why the cloud isn't just plumbing, but can become a cornerstone of your strategy, even in non-IT intensive businesses How to leverage new cloud business models How behavioral economics¿humans' ''predictable irrationality''¿impacts cloud adoption How cloud technology and ecosystems are likely to evolve over the next decade With a dynamic companion website, this book offers a critical, in-depth review of the cloud and its business uses now and in the near future, and an inspiring exploration of the business paradigm shift it has engendered. Cloudonomics is ''must'' reading for CIOs, CEOs, CFOs, strategists, IT managers and practitioners, students and academics, and all forward-thinking corporate leaders and entrepreneurs.