Bill McCracken doesn't think the Cloud is going to happen; he knows it's going to happen. The CEO of the newly redubbed CA Technologies – formerly CA, formerly Computer Associates – used the keynote address for CA World 2010 to highlight Cloud Computing's position as an inflection point in the technology industry.
"People still ask if I think the Cloud is really going to happen. I say no, I don't think it's going to happen. I know it is going to happen because it is happening now,” he said. “Virtualisation and Cloud Computing will enable businesses to adapt to rapidly changing market and customer needs. We will be right there to help our customers gain a competitive advantage as this critical inflection point in our industry takes hold.
"Running IT in a Cloud-connected enterprise will be more like running a supply chain, where organiSations can tap into the IT services as needed - specifying when, where and precisely how they are delivered," he said. "This has never been more important, because business models no longer change every few years or even once a year. Cycles are increasingly shorter, which puts a whole new set of demands on the CIO and on the organisation.
"When economic conditions, technology advances, and customer needs align, transformation happens," she added. "As we emerge from the global economic downturn, we have a tremendous opportunity to leap forward and embrace change, or risk being left behind..."Change happens. Companies change, industries change. Those that don't go to the dumpster."
He dismissed naysayers who claim that security concerns will deter large enterprise users from making a Cloud commitment. “About four or five months ago, one of our largest competitors said mission critical apps wouldn’t make it into the Cloud. I’d probably have said the same thing if I was him as he doesn’t know how to deal with it,” McCracken said.
McCracken predicted imminent and significant change in the technology industry based on firms’ use of cCoud services, citing DVD rental firm Netflix as an example. Netflix uses CA’s Nimsoft monitoring software to manage its IT capacity requirement and taps into a public Cloud from Yahoo or Google to provide the extra capacity on-demand.
At CW World, the firm introduced Cloud Commons, a community web site with resources and guidance from industry experts and a ratings system for Cloud services based on scores from analysts and business users. Services rated so far include Amazon EC2, Microsoft Exchange Online, IBM LotusLive and Gmail.
McCracken also explained the latest evolution of the company name. "The name CA Technologies acknowledges our past and points to our future as a leader in delivering the technologies that will revolutionise the way IT powers business agility," said McCracken. "We are executing on a bold strategy, where IT resources - from the Cloud to the mainframe and everything in between - are delivered with unprecedented levels of flexibility.”
He quipped: “I got tired of Googling CA and getting California...”
Post new Comment