Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 57 | Page 38

CIO OPINION
Cloud shouldn ’ t be seen as a take it or leave it trend , but one that needs continual nurturing during its growth and is enhanced , not restricted , by choice .
Lee Syse , Cloud Tech Lead , VMware Sub-Saharan Africa

The key to cloud choice is consistency , not complexity

Cloud options available to businesses have expanded rapidly as the use of modern applications – which rely on the hybridity and flexibility that multi-cloud environments provide – has exploded . Lee Syse , Cloud Tech Lead , VMware Sub-Saharan Africa , discusses the challenge facing businesses today , particularly their IT teams and how they can find that perfect balance between control and choice .

As the world begins to open up again , we ’ re faced with something that we haven ’ t had much of over the past year – choice . Choice of where to eat , drink , exercise , socialise , shop etc . It ’ s something we ’ re seeing more of in a technology that has been fundamental to our lives over the last year , too – the cloud . The range of cloud options available to businesses has expanded rapidly as the use of modern applications – which rely on the hybridity and flexibility that multi-cloud environments provide – has exploded to cater to and deliver on shifting customer expectations . organisations are still battling legacies of unrestrained , unmanaged , unsupported choice and this has created cloud diversity and complexity in equal measure .

Andrew Cruise , MD at Routed Hosting recently summed up perfectly why this complexity has become such a problem : “ The risk right now is that people are losing control of their businesses ,” he said . To get back in control , he argues , “ they must bring much more transparency to the cloud . They also need to develop things that are reversible by design and will enable roaming between clouds .”
In theory this greater array of options should cater for every potential need and put paid to many commonly cited barriers to cloud . But there ’ s a catch . Many
The challenge facing businesses today then , and particularly their IT teams , is how to find that perfect balance between control and choice .
38 INTELLIGENTCIO AFRICA www . intelligentcio . com