The reality of enterprise computing today is not just the migration to the cloud. Rather, it is a range of IT options: First is within the enterprise’s data center, second is in a partner hosting data center, and third is in the cloud. What option is best? Not to sound like a consultant (again), but it truly depends. Ask is this core to our business? If the answer is no, it does not and likely should not live in your data center. If the answer is yes, detail the costs and the cost of control. Chances are there is a cloud-based vendor out there. Do your homework first, then take that sales call.

In the end, it will be about cost and control. Doesn’t it always come down to return on investment?

Challenges and opportunities
Integration outside the enterprise firewall needs to encompass the capabilities of the organization. Larger enterprises have investments in SOA and ESB providing them with new capabilities that can be utilized. Many organizations without these capabilities will find that standard point to point integration will more than meet the requirements for most of the integration challenges outside the firewall to a “cloud computing” CRM solution. Integration within the enterprise is complex and often layered from ERP to CRM. Middleware services, such as Tibco and WebMethods, Service Oriented Architectures (SOA) and Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) infrastructures are common and present their own challenges such as process, configuration and technical.

Ask your organization, “Are we leveraging our SOA and ESB infrastructures to their full potential?”

Do not be surprised if the answer is “no”.