Cloud computing, Enterprise 2.0, Software-as-a-Service and Platform-as-a-Service are riding the upward hype cycle slope.  In the enterprise software realm, hype must deliver results before entering the mainstream.  I predict cloud computing will deliver the required results for acceptance.  According to Peter Coffee of Salesforce.com, enterprise solutions delivered in the cloud possesses the advantage of being “a coherent and resilient environment – not a brittle software stack.”  More importantly, large organizations have begun viewing the traditional IT model as a barrier to efficient service delivery.  In fact, Geir Ramleth, CIO Bechtel Corporation states, “The risk for enterprises that don't start a SaaS migration strategy soon is that their IT organizational structures will be a competitive disadvantage.”

Granted, cloud computing must satisfy basic requirements including:

1. Deliver the same or better service than experienced today

2. Reduce up-front investment with reduced technology risk

3. Rapid time to value

4. Predictable cost that correlates to benefit

If cloud computing can satisfy the above requirements, the decision to move enterprise applications to the cloud becomes a choice of either a positive experience or a continued toleration of the inefficiencies of the traditional IT delivery model.  By moving to the cloud, business users can leverage a solution provider that continually improves the delivered solution.  By realizing a solution at a predictable cost with minimized infrastructure and rapid ROI, the business user experiences a higher level of satisfaction because she is buying functionality, not infrastructure.

For the security, governance, risk and compliance professional responsible for evaluating solutions for investigative case management or security operations management, the real benefit is that cloud solutions allow her to focus on her business rather than managing a solution.