On May 10th Raymark attended a Gartner Local Briefing in Montreal entitled 'Perspectives in Cloud Computing'. Presenters Robert Langlois, VP and Executive Partner, discussed the optimization of IT assets and questioned if Cloud Computing was the only answer. Whilst he revealed research citing cloud computing as the number 1 priority for CIOs in 2011, he warned that a rip and replace model is not always best, suggesting instead a hybrid model mixing in house, outsourced, offshored and public and private cloud hosting. Robert was followed by Carl Claunch, VP & Distinguished Analyst, who gave a presentation entitled 'Bringing Cloud to Earth: Practical Advice'. He advised that IT departments reconnect price with value rather than price with cost when choosing their IT services, recommending that they consider the following: Governance - when, where and how retailers consume cloud services; Infrastructure and Operations - the extent to which cloud models drive the design of data centers; Security - what can be done to assess and mitigate risks; and finally - The Application Strategy - considering the optimization of services. Importantly he advises that CIOs should be considering how and when, and not if, they adopt a cloud computing strategy in order to effectively manage their IT operations. 

Raymark combines server management and technical assistance for global retail software delivery and cloud computing capabilities. To find out more visit http://www.raymark.com/solutions/hosting-managed-services.aspx.