The Cloud will change IT forever.

That’s the promise of cloud computing anyway but is it the reality? And if it is, how is Ireland doing? Are we lagging behind the rest of the world or are we leading? The Irish Internet Association’s Working Group on Cloud Computing ran a market research survey to answer these questions and we are very grateful to all the participants of the survey, which is now closed. The results will be announced very soon.

The goal of the Working Group is to publish a Whitepaper that examines Cloud Computing from the market perspective of an Irish business (i.e. not an individual consumer) and tries to understand what the obstacles are to using Cloud Computing (in all its varieties) in Ireland today. By identifying and examining these obstacles, it is our hope to offer solutions or recommendations to overcome these obstacles and enable Irish businesses to take full advantage of the many benefits cloud computing offers them and thereby improve their competitiveness in the global marketplace.

The participants in the survey helped us to understand the true market conditions surrounding cloud computing which are vital to us accomplishing our goal. Every respondent will receive a copy of the Whitepaper when it is published in Q4 2009 - and one respondent will receive 2 tickets for the IIA Cloud Computing Working Group event to be held in the Autumn. Further details will be listed at on the IIA events page.

The IIA Working Group seeks to educate decision makers on the advantages of Cloud Computing while also cognisant of the disadvantages. It aims to support businesses to analyse the issues involved in transitioning their IT infrastructure from on premise to cloud applications and advise businesses on areas of concern such as availability, security and data protection. The group aims to clarify the objective opportunities beyond the hype by bringing together Cloud Computing vendors and business leaders in a collaborative forum. The Working Group consists of the following individuals:

·         Neil Delaney, Enterprise Applications Manager, Google

·         Wayne Leone, Cloud Lab Manager, IBM

·         Cormac Keogh, Architect Advisor, Microsoft

·         Joe McNally, Sales Engineer Manager, Salesforce

·         Brian Grant, Architect Advisor, Oracle

·         Declan Kearney, MD, Supplierforce

·         Michael Higgins, CTO, Advanced Innovations, Inc.

·         Paul Norton, IT Manager, Jones Engineering

·         Suzie Walsh, IT Manager, McCormick MacNaughton

·         Brona Kernan, CIO, Irish Times

·         Trevor Dagg, elan

·         Mark Greville, Merrill Lynch

·         Don Ryan, Premier Recruitment

·         Ruari Roddy, CTO, Thomas Crosbie Holdings

·         Sean Hickey, IT Manager, Kepak

·         Paul Tully, IT Infrastructure Manager, O2

·         Lavinia Morris, IT Infrastructure Manager, Friend’s First

·         Gerry Power, Consultant, Sysco (Chair)

We would like to thank you all the participants of the survey, your input has been invaluable.

If you have any questions regarding the Working Group, please do not hesitate to contact its chair, Gerry Power or to follow its progress to go the Sysco Software Blog