Abstract
Recently, the remarkable success of the Cloud Computing inspires reflections related to the introduction and the development of new technologies. The relevant turmoil around this phenomenon is not always supported by a complete understanding of its peculiarities, potentialities, opportunities offered to companies and of its consequent organizational implications. Actual market propositions of Cloud solutions include not only the supply of infrastructures and applications as a service, but also the availability of business platforms, to design business processes and to realize integrated inter-organizational processes. Managers can, in fact, improve their companies productivity and competitiveness through the implementation of Cloud and Business Process Management technologies. This work, through the methodology of multiple case study and the coherent analysis of some providers, is aimed to point out Cloud Computing peculiarities, and different organizational approaches that actually characterize projects’ planning and implementation, to identify, apart from various offer typologies, standardized procedures for process management and to deduce and suggest a common, hoped organizational behaviour.
Although this work is the result of a common will, every paragraph has been written by a single author; particularly:
1st and 2nd sections by Roberto Candiotto.
3rd and 4th sections by Silvia Gandini.
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Notes
- 1.
In short, from now on the term ≪Cloud≫ will be used as ≪Cloud Computing≫.
- 2.
Literature analysis has been realized on the abstracts of 837 chapter, in the years from 2010 to 2011, of these publications: European Journal of Information Systems, Information Systems Journal, Information Systems Research, Journal of AIS, Journal of MIS, MIS Quarterly [first 6 excellence journal and review according to the ranking of Association for Information Systems (AIS)] and Information and Management, Management Science [class A review for ≪Organization≫ area according to the ranking 2011 of Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA)]. The analysis has shown that only 9 chapter are related to Cloud topics, and not focused on organizational aspects of ICT as a Service.
The same results has been produced by the analysis of the first 15 available Google Books, related to the keyword ≪Cloud Computing≫, and on the first 20 pages of Google Scholar, related to the same keyword.
- 3.
Source: http://www.nist.gov/.
- 4.
We thank all companies’ managers that have allowed the realization of this work with their willingness, professionalism, attention, and sensitivity. Particularly: for Altea Gian Carlo Pera and Giovanni Rota, for Asystel Danilo Formaggini and Paolo Sito, for Cosmic Blue Team Manuela Branz and Paolo Zanolini, for EID Giuseppe Volta, for Gruppo Zenit Alessandro Barbero and Roberto Pagano, for IBM Mariano Ammirabile and Mario Moccia, for Kelyan Andrea Bouchard and Luca Ferraris.
The interviews has been planned by defining a specific scheme, predisposed through preliminary conversations (May–July 2011), and then realized (October 2011–January 2012).
- 5.
The activation of Cloud solutions requires the availability of the broadband Internet connections, to assure high service levels, and particularly a reliability threshold closed to 99,999 %.
- 6.
A Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) is a set of principles and methodologies for designing and developing software in the form of interoperable services; these services are well-defined business functionalities that are built as software components that can be reused for different purposes. SOA also generally provides a way for consumers of services, such as web-based applications, to be aware of available SOA-based services.
- 7.
For instance, reduction of development and activation costs, solutions’ flexibility, quality of supplied services, new competencies development, etc.
- 8.
These professional figures can be used in a first moment, mainly if final consumers aren’t so ready to have an autonomous access to the provider’s resources.
- 9.
For instance: Cordys, Pega, Appian, HumanWave, Longjump.
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Candiotto, R., Gandini, S. (2013). Organizations and New IT Paradigms: Processes and Organizational Implications Related to Cloud Computing Projects. In: Spagnoletti, P. (eds) Organizational Change and Information Systems. Lecture Notes in Information Systems and Organisation, vol 2. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-37228-5_26
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