Cloud Computing Strategies

A guide to managing cloud projects, Cloud Computing Strategies provides the understanding required to evaluate the technology and determine how it can be best applied to improve business and enhance your overall corporate strategy. Based on extensive research, it examines the opportunities and challenges that loom in the cloud. It explains exactly what cloud computing is, what it has to offer, and calls attention to the important issues management needs to consider before passing the point of no return regarding financial commitments.

Illustrated with numerous examples and case studies, the book examines security, privacy, data ownership, and data protection in the cloud. It also:

• Explains how and why your company can benefit from Open Software and onDemand Services
• Identifies various cloud providers, their services, and their content as a basis for evaluating cost effectiveness
• Provides authoritative guidance on how to transition from a legacy system to the cloud
• Includes helpful tips for managing cloud vendor relationships and avoiding vendor lock-in

Whether you’re already in the cloud or just considering it, the text provides the unbiased understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of cloud computing needed to make informed decisions regarding its future in your organization. The book’s strength is that it supplies authoritative insight on everything needed to decide if you should make a transition to the cloud.

About the Author

Dr. Dimitris N. Chorafas has, since 1961, advised financial institutions and industrial corporations in strategic planning, risk management, computers and communications systems, and internal controls. A graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of Paris, and the Technical University of Athens, Dr. Chorafas has been a Fulbright scholar.

Financial institutions that sought his assistance include the Union Bank of Switzerland, Bank Vontobel, CEDEL, the Bank of Scotland, Credit Agricole, Osterreichische Landerbank (Bank Austria), First Austrian Bank, Kommerzbank, Dresdner Bank, Demir Bank, Mid-Med Bank, Banca Nazionale dell’Agricoltura, Istituto Bancario Italiano, Credito Commerciale and Banca Provinciale Lombarda.

Dr. Chorafas has worked as a consultant to top management of multinational corporations, including: General Electric-Bull, Univac, Honeywell, Digital Equipment, Olivetti, Nestle, Omega, Italcementi, Italmobiliare, AEG-Telefunken, Olympia, Osram, Antar, Pechiney, the American Management Association, and a host of other client firms in Europe and the United States.

He has served on the faculty of the Catholic University of America and as a visiting professor at Washington State University, George Washington University, University of Vermont, University of Florida, and the Georgia Institute of Technology. Additionally, these educational institutes include the University of Alberta, Technical University of Karlsruhe, Ecole d’Etudes Industrielles de l’Universite de Geneve, Ecole Polytechnic Federale de Lausanne, the Polish Academy of Sciences, and the Russian Academy of Sciences.

More than 8,000 banking, industrial, and government executives have participated in his seminars in the United States, England, Germany, Italy, Asia, and Latin America. Dr. Chorafas is the author of 153 books, some of which have been translated into 16 languages.