The perspectives of technology in Brazil and in the world
Reducing costs and the complexity of IT management are among the factors that favor the growth in the number of companies that have been adhering to the technology. cloud computing, cloud computing.
To deepen the discussion on the matter, Portal Abes features an exclusive interview with the Fulvio Jose Canever, general business sales manager at IBM Brazil, who explains the advantages and restrictions of the technology, as well as the opportunities it represents for software companies. Also help with the answers José Spagnolo, director of cloud computing, and Marcia de Almeida Silveira, cloud computing IT architect.
What is the stage of cloud computing technology in the world and in Brazil?
It can be considered that cloud computing technology is at an early stage of adoption, considering both the global market and the Brazilian market. However, the speed at which it is spreading is quite accelerated. There are already many projects implemented in the most diverse countries, in various industry segments and in companies of different sizes. Due to the agility to promote innovation in companies that the adoption of cloud computing brings, the trend is for cloud implementation to intensify more and more. A survey carried out by IBM with CEOs from several companies around the world, including Brazil, shows that the Technology factor presents itself as the external factor with the greatest impact for organizations in the next 3 to 5 years. Given this realization, a large number of CIOs are considering investments in cloud computing.
What are the main advantages and disadvantages of cloud computing for users?
It is important to comment on the benefits for users from the business and IT perspectives. From the business point of view, cloud computing accelerates time-to-market and gives greater agility to the launch of new products and services in response to new market demands. Within this concept, cloud computing is a great agent of innovation. In the IT view, the main benefits are cost reduction, seeking a better balance between CAPEX and OPEX; reduced complexity of IT infrastructure and management processes, and greater flexibility and agility in provisioning IT resources. There are some restrictions on its use. Some system characteristics are not yet suitable for a cloud computing infrastructure. Examples: systems that do not support virtualization, that have very sensitive (critical) data, with many regulations and with very complex transactions or processes.
How to deal with the growth in the volume of data transiting the internet and the problems of telecommunications in Brazil?
The data explosion, also known as Big Data, is an increasing challenge for companies. But it can also be considered an opportunity. If this data is analyzed and transformed into information, companies will make more assertive decisions for their business and will have valuable data to differentiate themselves from competitors. The limitations of telecommunications in Brazil are a challenge for all areas of IT. The volumes of data traveling over the internet are increasing and will continue to do so. The answer to this challenge is to invest in telecommunications, as the market is increasingly demanding for this type of resource.
How has cloud computing impacted companies that develop software and provide IT services?
For companies that develop software, the impact of cloud computing is positive. Cloud computing makes it possible for these companies to already sell their "product" ready for use, that is, the end customer chooses the application they want and hires it in a ready-made infrastructure. For the end customer, there are the benefits of simplicity of contracting and speed of disposition. This is what the market calls "software as a service". There is also another opportunity for software companies, which is the development of new technologies that work within the cloud computing ecosystem, that is, companies can develop new software technologies to enhance cloud computing functionality. For companies that provide IT services, cloud computing has become one more option in the "menu" of services that these companies offer. Customers who want IT infrastructure resources, whether hardware and/or software, for a specific period or with a lot of flexibility for expansion and retraction of resources, can acquire them with much more agility and simplicity through cloud computing offers: "infrastructure as a service" and "plarform as a service".
How do governments contribute to the evolution of cloud computing?
First, governments have the vocation of providing services and information to citizens. Because of this, more and more applications are made available to citizens through the web. The use of cloud computing to create, maintain and host these applications is of great value. In this role, governments contribute to the evolution of cloud computing by being major consumers of this type of technology. In addition, governments can encourage the development of this technology through tax incentive programs or investment lines for entrepreneurs. These bodies also contribute to the creation of policies or programs that encourage the development of inputs necessary for the IT area, such as electricity, telecommunications, training of technical professionals, among others.
Finally, would you like to make any other comments that you consider relevant?
Cloud Computing is a natural way to accelerate innovation and reduce costs in companies. IBM has invested more than US$ 3 billion in R&D and major acquisitions to build a portfolio of end-to-end solutions for planning, building and implementing cloud computing. These are technologies aimed at companies of all sizes that offer agility in the availability of new IT environments, cost savings, scalability of the shared and virtualized IT environment, as well as the business resources, security and technical support of a private infrastructure. Recently, IBM announced a shared private cloud solution, with a high level of security, resiliency and isolation of the virtualized infrastructure. Around R$ 40 million were invested to expand the structure of our Service Center, in Hortolândia, to receive Cloud Computing projects.
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