Roger Smith: Cloud Maturity Models Don’t Make Sense
The interesting thing that we learned from this piece was that people were already trying to apply maturity models to cloud computing…something that seems nearly impossible when the very definition of ‘Cloud Computing’ is still many moons from being refined and standardized. We agree with Roger Smith wholeheartedly on his assessment that slapping together a ‘Cloud Computing Maturity Model’ doesn’t make much sense right now…and to a certain degree we think that while certain maturity models (namely CMMI) have their place, in general it’s starting to feel as if we are reaching the point of ‘ maturity models for the sake of maturity models’. And anything done for the sake of itself in the technology world keeps us from pursuing the bigger picture – i.e. managing projects for the sake of adhering to the PMBOK rather than focusing on meeting the needs of the customer, or managing IT for the sake of ITIL compliance rather than focusing on adding value to the business. There are enough superfluous certifications for the IT world to chase, let’s not stifle the potential of The Cloud by trying to shoeshorn it into rigid, standardized definitions that can’t possibly keep up with the explosive innovation that we’re going to be seeing for some time to come.
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If there was a maturity model, all the cloud providers will be “immature.” There is still a lot to be learned and implemented in the cloud computing space. It’s all very new and even, as you say, the technology gurus don’t agree on what exactly it is.
Until we can decide what cloud computing is, how can we know if one provider is more or less mature than another?
But also, we must realize that consumers of cloud computing products, know even less than the technology people, so having a rational basis on which to compare will help them feel more secure in their move to the cloud.
Great points, Randall. Driving market adoption requires first defining the market, and until there’s objective and standardized criteria for evaluating market entrants, it will be the Wild West in the eyes of customers. On the other hand, the last thing we need is maturity models prematurely constraining the market before it has had a chance to mature on its own.
Thanks for the comment. Jon Sapir from the Situational Application Resource Center / SilverTree Systems had sent me a note to look into Qrimp and I like what you guys are doing. Looking forward to collaborating on the Resource Center and in forums like this.
Mike Topalovich
Delivered Innovation