Clouds - Where Should Users Start

Any discussion of cloud computing has to acknowledge that on one hand, it holds huge promise while on the other hand, is possibly the most over-hyped technology trend to come down the pike in many a year. 

That aside, the potential to save costs and gain flexibility in offering new services is compelling.  And between those two,my advice is to make the business case on the new service flexibility aspectsas most new technologies that promise significant costs savings end up not delivering on that promise because of unanticipated hidden costs or simple over-estimation.

As far as guidance,like any transformation endeavor, the TM Forum recommends starting with a thorough examination of the business processes that support the strategic aimsof the company.  This allows you tore-design the key processes needed to achieve the desired levels of efficiency,flexibility, time-to-market, customer service and profitability.  From there, one can decide what sortsof systems and applications are needed to support those processes and whether these are best delivered via a cloud-based environment or not.