Assessing Cloud Readiness at Continental AG

Despite the growing attention being given to cloud computing by researchers and practitioners, the deployment of cloud computing is still in its infancy. For this to change, client companies need to know which of their IT services are appropriate for cloud computing. They often lack a sufficiently specific, yet applicable method to determine their cloud readiness and to identify and assess which IT services are candidates for moving to the cloud. This article describes a field-tested method for assessing the cloud readiness of an organization\u27s IT services. The Cloud Readiness Method, developed by Continental AG, a multinational leading automotive supplier, consists of three phases and uses simple assessment measures. Applying the method led Continental initially to determine 29 IT services that were potential candidates for cloud computing, subsequently reduced to 15 assessed as likely cloud ready . Continental also determined that compliance is the greatest barrier to moving IT services to the cloud