Where to begin with this one? How about a review of just about everything Sourcing Innovation has written to date on the subject:

• The Cloud is NOT a fluffy magic box
• More reasons The Cloud is not a fluffy magic box
• Beyond The Clouds
• Yet Again The Cloud is Not a fluffy magic box
• Is Your Cloud Dirty?
• The Cloud is Filled with Hail
• Dogbert Translates Cloud Consultanese
• Do You Really Think It’s a Good Idea to Have Your Head in The Clouds?
• The Cloud is Not a Magic Mirror Nor is it Omniscient
• Remember, You Can’t Control The Clouds
• Got Cloud? I Got Your Mail!
• The Cloud is Not a Crystal Ball Either.
• The Storm Clouds are Coming
• Procurement “Trend” 13: The Cloud

Software was good. Hosted ASP was better. True Multi-tenant SaaS was better still. And “Cloud” is the one step back that follows the two-steps forward. (And unless you want to be a frog in a well, you’d best steer clear of it.)

The Cloud is not a white fluffy cloud full of day dreams, it is a gathering storm cloud that will soon erupt and flood your operation while the hail pummels you to a bloody pulp.

Not only, as per the linked posts, will you:

• lose your mail, and all the confidential IP it contains, then
• lose your data when you find out your Cloud provider put your data in a data center with no backup, then
• lose your platform, when the FBI or NSA confiscates the servers in the data center that was powering the Cloud, and
• lose your customers, when your loyalty program fails and they take their loyalty elsewhere.

But you will also

• lose your supply chain visibility, and your ability to assure supply, when the Cloud explodes,
• lose your revenue stream, when you can no longer book those customer orders and process payments, and
• lose your bank accounts, when the (class action) lawsuits hit.

So next time a provider offers to take you on a trip through the Cloud, SI recommends you take them for a walk out the door.