In the June 13 issue of Fortune, CGI was featured in a special advertising section on cloud computing: “The New Technology Paradigm.” In the article I recommend that organizations should not neglect the principles of good IT management when accessing the cloud. Today I want to write about the importance of strong service management.

I spend a lot of time speaking with IT executives about cloud computing, and many are excited about the savings and flexibility that the cloud can provide, yet cite these shortcomings as well.

• There is no visibility or control over the use of services—and those services are “one size fits all” rather than personalized to the client’s particular needs.
• There is a “server only” mentality, which means no integration with their enterprise applications—and, more importantly, no service, leading to a “best effort” performance with e-mail-only support.
• There are too many variables, which can lead to unpredictable spending—and oftentimes the model is to charge a credit card, which is not a common or, even at times, permissible way for a corporation or government agency to pay for services. 

With cloud, it is not just about technology management. It is about integrated, automated technology and cloud service management.

We recommend to our clients—and all businesses and governments looking to transition to the cloud—to ensure that the cloud vendors they speak with are a cloud partner when it comes to providing the visibility and control of the use of cloud services.

CGI’s Enterprise Service Management framework provides organizations with the capability to manage cloud service usage through personalized policies, and we have a unified portal to provide users with access to request, manage and use cloud services. 

In short, when looking to leverage cloud services for your organization, make sure the cloud provider has figured out the “services not just servers” part of their offering.