payments - Retail Systems

type solution within its armoury that it describes as a ‘business
process cloud’, which is a multi-tenancy solution. It only hosts
TCS customers who are using the same software. Applications
likely to be hosted on this cloud solution include the likes of
finance and accounting, order management, and HR software
products.
This highlights how the traditional ITOs are to some extent
encroaching on the services offered by the newer cloud providers.
The lines are inevitably blurring somewhat. It is a similar
story at JDA that developed a cloud proposition 12 months ago.
outsourcing IT feature
Joseph King, senior vice president of
cloud services at JDA, says it is a private
cloud that mimics that of Salesforce.
com, but in contrast it is a single-tenancy
environment. It also differs in being part
of the “totality of the JDA offering”,
according to King, which means that it is
only available to users of its software.
Unlike some other traditional ITOs
King has a wariness of the new players
and he warns that their co-mingling,
multi-tenancy models might be “okay
for certain business needs such as web
messaging” but care has to be taken if
they start to broaden their outlook.
“The newcomers were initially aiming
at less critical areas but they are now
starting to get into the customer base
[data]. What other applications that are
run behind the firewall could they look
to put onto their clouds? They are an
interesting play but under the covers I’m
not so sure,” he suggests.
Value vs experience
Although he admits that these new
providers offer a good value service he
says the benefit of the traditional ITOs
is the years of experience that they can
bring to bear on their clients’ businesses
– pointing to the 25-year history of JDA.
But there is some concern, according
to Fujitsu’s Taylor, that the old guard are
finding it difficult to work together with
retailers to put long-term strategies in
place, such is the pace of change of IT
developments in the marketplace – partly
as a result of the emergence of the
cloud, which is without doubt a serious
disruptor.
Capgemini’s Skilton says there is also
the issue of uncertainty within the EU
around cloud adoption that is centred on the lack of training,
lack of awareness of different standards, the safe harbour of
data and privacy, as well as the terminology that is used by the
different cloud providers. “This terminology debate will run and
run,” he suggests.
There is undoubtedly plenty that needs to be made clear
and clarified to retailers about the cloud and quite possibly
the people best placed to deliver this are the incumbent ITO
providers. Provided that is, that they offer thorough objectivity
and have embraced a future that, however you choose to define
RS
June - July 2012 RS 43