• Introduces the main factors affecting ROI from Cloud Computing, and compares the business development of Cloud Computing with that of other innovative technologie;
• Describes the main approaches to building ROI by taking advantage of the benefits that Cloud Computing provide; and
• Describes approaches to measuring this ROI, absolutely and in comparison with traditional approaches to IT, by giving an overview of Cloud Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and metrics

In presenting their model, business metrics were used to translate indicators of cloud computing capacity-utilization curves into direct and indirect business benefits. The metrics used include a number of measures, of which I’ve included a few below:

The entire white paper and relevant documents can be found online here. This is an excellent resource for executives and managers to consider when evaluating cloud technology investment.

At the Flywheel Group this has made us stop and think, given all the potential that the cloud offers clients particularly in franchising, that we need to do a better job of sharing more about what the “Cloud” really is.

Its really important for people in any organization to grasp the concept of the “Cloud” because it is going to touch everything in our lives and organizations, if it hasn’t already started to. Franchise executives and managers should take a moment to catch up on the basics with this quick video which is an excellent and short explanation of how Virtualization, Utility Computing and Software as a Service are converging to make Cloud Computing an important aspect of franchising today. Watch !

A recent report by Gartner, which you can obtain for free at http://bit.ly/cJ7SmJ , sets forth some pretty exciting opportunities regarding how companies can and will need to deliver effective support experiences and the franchise industry has a lot to consider as a result.

Some key findings and recommendations from the report, which was commissioned by salesforce.com, are here:

•    Expectations for social CRM (tapping into social networks to improve marketing, sales and service processes) will dramatically exceed the measurable benefits;

•    For much of the world, Facebook will – or already has – become the dominant social networking site. Marketeers and customer service managers will need to take this into consideration when planning social networking projects, while monitoring for shifts in user sentiment;

•    A new generation of Internet Protocol (IP)-based contact center solutions with preintegrated IP interaction recording platforms will be far more effective and less expensive than previous platforms; and

•    Consumer willingness to perform all possible customer service functions themselves (self- service) will be universal by 2011.

The report shares these and other recommendations:

•    Vice presidents of customer service or customer experience should be sure to measure the consistency and effectiveness of customer interactions across all touchpoints from the customer’s point of view;

•    The popularity of social networking sites means that the service organization cannot expect the customer to come to the corporate website only, but must work on ways to reach out to the customer at these destinations as well; and

•    When developing a long-term strategic road map for contact center infrastructure, include call recording as part of this single-vendor solution.

If Cloud adoption that encompasses social media is not at the center of your business development, operations support, marketing and strategic planning you should consider talking with the flywheel group to learn more about how these solutions can benefit you and your organization.