In a recent article in CNN’s Money, there was a discussion about IBM shifting its corporate strategy away from hardware in favor of cloud computing services. The article says “The company was ill-prepared for its customers’ sudden warm embrace of cloud computing. Why buy big, expensive IBM mainframes and servers when you can pay Amazon (AMZN, Tech30) or Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30) to house all your data for you – for cheaper? Why spend money on software for your computers, when those programs can be hosted in the cloud?”
The shift away from the traditional business model of keeping all IT resources in house is impacting everyone. IT departments in every industry, public and private sectors, and in companies both big and small are advising management to move to cloud computing. If you want to learn about the basics of cloud computing, Amazon Web Services has a wonderful explanation on its website.
The move to cloud computing is directly impacting internal audit departments. Many departments use internal audit software for risk assessments, resource management, audit documentation, reporting, and data analytics. Your IT department may push you to a cloud solution, and the vendor you choose could either provide cloud-only software or have both cloud and on-premise options. So how do you know what to choose?
Let’s first assume the internal audit software solution you are considering meets your functional needs. Addressing the installation options really depends on your IT Security needs, and there are three important variables to consider.