What are the financial constraints for the company? Is the company too siloed for the strategy? Is there an easy mechanism to encourage experimentation and innovation? Implementation considerations Evaluating reference architectures These materials are the copyright of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and any  dissemination, distribution, or unauthorized use is strictly prohibited. After the business and IT leadership teams have a common  understanding of the business drivers, creating a cloud  computing strategy will be much more straightforward.  Implementation considerations are based on planning for an  environment that’s long-term thinking and an environment  that’s not tied to a single project. A  reference architecture  is a best practice approach to creating a private cloud based on a composite of successful  implementations. Therefore, reference architecture is a blueprint. While there isn’t single reference architecture, most  models have many of the same components. These documents  can serve as an excellent planning tool. It isn’t always easy to change. However, businesses that are  successful make sure that leaders are encouraged to think in  creative ways about potential opportunities. Can technology provide a mechanism to support innovation? If this is a business priority, the cloud computing strategy can provide  enabling technology to support experimentation. If a company is too siloed, the cloud computing strategy can  be structured to help create more cohesion across processes,  systems, and data. Many business units have acted almost as separate companies — each with its distinctive set of processes, systems, data, and way of working with customers. However,  this approach may be holding the company back from leveraging all assets across the company. While it’s important to understand new business opportunities,  it’s also important to understand the constraints that the  business is experiencing. Understanding how the business  needs to control expenses while increasing productivity and  efficiency are essential in the planning for the cloud. Cloud Services For Dummies, IBM Limited Edition  62