Integrating Your Business, IT,  and Cloud Strategies Cloud Services For Dummies, IBM Limited Edition  56 Business leaders want to develop more innovative products  and services while continuing to reduce operational expenditures. However, given the fast pace of today’s complex  economic environment, this task is often not easy. In order to  remain competitive, business leaders need to approach each  new opportunity with a well-conceived strategy that provides  speed, flexibility, and scalability. The typical business is faced with a vast number of challenges: Businesses also need the freedom to use their existing  resources in new ways to address these challenges. At the  same time they must limit the risk of investing in new capital  while speeding up the delivery of IT resources. When a new business strategy is developed, it’s critical to  map the business requirements to the IT resources and  capabilities. Increasingly, IT components incorporate cloud  capabilities. When business and IT leaders collaborate, the  organization is in a better position to achieve the greatest  flexibility and agility. The results to the business can be significant because this approach allows both business and IT  to focus on the customer experience and business outcomes.  Based on the specific requirements for performance, security,  scalability, and service levels, companies start their cloud  journey in different ways. It’s no surprise that companies are bringing business opportunities and cloud computing models together to forge  a unified and cohesive business strategy. Business leaders see  the potential in utilizing a set of cloud foundational services — Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service  (PaaS) — so the right cloud computing model can be selected  These materials are the copyright of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and any  dissemination, distribution, or unauthorized use is strictly prohibited. ✓ Changing customer requirements ✓ Increasing industry regulations and standards ✓ The need for a mobile platform