
The IBM mainframe was a critical component of the solutions I have described. It is like the Fort Knox of cloud computing. Self-protection is a key element in a total defense strategy.

One of the key benefits of cloud that I identified earlier was cost savings. Another key and related benefit is improved speed of IT delivery.

For the past several years, there have been discussions on how to best reduce data center costs. A study in 2011 by Clabby Analytics, an IT research and analysis firm, showed that almost 50% of the data center costs can be attributed to management labor, followed by costs associated with equipment.