Are you delegating your cloud decisions?

 
A server refresh was already a ton of work. Nevertheless, now that you have a Gig fiber connection and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), is everywhere, that server refresh evaluation just became 3 times the work. Should you just go buy new servers? Should you go with an internal cloud solution? Should you go with an external cloud (pay-as-you-go), solution? The company can easily throw this on your shoulders to decide but in reality, only half of that decision should be your responsibility.

You can gather the external data to make the decision, such as quotes from providers, technology evaluation, quotes from VAR’s, etc. but the other factors are things that need to be addressed by the other departments. Employee (hard & soft) costs, tax implications, time value of money, capital strategies, etc. are not your expertise but these items are absolutely essential for companies to consider if they want to stay ahead of the competitive landscape. Rather than ignore these outer-lying decision factors (and take on the risk and accountability of doing so), what would be the risk of identifying them, owning that this is not your area of expertise, then delegate them to the correct department? Your department needs help if you are going to be asked to now understand not only IT but also finance. Don’t be afraid to ask for it!