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When Project Management is Face to Face with Cloud Computing By Andres Cuevas, PMP

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Throughout Project Management's history, there have been changes in the approaches and the needs to manage and control projects. In the beginning, the principal approach was to administer and control isolated projects; subsequently and through the years, this approach evolved and became more complex, especially when organizations realized that their operations not only rely on just one project, but on a group of projects and more important, that these projects coexist between and among them, that they share resources, or that they are part of larger plans, just like programs or portfolios.

Similar to the path followed by Project Management, Information Technologies have evolved -- from the birth of personal computers, to the internet boom and now to Cloud Computing. But, what is this exactly? Cloud Computing can be described as a virtual technologic platform with practically limitless capabilities regarding processing, storage, connectivity, and the most important issue of them all, remote availability. Some of the key points that define Cloud Computing are:

  • Cloud computing is a general term for anything that involves delivering hosted services over the internet.

  • The name cloud computing was inspired by the cloud symbol that is often used to represent the “internet” in flowcharts and diagrams.
A cloud service has three distinct characteristics that differentiate it from traditional hosting: It is sold on demand, it is elastic (users can have as much or as little of a service as they want at any given time) and the service is fully managed by the provider (the consumer needs nothing but a personal computer and Internet access).

But in the end, how do we relate Project Management to Cloud Computing? We can find part of the answer in the environment that surrounds us: schools, offices, restaurants, coffee shops, parks, and if we really pay attention, in our hands or in our jacket pocket. The key is the possibility and ease through which we have to access information through the internet, to have information mobility and availability in practically any part of the world at any given moment.

Up to this point, we may consider that the Information Technology industry followed its own rhythm and evolution, and we might also think that, in a completely opposing point of view, that  organizations are more worried about carrying out their processes and projects in a more structured manner, thus increasing their business opportunities and revenue streams. But nowadays, in these troubled times, considering these two branches in an isolated manner will be a total mistake, due to the fact that organizations carry out their processes and projects to create or improve a product or service. And the Information Technology industry can allow an organization to make things easier, faster, cheaper and carried out in a predictable manner.


Now, what benefits can we obtain once we combine both of these trends?

  • New possibilities arise to face larger and more complex projects that in the past were not that feasible due to processing constraints, storage or network constraints.

  • Multiple actors or stakeholders have the possibility to interact and to collaborate between and among themselves in real time.

  • We have the ability to prepare, configure and have the availability of different applications to carry out the daily activities of the project.

  • It is a better way to share and manage resources.

  • We can generate savings in all projects due to the easiness, versatility and implementing speed of the technological tools and of the project.

  • We can generate a larger value to the organizations because this allows them to focus solely on the business objectives in order to assign resources (that in many projects are limited) to solve important business issues.

  • A more efficient business is possible, because from the IT point of view, the work team can exclusively focus on solving really important issues of the project and the business, instead of focusing on the infrastructure. Also, because the service needs within the cloud are based totally on the demand, the operations cost decreases and are in accordance with the project’s needs.

  • Also, supporting Project Management with Cloud Computing Services creates additional value by decreasing the environmental impact through the reduction of physical resources needed to execute the project and reducing the resources consumed in transportation.
We must always keep in mind that, not just because we have Cloud Computing services will we obtain all the previously mentioned benefits; in order to attain such benefits we need to fully apply the Project Management discipline as well as its methodology.

As we reviewed, Project Management and Cloud Computing complement each other. Project Management benefits with newfound scalability, the ability to have limitless resources in collaboration and the enormous availability of information; and Cloud Computing  benefits with disciplines and methodologies that have the facility of enhancing  its  capabilities and expanding the business application.

Note: For more information regarding the various concepts involving “Cloud Computing,, you can visit the following web sites:

© 2011 allPM.com

Andrés Cuevas Ortega (Industrial and Systems Engineer, PMP). Project Leader for International Institute for Learning Mexico. Mainly focused on the implementation of the Project Management Methodology in accordance with the guidelines established by PMI®. He has worked in projects of such magnitude as the establishment of the Project Management Office for theDepartment of Public Works (Secretaria de Obras y Servicios) within Mexico City’s local government.