Now that everyone seems convinced that we’re in for a serious recession, quite a few analysts are convinced that this will give a huge boost to cloud computing. I’m one of them. Let’s put it straight and simple. Cloud computing is (now) reliable, fast to implement and low cost. The cloud is also immensely attractive in a world where the data centers are bursting at the seams.

I had a truly interesting conversation about the cloud with Kyle Arteaga, VP, Corporate Communications for Serena. It was supposed to be a general briefing but it pretty quickly became a long cloud conversation. I had contacted Serena because I had stumbled into a press release of theirs which spoke long and strong about the cloud.

So, if you haven’t picked it up, Serena is now moving to offer all its software on a cloud basis. It started with Mariner (Project and Portfolio Management), quickly followed by Serena’s Agile Lifecycle Management tools and Serena Business Mashups – an interesting product in its own right as it encourages user created mashing-up. Serena’s other products (change management, help desk and workflow products) will also head in the direction of the cloud.

Walking the Walk

I’m sure you’re not astounded to hear of yet another software vendor evaporating into the cloud, but with Serena there’s a distinct difference – one that has led to a fair amount of press coverage for Serena. Serena isn’t just offering cloud-based software, it has restructured its company to be cloud-based, in no uncertain terms.

Here’s a list of some of the cloud-based and on-demand services Serena uses:

• OpSource for infrastructure services
• Aria Systems for billing
• MarketBright for marketing automation
• Salesforce.com for sales force optimization
• Mediaroom for press room
• LucidEra for business analytics
• HiveLive for online communities
• Omniture for web analytics

But, more than simply adopting such cloud-based services, Serena has made two fairly dramatic technology changes:

1. It is phasing out Microsoft Exchange in favor of Gmail from Google (including using Google’s Postini anti-spam service). Serena is not the first company to do this, but it is still a fairly dramatic move for a company of Serena’s size (over 800 staff).
2. It has replaced its corporate Intranet completely with FaceBook. This move has attracted a great deal of attention – including an article by Andrew McAfee Associate Professor, Harvard Business School (which you can read here.)

Arteaga’s opinion – and it seems sound to me – is that a company that offers its products from the cloud needs to live in the cloud itself, to some degree. The company will then understand the practical day-to-day cloud issues and will also be able to speak authoritatively on how cloud operation impacts the way you work.

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