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Organizations have been forced to rethink business models via IT innovation as they face the challenges arising from globalization, mergers and acquisitions, big data, and the ever-changing demands of customers. Cloud computing emerged as a new computing paradigm that has fundamentally shaped the way that IT services are delivered. This book highlights the bidirectional relationships between IT departments and cloud implementation, and seeks to achieve two objectives. The first is to examine the factors that influence the success of cloud implementation. A qualitative study using interview data and grounded theory indicates that a successful cloud implementation not only calls for a good understanding of cloud technologies, but requires a lot effort in mobilizing internal and external resources; dedicated architectural design; overcoming organization-specific challenges; and addressing political and cultural issues arising inside the IT department. The second objective is to investigate the impacts of implementing cloud computing on the IT function. A case study of two community cloud models was conducted, which has identified a range of areas where the IT function can be impacted.

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Shuguang Suo is a consultant at TIBCO Software. He received his Ph.D. in information sciences and technology from the Pennsylvania State University. His research focuses include cloud computing, service-oriented architecture and event-enabled enterprise. He has published in and was invited as a reviewer for journals and conference proceedings.

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