It isn't easy to compare apples to apples when considering replacing internal IT services with cloud-based services. It's important not to underestimate the operating expenses of internal services, and it's equally important not to underestimate the hidden and unanticipated costs of cloud computing, reports David Carr at CIO.

When estimating the cloud server capacity you will need, you have to bear in mind that cloud servers don't operate exactly like physical servers. A cloud server may not perform as well as a dedicated server, so you may need to provide more capacity than initially expected. During the migration, you will also likely have to operate the old and new systems, which adds to the expense.

There are monitoring and management costs involved in cloud-computing as well, and in some instances monitoring tools may need to be custom-developed. Integrating systems presents additional costs. If your company already employs service-oriented architecture, it may be easier to transition to cloud services. Organizations that do not use SOA may have to spend more on upgrading middleware and training employees.

For more:
- see David Carr's article at CIO

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