This is nothing new.  Those in the organization who don’t get cloud, deny cloud, or outright fight against cloud have been around since the beginning of cloud.  I know; I was there.  They were once the majority.

These days, these “cloud blockers” are becoming the minority as the cloud proves itself as viable technology.  However, there are still plenty of people in IT who continue to push back hard on the move to the cloud.  Those in IT leadership are now trying to figure out what to do with them.

What’s interesting to me is that we’ve been through the adoption of new waves of technology many times in the last 30 years, including the rise of the PC, the rise of the Web, complex distributed systems, etc., but the cloud gets a much more emotional response that I’ve seen before.  Those who push back on cloud computing typically do so without the core facts about the technology, but instead push out the familiar FUD talking points such as security, privacy, control, and don’t forget about the NSA.

This is not to say cloud computing is always a fit for every organization.  It’s not.  Indeed, I like to have toss out some devil’s advocate thinking when I look at cloud computing potential, and I give consideration to those who offer up reasons not move to the cloud.  Considering all of the facts before selecting a path to the cloud, and the clouds themselves, just makes sense.  That’s healthy skepticism.

However, there are those remaining in IT who are downright hostile when it comes to leveraging cloud computing, facts and business cases be damned.  So, as some of IT changes over to cloud computing, what is to be done with the cloud blockers that won’t get onboard, no matter what?

This is more an HR issue than it is a cloud issue, as I tell my clients.  The fact is that any number of changes come along in the world of IT, and it’s a career skill to consider how the changes provide opportunities to improve existing enterprise IT.  The use of cloud-based platforms is no different.

So, if people in the IT organization refuse to consider the use of new technology, cloud or something else, then they are not doing their job to the best of their ability.  Thus, they should be counseled as to how they can do their job better, perhaps even provided with training.  If they won’t accept that help, they should be counseled out (meaning, fired).  Their job description changed, they didn’t.  You need to replace them with someone who can do the job with its current requirements.

There are a few things IT leadership can do to make sure that everyone is given every chance to understand what the opportunities are with cloud computing:

First, make sure you have a well-documented and well-understood cloud strategy.  Those who just declare that cloud computing is the direction, without providing supporting facts and planning, are not much better than those who declare cloud as ‘bad.’  This strategy should include the business case, a migration strategy, and a well-defined timeline as to implementation.

Second, make sure that there is training available for those who want it.  No matter if these are general courses on cloud computing, or specific vendor training, anyone seeking to understand cloud computing better should be given the chance.

Third, make sure there is a proof-of-concept cloud project to prove the value.  You can’t argue with success, and a project that does something as simple as standing up IaaS storage services, or a quick application migration to a cloud-platform, goes a long way toward proving the value of this technology.

Finally, make sure everyone understands that, as technology evolves, it’s the core job of IT to consider the true value of new technology.  Cloud is just an instance of new technology.  There are many technologies that showed up in the past, and many will show up in the future.  Most technologies should at least be understood by those in IT, and the value extracted, if logical.

Many consider removing “cloud blockers” as something negative about cloud computing.  It’s actually not as much about the cloud as it is learning to evolve with technology and take new approaches when opportunities arrive.  The cloud is just the latest example of this lifecycle.