Getting cloud under control: A how-to guide for CIOs

In August 2006, Google's then-CEO Eric Schmidt, used the term 'cloud computing' at an industry conference to describe the emerging model of running data services and architecture on virtual servers.

"I don't think people have understood how big the opportunity really is," Schmidt said, adding that "an awful lot of people are still trying to do stuff the old way."

In the 13 years that have passed, fuelled by a staggering pace of innovation and fierce competition between hyperscale providers, the public cloud has reached near-ubiquity in business.

So much so CIOs are under increased pressure to fully detach from the 'old way' of IT management and drive a cloud strategy better aligned to the business' ambitions for scale and flexibility.