In one of the most difficult economic situations in 50 years, IT departments around the world are reevaluating their platform strategies and looking for innovative ways to create competitive advantages. IT projects have always been judged by three financial criteria: initial capital expense, ongoing operating costs, and time to value. In 2009, focus on the economy will ensure that IT evaluates these criteria even more rigorously. IT departments have already seen business expectations increase over the last 10 years as budgets decreased. Doing “more with less” is not new to CIOs or IT, which have been squeezing efficiencies from existing systems and teams since the last economic downturn. The difference is that, after years of optimizing existing resources, 2009 brings unprecedented financial limitations that demand new solutions. Cloud computing is transforming the way IT departments build and deploy custom applications during lean times. By offering a fundamentally faster, less risky, and more cost-effective alternative to on-premises application.