The role of central IT in the cloud era is to:

Lead and coach: Explain the benefits and risks of the cloud to campus, identify areas where cloud services make sense and where they don't, reshape IT organizations to function effectively in the cloud era and ensure the enterprise IT architecture is designed to interact with the cloud.

Enable and partner: Work with vendors, supply management, educational consortiums, policy and legal advisors, and Cornell's IT leaders to bring enterprise versions of cloud services to the Cornell community. Help IT professionals in Cornell's colleges and units identify and arrange cloud services for local use.

Protect: Ensure security systems integrate with cloud services. Make certain vendor contracts address Cornell's needs, especially with regard to sensitive, regulated data types. Explain to users how to comply with policy and custodial responsibilities.

Integrate: Make sure systems like authentication and authorization work alongside vendor solutions, build "abstraction layers" to make a bridge from the cloud to Cornell, and create an IT Service Desk that includes vendor-supplied help systems in its service model.