** Cloud computing offers numerous benefits to organizations of all sizes, including flexibility and faster implementation, but it requires strategic leadership from IT departments. Traditional organizations often struggle to develop and implement cloud computing strategies due to skeptics who resist change or stick their head in the sand. To become a cloud leader, IT professionals must own the build vs. buy decision, developing a cloud vendor evaluation framework that considers factors such as availability and resiliency, data providence, SLAs, and terms & conditions. They must also scrutinize security risks associated with any cloud migration and plan for the long-term, continuously checking assumptions and expectations against evolving business and technical needs. By adopting a proactive approach, IT professionals can capitalize on the benefits of cloud computing and become leaders in their organization's technology innovation.