Last December, I was interviewed by Finance and Commerce magazine for an article titled “Tech Toolkit:  IT planning for the year ahead.”  Part of the article included cloud computing and what companies can do to include the cloud in their businesses.  Early the same month, I posted on the technology trends for 2012, and the continued adoption of cloud computing was one of them.  The Cloud Standards Customer Council has released its first “Practical Guide to Cloud Computing.”  This guide includes nine steps that companies should consider to help integrate the cloud into their businesses.  For the most part, the nine steps involve planning, but planning for the cloud is important.  Not every application and data set is appropriate for the cloud.  Using this planning tool will help inform a company about what cloud services are appropriate for its business.