Acurus

Cloud Questions

The term 'cloud computing' is being cited and advertised vigorously, but with many IT services organisations spruiking their version of cloud computing and many established technology companies contending  for market position, there is a great deal of confusion about what it means and what it can do.

Executives are struggling for clear insights on what cloud computing actually means in practice and what benefits can be achieved today. When attempting to prepare business cases for these delivery and payment models some end up with apples for oranges comparisons due to the wide spectrum of cloud offerings.

Cloud computing is real and many CIO's are taking a 'Cloud First' approach, but building your own strategy can be confusing, as there are many questions to consider:

• Compliance
• Global access
• Payment options
• Security considerations
• Self-service capabilities
• Resource elasticity requirements
• Provider and platform selection
• Internal and/or external customer value perception
• Is it a true consumption based model?
• Integration with current infrastructure
• Australian data centres or off shore
• Existing infrastructure lifecycle
• Networking considerations
• Licensing implications
• Service Levels
• Scalability
• Performance
• Budget

Cloud Drivers

For internal 'customer' satisfaction, placing applications on the cloud or in-house isn't as important as application delivery speed, reliability and security. In some cases it doesn't make sense to move services into the cloud, but keep them in-house.

Some prudent corporations are hesitant about taking the cloud approach due to security risks and potential cloud outage risks, uttering that if a server crashes it's a very big deal, but if it's in the cloud 'it's a catastrophe'. Despite this, CIO's are expected to be innovators and at the forefront of process and productivity improvement. Cloud computing must be considered when thinking strategically about IT infrastructure and application delivery.

The true consumption based, fully controlled cloud model is appealing, because of its flexibility and scalability, the ability to turn services and processes on or off when required and the goal of reaching a utilities based usage model (pay per use model)

Cloud Journey

The first step in the journey to the cloud is to work out which services could be put into the cloud and which services will remain as core, keeping them in-house. The next step is to work out when and where, and then finally who will be managing these services.

• Which
• • Which services and application should be moved to a cloud model and which core systems should stay in-house?
• When
• • Review the infrastructure and licensing lifecycle to determine when those services and applications are to be moved across
• Where
• • There are a number of vendors and providers competing for your backing and cloud business, but where should you put your trust and is it a true consumption based model? Is the information stored in Australian data centres or off-shore?
• Who
• • Should you keep control of the management of these systems or can they be handed to your cloud provider/managed services partner?

The journey to the cloud starts with knowing your destination. Acurus would be pleased to discuss your thoughts on the future of IT and whether cloud offerings may or may not suit your business.