Cloud Computing is the
buzz word doing rounds among IT circles. CIOs/IT Managers look towards
the cloud as the answer to today’s growing service delivery demands. It
provides automated management processes takes care of core essentials in
IT that is efficiency, agility and reduced costs. This is a general
term for anything that involves delivering hosted services over the
internet so it becomes easier for IT organizations to deliver the
services needed by business in a given timeframe and at a reasonable
cost. Definitions may vary, to put this in a more user friendly
language, cloud computing is a model where all IT resources namely
servers, network devices, storage and applications are available to
end-users over the internet. Cloud Computing is classified under two
categories, public cloud and private cloud.
A
public cloud is where resources, such as storage and applications are
made available to users over the internet. The resources are controlled
by the third-party and access is normally given as a web service. A
private cloud is one in which a company controls the data and resources
and access is limited to a set of people. A private cloud is normally
hosted inside the firewall of the company or department that provides
user access in a secure environment. A third category called the Hybrid
cloud model is also available which is a mix of the above two
categories.
Typically, cloud computing services consist of three basic types namely,
Infrastructure-as-a-Service (Iaas)
IaaS
is a model that replicates the functions of an entire datacenter. An
organization out sources the equipment used to support operations,
including storage, hardware, servers, system software and networking
components. The service provider owns the equipment and is responsible
for housing, running and maintaining it. Some examples of organizations
providing IaaS are Amazon’s Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), IBM, Verizon
Business, etc.
Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS)
PaaS
provides virtualized servers on which users can run existing
applications or create new applications without worrying about OS,
storage, server hardware, load balancing or computing capacity. A
developer can create applications on the provider’s platform over the
internet. PaaS providers may use APIs, website portals or gateway
software installed on the customer’s computer. GoogleAPP’s is an example
of PaaS. The cloud does not offer standards for interoperability and
data portability, developers need to know this. Other popular PaaS
providers are Microsoft’s Azure, Salesforce’s Force.com.
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)
SaaS
is mostly known and a common form of cloud computing service. This
provides all the functions of running a sophisticated traditional
application through a web browser. SaaS removes many hassles like
maintaining application servers, storage, application and other common
concerns. The end user is free to use the service from anywhere on the
internet since the service provider hosts both the application and data.
Some examples of SaaS are Google’s Gmail, Google Apps, IM from AOL,
Yahoo and VoIP from Skype, etc.
Adopting the Cloud
Creating
a cloud environment for an enterprise is a very carefully planned
exercise as it requires a broad vision from IT Managers on determining
how the enterprise can use it diligently. IT Managers have to take the
role of pioneers who can bring organizations to new levels of
performance and efficiency through IT and at the same time focus on
improving services, reduced costs and manage the risks involved in this
ever connected world. As cloud computing can handle shift from
‘capacity’ to ‘capability’ on demand, enterprises are adopting the cloud
quickly to fulfill their service delivery expectations. Adopting a
cloud requires a plan, a good design, which primarily consists of:
Assessment:
The first step would be to assess meticulously and generate a clear set
of use cases and requirements. This should be attached with an
inventory of required platforms, OS and a wish list of services under
different tiers.
Roadmap:
It is essential to create a roadmap for achieving success, say two
years down the line with clearly defined and attainable quarterly
milestones. Also success is ensured by having an integrated vision and
buy-in from top management down to all business units across the
enterprise.
Integration:
A cloud can touch upon many aspects of IT, so establish a standard
interface by identifying what services will integrate with the solution.
It is important to document the requirements and interactions while
establishing the standard interface.
Deployment:
Deployments done in a phased manner is recommended starting with
services that are mature and slowly branching out to take in other
applications. Building on robust capabilities to begin with will help
ensure the infrastructure will sustain.
Success
in cloud computing depends on the maturity and standardization of the
existing processes. Standardized processes and services can be automated
and moved to the cloud more quickly than processes that are still
half-mature or are still in testing stages. Hence, standardization and
automation are two main elements that play an important role in
achieving success while adopting a cloud, as these transform the
enterprise from a custom environment to an environment that has
automated delivery of IT services. Further, standardized and automated
services provide the benefits of simplified management, accelerated
deployments, enhanced efficiencies, and reduced costs since they require
less human intervention.
How Business Value Gets Enhanced?
Basically
cloud computing is the evolution of several initiatives that are
converged from virtualization, distributed application design grid and
enterprise IT management to enable a more friendly and flexible approach
for deploying and scaling applications. Businesses normally look for
effective and efficient service delivery, to improve the value of IT in
their enterprise and less or no challenges in managing their day-to-day
IT setup. Cloud computing can help organizations to do away with many of
these hassles in delivering IT services in an amazing way as the cloud
provides an dynamic environment in which IT applications and
infrastructure, is available 24x7 irrespective of the location. Business
value is also enhanced by faster service delivery that results in
customer retention, positioning in the market and the leverage to expand
business horizontally. Businesses adopting the cloud can ignore the
challenge of data growth and scalability and concentrate more on
services that provide the most value, without concerns on under utilized
IT capacities.
Cloud
computing reduces TCO which drives higher profits and provides the
answer to the fundamental question: “How do I deliver more with less
resource?” Cloud computing greatly reduces on IT labor costs and
promotes effective use of technical staff in the organization. Adopting
a cloud for the enterprise with proper planning, design and automation
gives a competitive edge in many ways and some proven benefits are:
Operating cost replaces capital cost of the data center Reduced
hardware costs Reduced capacity and storage needsTechnical risks are
minimized Productivity increased Better user experience Environment
friendly (less space, less power, etc)
Security
is also very important in cloud computing and all issues related to
securing an enterprise data center also applies to the cloud. To
consider how a cloud is right for a business enterprise, the first
aspect to identify is on how the cloud will fit well into the existing
business architecture and business strategy. A successful transformation
to a cloud model depends on,
Understanding the business operation
and the current situation Identifying opportunities for change by
understanding efficiencies, gaps and risks Create a plan for
transformation and migration
The
reason that many enterprises are thinking of implementing a cloud model
is that it reduces time in service delivery and provides an environment
of flexibility and agility. Users are happy as they keep getting the
services as they wish at their own convenience.
To Conclude:
Many
organizations are moving towards SaaS cloud model and adoption of this
type of service has been higher than the other two types viz., IaaS and
PaaS. This is primarily because the SaaS cloud model offers the same
benefits of a traditional IT unit in terms of services and solutions for
the management. Further, the SaaS model offers many other advantages
by significantly reducing capital expenses perhaps this can be a good
enough reason. IT Managers/CIOs have to address many factors and
challenges before choosing the right cloud model for their enterprise.
This is critical as the chosen cloud model is likely to drive many other
decisions in running the enterprise and business, so it is imperative
to first answer this important question “Will a cloud model make sense
for my business?” The best approach would be to look for solutions in
all the cloud models and types and choose the one that provides maximum
business value.
