Head in the Clouds?
For most companies, the performance of the IT infrastructure has become business critical, requiring specialist skills and a rigorous regime to ensure its availability, reliability and security. Unfortunately, just running the existing IT estate absorbs a significant proportion of the available IT skills and budget, so releasing these is key to faster development of new projects and strategic initiatives. Everyone is talking about Cloud computing and the potential benefits that it brings on many levels.
From the CIO to the IT administrator, to the end user, cloud computing has the opportunity to dramatically change the way that applications are delivered to both consumers and the enterprise alike. The new cloud computing model can increase the quality of services delivered, it can provide enterprises with increased agility in scaling and resizing the amount of computing resource required, and its potential for reducing costs are just some of the many drivers that will make "the cloud" a common application delivery mechanism over the coming years. Specialist cloud computing providers will provide complementary services with resources, professional services, project management and specialist application components, to meet a wide range of IT needs, from individual developers and small start ups to medium and large enterprises and public sector organisations.
However, the lack of a common definition for cloud computing, the lack of standards and the ability for applications and data to be moved across different vendors clouds, will prove significant barriers to widespread cloud adoption. In an early adopter market, fuelled with the amount of hype and misunderstanding that there is, it is likely that many companies marketing themselves as"cloud providers" today will probably have shifted focus or left the market altogether in just a few years time. This confusion and the perceived risks associated with hosting corporate data, or moving applications to non-compatible clouds in short periods, will understandably represent barriers to adoption for many.
As with any sound IT decision, the move to a cloud model should be based on a solid understanding of the underlying business needs and drivers. In uncertain and challenging times, cost will be an important factor, but in changing the delivery and acquisition model for IT-related services, there are additional considerations to take into account such as service levels and the required SLAs, contract lengths, billing frequency and limits, service flexibility and the ability to transition or migrate to another provider, to name but a few.
Leading analysts such as Gartner and existing adopters of the cloud model are finding that the benefits are typically ordered as: 1. increased agility, 2. improved quality of service and 3. potential for reduced costs of ownership.
Amazon EC2 has certainly defined the cloud for many, with an attractive feature list and compelling price point. However few enterprises today are using it for more than backing up secondary data or trialling non-critical, prototype applications, as they determine if and how to deploy cloud services for their business. With no meaningful SLAs, few businesses could or would run all of their applications in this environment.
So if public clouds such as Amazon EC2 and Microsoft Azure are being trialled at the application level in the cloud, what are Enterprises that are using the cloud to deliver business-critical applications relying on?
Most businesses are looking for the agility to re-purpose and re-provision their computing resources, and to improve their quality of service, by leveraging the cloud. These businesses want the ability to run existing applications, configured to meet their business needs, and this is delivered by the type of cloud computing called "Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)". Just as in a physical environment, operating systems are monitored and managed, but they now just happen to be virtual Machines (VMs) deployed into the cloud and able to leverage the benefits typically attributed to cloud computing. Enterprises will need to develop new skills and adopt more rigour in clarifying requirements regarding features, service levels and priorities, as part of a collaborative partnership. They will look to the cloud provider for management services such as application monitoring, database management and performance management alongside existing infrastructure services, with a level of trust and confidence.
In summary, the widespread enthusiasm and belief in the future of cloud computing is well founded. Many small and medium-sized organisations are already enjoying the benefits that it delivers. However, if meaningful Service Level Agreements and certainty in the delivery of the IT infrastructure are important, then businesses should look beyond the public clouds for other types of cloud computing solutions that are more proven, and more appropriate to their businesses.