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6Keyconsiderationsforplanningyourmovetothecloud01Jul2014TechonlinePrintView

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6Keyconsiderationsforplanningyourmoveto
thecloud
01Jul2014,
ThecloudtechnologyindustryinIndiaisexperiencingasignificantgrowthperiod.AGartnerreport
suggeststhataroundUSD3.9billionwillbespentoncloudservicesinIndiafrom2013through2017,of
whichUSD1.7billionwillbespentonSaaS.WhileSaaSdominatesasthelargestcloudgrowth
segment,theconcurrenthighgrowthratesofsupportingIaaSandPaaStechnologylayersmakethem
importantmarketstowatch.Companies,bigandsmall,understandtheimportanceofadoptingcloud
technology,butquiteoftenarenotarmedwiththerequisiteknowledgetomakeinformeddecisions.
Giventhefundamentalshiftthatcloudcomputingoffers,organizationsarenaturallyapprehensiveabout
thepotentialrisksofmovingITinfrastructuretothecloud.Therefore,tomakethemovesuccessfully,
thereareanumberofkeyconsiderationsthatneedtobeanalyzed,evaluatedandconsidered.Letstakea
closerlookatthese:
1)Whichcloudisrightforyou?
Whentalkingaboutamovetothecloud,someITmanagersnarrowlythinkofjustthepubliccloud.
Rememberthatpubliccloudisforeveryone,butnoteverything.HybridCloudisacombinationofpublic
cloud,privatecloudanddedicatedhostingwithasecuremechanismtocombineandswitchamongstthe
three,therebyputtingtherightworkloadontherighttypeofhostinginfrastructure.
HybridCloudoffersthisflexibilityofgettingtherighttypeofcloudtofityourarchitectureand
applicationsthanforcefittingeverythingintothepubliccloud.Atthesimplestlevel,publiccloudisbest
suitedfornoncompetitivelydifferentiatingapplications,withlowpercentagesofhighlynicheorlegacy
applications,withrelativelyeasiermanagementcontrol,securityandcomplianceneedsandwhichare
highlyvariableinnature,oftenspikingordippingintermsofloads.
Dedicatedhostingisbestsuitedtoapplicationsthathaveveryhighperformancerequirementsintermsof
input/outputandlatency,besidesstringentmanagementcontrol,complianceandsecurityrequirements
andingeneral,growingsteadilyratherthanbeingvariable.Privatecloudwouldfallsomewhereinthe
middleofthespectrum.
2)Whichappsshouldyoumove?Howdoyoudetermineperformanceconsiderations?
Organizationsshouldhaveastrategicallywellthoughtoutapproachtowardsmovingtheirappstothe
Cloud.Organizationsshouldlookforapplicationsthat
Havesignificantinteractionwithexternalapplicationsorservices
Arevariableintheirusagewithsignificantspikesanddipsonaperiodicbasis
Arenotapointofdifferentiationbetweentheorganizationanditscompetitors
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6Keyconsiderationsforplanningyourmovetothecloud01Jul2014TechonlinePrintView

Thesetypesofapplicationsareprimecandidatesforamovetothepubliccloud.Whencontemplating
movinganapplicationtotheCloud,itisimportanttoaccuratelyassesstheperformancerequirements.
Forexampleanapplicationwithhightransactionaldatabaseinput/outputtransferratesmayprove
problematictomovetothepublicCloud.Thesewouldbebetterkeptondedicatedhosting.
Similarly,applicationsthathaveaveryhighCPUorRAMrequirementsmaybeeitherdifficult,orcost
prohibitive,tomovetothepubliccloud.Sinceeachsituationisdifferent,thebestcourseofactionisto
speakwithvendorsaboutguaranteedperformanceintheirhybridCloudspacetoensurethatyour
applicationsareputontherightmixofdedicatedhosting,privatecloudandpubliccloud.
3)Security&complianceconsiderationsofadoptingcloud
Organizationsshouldbeawarethatsecurityisapartnershipbetweenthevendorandtheuser.They
shouldthereforeclearlyascertainwhichaspectsofsecurityaretheresponsibilityofthevendorandwhich
aretheresponsibilityoftheuser.
Organizationsshouldfullyappraiseandbeawareoftheirowncompliancerequirements,andtherefore
examinetowhatdegreecloudcomputingmeetstheserequirements.
Privatecloudordedicatedhostingmaybebettersuitedtosomeapplicationsthanthepubliccloudas
drivenbystringentsecurity,complianceandsomecases,justamanagementdesiretohavemorecontrol
overapplications.
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4)Migrationstrategy
OftenoverlookedisthecostandtimeittakestomoveanexistingworkloadtotheCloud.Specificfactors
tothinkabouthereinclude:
Adviceandworkloadanalysisofwhichtypeofhostingdedicatedhosting,privatecloudorpublic
cloudisthebestfit
ThebandwidthcostofmovingsignificantamountsofdatatotheCloud
Thetimetakentotransferdatainthemigrationprocess
Inthecaseofanapplication,thebusinessprocessinvolvedinamigration(downtime,business
continuity,trainingetc)
5)Architectingforthecloud
Theapplicationsbeingdeployedsometimesneedtobearchitected(orrearchitected)totakeadvantage
oftheinherentlyscalablenatureofcloudcomputing.Legacyapplications,forinstance,maynotbeable
totrulyleveragethebenefitsthepubliccloudcanbringwithoutsignificantrearchitecting.Itmaybe
bettertoleavethemindedicatedhostingenvironmentsandcombinewithotherapplicationsonpublic
cloudforoptimalperformanceandcostconsiderations.
6)Externalbusinessconsiderations
Afterdealingwiththetechnicalconsiderationsinvolvedinamovetothecloud,hereareafewexternal
businessconsiderationstokeepinmind:
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6Keyconsiderationsforplanningyourmovetothecloud01Jul2014TechonlinePrintView

Whattodoaboutsunkcosts?
Sunkcoststhathavebeenretrospectivelyincurredinthepastareanissueanytimeanorganization
considersmovingawayfromaproductorprocessthathasrequiredcapitalexpendituretosetup.In
situationslikethis,itmaymakesensefororganizationstolooktoagradualmovetotheCloud.
Costsandplanningforvariability
OrganizationsconsideringamovetotheCloudshouldpayattentiontotheirassessmentsofexpected
growthinordertotrulyprovideacostcomparisonbetweenCloudandtraditionalIT.SincemostCloud
vendorsprovidetransparentpricing,businessforecastingcanenableacompanytodeterminetheir
monthlycostforbudgetingpurposes.
OrganizationsshouldseektoleveragetheknowledgeoftheirCloudvendoraswellassimilarendusers
toidentifybestpracticeapproachestowardscapacityplanningfortheCloud.Hybridcloudallowsyouto
Payasyougrow.Asmentionedearlier,publiccloudmayinitiallybemostsuitable,butatsomepoint
inthegrowth,youmayneedtocombinewithprivatecloudordedicatedhosting.
ChoosingavendorandavoidingvendorLockin
Cloudcomputingcostspreferablyshouldbevariableanddirectlyrelatedtousage.Usersshouldalso
avoidvendorswhoseektosetaminimumchargeforcomputeorstorageasitimpactsupontheflexibility
oftheoffering.
Performancedashboardsshouldgiveuserscertaintyandtransparencyovertheavailabilityand
performanceoftheirvendor.Avendorwhoprovideshighlevelsofsupportshouldbepriority.
Toavoidvendorlockin,organizationsshouldlookatanumberofdifferentfactors:
1. DoesthevendoruseindustrystandardAPIsorproprietaryones?
2. Doesthevendorprovidequickandeasydataextractionintheeventthatthecustomerwishesto
shift?
3. Doesthevendoruseopenstandardsorhavetheycreatedtheirownwaysofdoingthings?
4. CantheCloudComputingservicebecontrolledbythirdpartycontrolpanels?
Inconclusion,developingamethodologythatdealswiththetwodistinctareasinwhichissuescanarise
willinformandempowertheorganizationtodevelopstrategiestodealwiththedifferentissues.Indoing
so,asuccessfulandbeneficialmigrationtothecloudwillbemorelikely.
Doyouhaveanyadditionstothislist?Leaveacommentbelow!
Copyright2015UBMIndia,Allrightsreserved

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