Below are the points that need to be thought through while migrating to Cloud or using cloud services:
Vendor Selection
Selecting the right vendor who understands the needs and business requirements of the customers offering the best possible solution at an affordable price is important. Quality, data security, cost, SLA and post sales support should be the criteria for selecting a vendor. One should not go after big names making towering claims.
Service Level Agreement
Service level agreement (SLA) offered by the vendor should fit into your organizational policies. There are many questions that should be answered by the provider e.g. Uptime and availability of the services, process of switching from one provider to another and any extra charges for this, ensuring that associated data is removed after quitting the service and downtime in moving between providers.
Evaluate Infrastructure
It sounds very tempting that software and hardware costs will drastically come down once the applications are moved to cloud. But assuming that cloud computing can solve all your problems can be a bit misleading. Many enterprises and corporate houses will have highly sensitive data which they might not want to share or migrate to the cloud, so local infrastructure cannot be removed completely. Internet connection, routers, firewall, Wi-Fi points, local backup server and printers are some constituents of infrastructure which will still be needed. Careful evaluation of the infrastructure is needed when using cloud services.
Migrating application to Cloud
Migrating application to cloud could potentially be very quick, straightforward and cost effective, but there is a significant cost if data needs to be transferred outside cloud, between cloud and some other public resource. Cloud platform does not support enterprise security schemes (though there might be some exceptions like allowing cloud machines to be joined with enterprise domain), in such scenarios enterprise single sign on will not work and might require creating separate logins for the application users or some sort of identity federation will be required. So there are many areas which need to be taken care of before making a migration decision.
The Cost
An important question that comes in mind while migrating applications to cloud or using cloud services is the cost involved. Though you have to pay only for what you use, there might be other charges like setup fee, effort in migrating the application to cloud, purchasing subscriptions (charged only once) etc. that needs to be paid. One needs to fully understand the cost model of the service provider and ask the service provider to declare any hidden costs that may be there – some of which may include charges for going over storage limits, the number of help desk calls and the amount of bandwidth you utilize.
Performance
Applications running remotely do not have a smooth user experience; this is because of the intermittent internet connection. Data has to travel around the internet and it goes through many processes as it works its way around various routers, data centers, servers, and other infrastructure. Issues like high network latency, congestion, and slow network speed can become a routine problem and affect the overall work and timeline of deliverables. A solution to this problem is utilizing the geographically located content delivery networks setup by cloud providers; this would decrease the data travelling time and prevent congestion thereby increasing the performance.
Safety Issues/Data Security
Security can be a big concern, especially if there is legally sensitive information to be stored. It is necessary to evaluate the providers security by finding out whether the service provider is a regular target of hacking attempts or how often have his systems been compromised, confidentiality of information, ensuring that information flow is not shared, ensuring that the data stored on the cloud is as safe as any other solution on the local system, data encryption not only while traveling to and from the cloud solution but also when being stored and backed up, trusting the service provider for updating/ backing up records, finding whether regular audits are conducted for the provider. It is important to address all these issues as your decision to move to cloud might do you more harm than solving your problem.
Application Support
It is useful to know out the level of control that you have over the application on cloud. One needs to lookout for the impact of service provider’s average issue resolution time.
Technical Integration
Many enterprise applications cannot be completely migrated to cloud either due to cloud restrictions or due to data dependecies with other on-premise applications. In such scenerios only a part of the application can be migrated to cloud and other part remains on-premise which poses integration challenges and might require additional effort and costing. So it is important to analyze these challenges that one might face and then decide as to how and which applications need to be moved to cloud.
Rollback & migrating to another cloud
There can be a situation where an application is migrated to cloud but later the application needs to be migrated to other cloud, there is a risk here as migration costs could be significant and some cloud service providers require a long-term contract to avoid setup fees.
So, the cost and benefits of moving an application to cloud should be analysed properly before actual application migration.
Like any new technology cloud computing has its own set of challenges. Careful handling and good understanding of the above mentioned points can not only reduce the risks but can prove as a cost effective solution to your business needs
By Mudit Malhotra
He is a Software Engineer in HCL Technologies. He has a profound experience in Cloud Computing.
Here are the some valid points that I thought worth mentioning it:
Did I Piss You Off - Bla Bla Bla....Its a another, and less interesting way of say network resourses...or Networked. Cloud...haha someone has been playing with the Visio icons to much! lol I think they are trying to get stupid people up to speed with the rest of society that already understands simple networking! lol
Jul 12, 2011
Olivia Cassandrae - No you did not piss me. Come on, you can comment what ever you want to . . . ! Thank you.
Jul 12, 2011 - Edit
Adam Hirschfeld - Like you said earlier about being bound- it's all in the design, google+ is just more utilitarian. If this is a trial run, where is it going to be in a year? I see it replacing facebook...
Jul 12, 2011
+1
Brian Durden - Cloud computing is quite a bit more complex than 'simple networking' or 'network resources'. MUCH more complex. Not only does the concept cover multiple network types for storage, but also for access.
Saying cloud computing is just 'networked resources' is like saying a modern automobile is just an engine. There's a lot more to cloud computing than 'just a network' much like there's a lot more to the Google search algorithm than string parsing.
Nice article, I've not seen most of that information put so well together.
Saying cloud computing is just 'networked resources' is like saying a modern automobile is just an engine. There's a lot more to cloud computing than 'just a network' much like there's a lot more to the Google search algorithm than string parsing.
Nice article, I've not seen most of that information put so well together.
Jul 12, 2011
+1
Adam Hirschfeld - Yes Brian, exactly. This all started with professional video editers actually, as a way of rendering projects faster, people have been doing this as long as computers have existed, it's only now going mainstream, and it's only gotten more complex as people use various new networks and points of access and all that as you said.
Jul 12, 2011
Olivia Cassandrae - Brian thank you. Cloud Computing gives a very good substrate to a developer. It is a powerful tool, if not use wisely it can be a disaster as well.
I was once failed to sell one my product to a client just because I did not heed the security of Cloud Computing.
This is my first failure in my IT field. Total disaster, when my client found a very big loop whole in our project that we were proudly presenting him. We were like total looser's.
But fine, it taught us a very good lesson. But still I believe it's a very portable network I ever encountered in my career . . .
I was once failed to sell one my product to a client just because I did not heed the security of Cloud Computing.
This is my first failure in my IT field. Total disaster, when my client found a very big loop whole in our project that we were proudly presenting him. We were like total looser's.
But fine, it taught us a very good lesson. But still I believe it's a very portable network I ever encountered in my career . . .
Yesterday 12:07 AM - Edit
Gary Cameron - Everything old is new again. I remember more than 10 years ago when sun was trying to pitch diskless workstations where everything from the apps to the OS was in the cloud (read PXE boot of a big ass server) but it failed miserably because network bandwidth and latency couldn't be brought down to the level where replacing the disk made sense.
Nowadays, it all boils down to how well you trust your cloud provider as far as security and reliability goes. Think what is the worst that can happen if that trust is broken and the cloud goes down, goes bankrupt, gets hacked, is unscrupulous enough (or has unscrupulous employees) to sell your data to competitors or spammers.
But maybe the cloud's time has finally come. Proceed with caution...
Nowadays, it all boils down to how well you trust your cloud provider as far as security and reliability goes. Think what is the worst that can happen if that trust is broken and the cloud goes down, goes bankrupt, gets hacked, is unscrupulous enough (or has unscrupulous employees) to sell your data to competitors or spammers.
But maybe the cloud's time has finally come. Proceed with caution...
Yesterday 7:50 AM
Olivia Cassandrae - Cloud is the future now, no one can deny that part. I am looking forward to work in it. It's a hassle free.
Caution is an essential thing which cannot be over looked.
. . .
Caution is an essential thing which cannot be over looked.
. . .
Yesterday 3:59 PM - Edit
Did I Piss You Off - How do you guarantee security with cloud computing?As the focus moves to more of this style setup, it breeds bottlenecking single point failures? A system hack will affect millions of computer systems not just one. Downtime, no scheduling for patch rework.....on and on...your at the mercy of what a large corporation wants you to do.
Yesterday 7:37 PM (edited Yesterday 7:44 PM)
Did I Piss You Off - Second issue...why make a system that everyone must pay for the services when you have them free now? I would think that it is taking away from what the Internet is all about and turning it into a large Corporate network!
Will this cloud be setup for all OS's. Will be the next question?
Will this cloud be setup for all OS's. Will be the next question?
Yesterday 7:39 PM
Did I Piss You Off - The "Back End" of the internet will always be hidden to people who want to pay extreme prises for software and ride the bandwidth of the corporate money makers. There is a whole new world out there that you probably do not even know exists and its called Open Source! ...hehe..I sound like Morpheus.
Another question..who is going to pay for the US to come up to speed to the rest of the world....we rank what... 14 down the list in speed. We are turtles compared to most places.
Another question..who is going to pay for the US to come up to speed to the rest of the world....we rank what... 14 down the list in speed. We are turtles compared to most places.
Yesterday 7:47 PM
Brian Durden - Security is the current hot-button issue with the cloud. And yes there IS a way for off-grid "cloud" setup. I use one at work. What does bottle-necking have anything to do with this? You're discussing a potential localized bandwidth issue? Do you really know how a cloud works or is it still 'simple networking'?
Why make a system that people have to pay services for? Because many companies don't like running their own internal IT division to maintain their cloud and connected client software/hardware, it complicates things greatly and can be quite expensive (especially when involving a non-tech company like a science R&D group). One of the things the Internet is about is remote access to shared files; cloud computing is an extension of that.
Clouds are generally OS independent regarding access. GMail is cloud-based email; are you required to use Microsoft Windows to use GMail? Of course not. Are you required to use Google Chrome to get at GMail? Of course not.
Why make a system that people have to pay services for? Because many companies don't like running their own internal IT division to maintain their cloud and connected client software/hardware, it complicates things greatly and can be quite expensive (especially when involving a non-tech company like a science R&D group). One of the things the Internet is about is remote access to shared files; cloud computing is an extension of that.
Clouds are generally OS independent regarding access. GMail is cloud-based email; are you required to use Microsoft Windows to use GMail? Of course not. Are you required to use Google Chrome to get at GMail? Of course not.
Yesterday 7:47 PM (edited Yesterday 7:48 PM)
Did I Piss You Off - Bottle-necking...let
This is just two simple HUGE problems for the US.
I have pushed cloud computing for many years and have heard every argument....I think the system is two young and needs BILLIONS of dollars of infrastructure changes to allow it to work...like it was designed to work.
@Brian....your thinking very low level...gmail really...There is not a real R&D firm that would ever use a public system like this. It is not secure and eyes are all over it.
Also, I disagree....let me put it on a level you can understand..... Lets say you company is using a Linux system and the only Cloud resource is Microsoft and some piss and .net language...how do you get around that problem?
This is just two simple HUGE problems for the US.
I have pushed cloud computing for many years and have heard every argument....I think the system is two young and needs BILLIONS of dollars of infrastructure changes to allow it to work...like it was designed to work.
@Brian....your thinking very low level...gmail really...There is not a real R&D firm that would ever use a public system like this. It is not secure and eyes are all over it.
Also, I disagree....let me put it on a level you can understand..... Lets say you company is using a Linux system and the only Cloud resource is Microsoft and some piss and .net language...how do you get around that problem?
Yesterday 8:04 PM
Brian Durden - Why would the 'resource' be over seas? Cloud computing puts multiple copies of objects in multiple areas of the world (if needed). Google's GMail is a prime example, it isn't comprised of a single storage area; there are multiple copies of emails and other data sitting out there.
I don't see it as a huge problem at all; I think you're just rationalizing here.
I'm using GMail as an example of your inability to understand that Clouds are cross-platform, I'm not proposing other companies follow its model. Let's use reading comprehension!
Your posited problem is a farce. Windows and Linux are operating systems not cloud storage models/systems. "Linux" isn't a cloud-computing solution nor is "Microsoft". If the interface for access is there then it doesn't matter what client-side OS one uses (which is why I used the simple GMail example). I don't think you quite understand as much as you think you do; either that or English is not your primary language and you are having a difficult time understanding what I am saying (not a bad thing, just an observation).
I don't see it as a huge problem at all; I think you're just rationalizing here.
I'm using GMail as an example of your inability to understand that Clouds are cross-platform, I'm not proposing other companies follow its model. Let's use reading comprehension!
Your posited problem is a farce. Windows and Linux are operating systems not cloud storage models/systems. "Linux" isn't a cloud-computing solution nor is "Microsoft". If the interface for access is there then it doesn't matter what client-side OS one uses (which is why I used the simple GMail example). I don't think you quite understand as much as you think you do; either that or English is not your primary language and you are having a difficult time understanding what I am saying (not a bad thing, just an observation).
Yesterday 8:27 PM
Did I Piss You Off - ┌∩┐(◣_◢)┌∩┐ sometimes some just have a week mind..mine included, but more so on yours!
Yesterday 8:52 PM
Olivia Cassandrae - + Brain Durden, resource means the people hired to work on some product / project.
'Did I Piss You Off', how do I address you gentlemen? What's your name? DIPYO, let me know how I am supposed to address you.
Dipyo, I agree with him, he has a valid point Brain, you have lost in between, please once again read his comments, he raised very good set of points that has to be given a thought.
1. Security - which will blow the entire system,
2. Patch reworks,
3. Huge costs,
4. OS support,
5. Back ends and
6. Speed.
These six points are valid ones which has to be given a thought. Except for this point, "I would not think that it is taking away from what the Internet is all about and turning it into a large Corporate network!" I would concur with Dipyo.
'Did I Piss You Off', how do I address you gentlemen? What's your name? DIPYO, let me know how I am supposed to address you.
Dipyo, I agree with him, he has a valid point Brain, you have lost in between, please once again read his comments, he raised very good set of points that has to be given a thought.
1. Security - which will blow the entire system,
2. Patch reworks,
3. Huge costs,
4. OS support,
5. Back ends and
6. Speed.
These six points are valid ones which has to be given a thought. Except for this point, "I would not think that it is taking away from what the Internet is all about and turning it into a large Corporate network!" I would concur with Dipyo.
Yesterday 9:17 PM - Edit
Brian Durden - dipyo, so your rebuttal is a weak insult? Nice.
Olivia, dipyo's points are irrelevant. The word 'resource' in the sense of cloud computing does not pertain to people; it pertains to a piece of data or group of data. The original discussion involved him claiming cloud computing was 'simple networking' and just existed to help the uneducated public understand 'simple networks' better. After that dipyo is unable to offer any kind of argument outside of either twisting around what I say or insulting me.
Olivia, dipyo's points are irrelevant. The word 'resource' in the sense of cloud computing does not pertain to people; it pertains to a piece of data or group of data. The original discussion involved him claiming cloud computing was 'simple networking' and just existed to help the uneducated public understand 'simple networks' better. After that dipyo is unable to offer any kind of argument outside of either twisting around what I say or insulting me.
Yesterday 10:22 PM
Did I Piss You Off - I can see where you might not understand the points, because your scope of reason is highly skewed with a lack of education or experience.
Do you want me to make it easier for you to understand...I have kids. I am good at it.
Do you want me to make it easier for you to understand...I have kids. I am good at it.
12:30 AM
Olivia Cassandrae - Brain, I agree, resource is data; I meant by people means of course data. The outcome of this people is data and that has to be transported to the USA. And Dipyo asked here what if this data gets compromised? Who will control and what would be the access point.
I get that you are talking about the data centers, but that's the storage. It's not the topic. It is a point which he is not covering or even touched. He is talking of actual Cloud Computing. Means it's implementation.
How it is implemented into a organization? He is talking about the loop holes here. And while implementing Cloud Computing, CC, he gave those six points.
He is rude and insulting, it's his property. But he has valid points at his end. Give no attention to his mannerisms. You be at your own tone.
. . .
I get that you are talking about the data centers, but that's the storage. It's not the topic. It is a point which he is not covering or even touched. He is talking of actual Cloud Computing. Means it's implementation.
How it is implemented into a organization? He is talking about the loop holes here. And while implementing Cloud Computing, CC, he gave those six points.
He is rude and insulting, it's his property. But he has valid points at his end. Give no attention to his mannerisms. You be at your own tone.
. . .
1:26 AM - Edit
Nice post you have shared. This is great review about cloud computing and excellent explain about this topic. Thanks for sharing it with us.
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