Choosing one of the various cloud options available today can be exhausting. Most enterprises have adopted an IT strategy that is moving away from on-premises in at least some small part. However, understanding the benefits and putting a strategy in place to get there can often be significantly easier than the actual execution. With this in mind, with a seemingly endless array to choose from, how does an organization decide to pick one or another, or any combination of clouds?
It would be rare, if not impossible, to identify an organization that wouldn’t benefit from implementing the cloud. With this in mind, most enterprise organizations have adopted an IT strategy that is moving away from on-premises in at least some small part, and that is moving towards the benefits of cloud services. However, simply understanding the benefits of the cloud and putting a strategy in place to get there can often be significantly easier than the actual execution.
To start with, choosing one of the many cloud options can be exhausting. In the public cloud realm, things range from Platform-as-a-Service environments, such as AWS Elastic Beanstalk to Software-as-a-Service offerings like Microsoft Office365 to Infrastructure-as-a-Service environments, such as AWS and Azure. Alternatively, or perhaps even in conjunction with, private cloud service providers can offer more comprehensive end-to-end services that are entirely managed for ultimate ease of use.
Taking all of this into consideration, with an endless array of options to choose from, how does an organization decide to pick one or another, or any combination of clouds?
What Does Cloud Mean to a Business?
The problem is, each potential choice can offer its own advantages to a business. Increased productivity, reduced environmental complexity, lowered costs to name a few. But the most successful strategies implement services that make the most sense to the specific organization.
An organization looking to adopt the cloud should identify how its core critical services and applications are consumed before deciding on the best options to take. This applies to both, internal as well as external users – both will determine the impact and practicality of implementing a cloud platform.
Application Architecture: An Important Consideration
The format, as well as the origin of applications, should be important differentiators when it comes to cloud considerations.
If an organization’s applications and services are web-based and subject to burst and scale up considerations, it might make more sense to utilize a public cloud provider like Azure or EC2. Both provide elastic and automatic autoscaling that encourage applications to perform their best in line with changing demand and often allow for custom metrics that an organization can define based on its personal requirements.
Alternatively, applications that tend to be static or have been architected for virtual or physical environments might benefit more from leveraging private cloud services. This also applies if there is a business case for externalizing the operational aspects of the IT environment.
Adopting the Right Toolset
Whichever route an organization opts to take, it makes sense to implement technology that can combine any number or manner of different cloud platforms and provide a centralized platform to manage them.Leveraging a platform that can help transition-critical applications with no disruption to end-user services and that is interoperable among environments will help to solidify IT plans and ensure they are resilient for the future.
A company’s cloud needs today might not be the same as its cloud needs tomorrow. Opting for a solution that permits a change in line with evolving business needs – all while avoiding vendor lock-in and removing risk – will provide the best survival rate when navigating the elusive cloud minefield.
It is important to remember that there is no silver bullet and if someone or something claims there is then they are probably wrong. Optimizing applications for the cloud is an ongoing process and one that should be continuously evaluated. Organizations should look for technology partners and independent consultants that are well-versed in combining cloud solutions for the best advice as to where to put what, as well as which solutions can help facilitate these changes along the way.