Over the last four decades, new technologies were considered disruptive initially, with hype moving faster than reality. But when technology is understood, the benefits begin to outweigh the negatives. Cloud concepts can mean different things to different people. Here are five cloud computing myths and facts.
Myth one: the public cloud is the most inexpensive way to procure IT services.
A characteristic of the public cloud is a relatively inexpensive pay-as-you-use model: for resources that are needed constantly, enterprises can actually reduce costs by leveraging other cloud models, such as shared resources delivered through a private cloud.
The private cloud is then more cost-efficient than the pay-as-you-use public cloud model. Cloud strategy is essential. It is not a simple exercise, as the cloud roadmap must address all aspects of performance, security, control, and availability requirements.
Myth two: baby steps in virtualisation are the only way to reach the cloud.
The real transformation comes when organisations fully embrace cloud computing. Building even a private cloud brings tremendous benefits such as reducing IT complexity, significantly lowering IT costs, and enabling a more flexible and agile service delivery.
Not that virtualisation and cloud computing are mutually exclusive. Many technologists now believe a virtualised infrastructure is a strong catalyst for the next step, the adoption of cloud computing. A private cloud based on shared pools of resources – resources that can be automatically tapped to meet business needs – can help IT keep up.
The private cloud allows IT managers to have complete control over available assets, while adhering to the security standards required both within the cloud and in the data centre. With cloud patching and upgrading the OS, applications or databases can be automated to dramatically reduce the time IT administrators spend maintaining applications.
Myth three: critical applications do not belong in the cloud.
It is one thing to relegate a few servers running test and development jobs to a cloud-based infrastructure. But delivering business applications quickly and efficiently continues to be the most important charter for IT organisations.
Studies such as a recent one by Forbes show that IT executives are under extreme pressure to cut infrastructure costs, adjust their service levels to meet changing needs, and deliver applications with greater speed.
IT professionals are interested in cloud computing to help them address all these three requirements. The cloud can be configured to run these applications speedily, safely, and securely.
Myth four: all cloud security requirements are created equally.
The use of a public cloud service can provide relief from investments in hardware and software, as one pays for service delivery instead. Cloud services are now often obtained by various areas of the business, which means IT must manage at the service level. But is the private cloud model impenetrable? No. Vulnerabilities exist with a connection to the internet. There also remains the threat of insider attacks and data theft.
To cope with these security challenges, one must start off with a comprehensive risk understanding and analysis. A high-level security architecture for the cloud-based services must also be laid out. One should define additional security controls required to protect information assets in different types of cloud environments.
Myth five: there is only one way to do cloud computing,
The hybrid cloud is composed of two or more clouds (private, community, or public). These clouds remain unique entities, but they are bound together by standardised technology that enables data and application portability (cloud bursting for load-balancing between clouds).
Beatrix Mueller-Meszarich is managing director at HP CDG. Nikola Markovski is technology services and cloud lead at HP CDG. Both are responsible for Malta.