Cloud computing is no longer just boardroom talk, or images bandied about on marketing material but a reality.
This emerged during theNetApp Quarterly VP Summit at Melrose Arch yesterday. Speaking during the event, Mike Styer, country manager of NetApp SA, said the economic and social motivation for the cloud is high, as it speaks to the business need for speed and agility, as well as cost efficiencies.
However, he noted, as the number of success stories for cloud computing grows, there is still a small gap among emerging economies as to whether or not the cloud is a viable option for them.
The storage vendor said the benefits of investing in the cloud far outweigh the potential pitfalls or inhibitors and organisations need to investigate these before they purchase potentially outdated and proprietary technologies.
According to Styer, the notion that cloud computing is the use of Internet-based services to sustain a business process supports the organisational need for rapid deployment of technologies and faster value realisation as well as cost efficiencies.
He also pointed out that the fact that little to no start-up cost or capital investment is required in order to enter the cloud makes it an attractive proposition for companies.
“When you deploy services in the cloud, you can do so quickly and easily and you can also take advantage of the fact that scaling these up or down comes with little to no penalties to yourself,” said Styer.
“Remember services in the cloud are multi-tenant, making it an evasive service, particularly relevant for the growing business.”
Looking ahead at the future of the cloud, Styer said: “There is no doubt there is a future for cloud computing; just look at where the big technology players such as Google, Amazon, Microsoft and IBM are putting their money - its going into the cloud.
“But what now needs to happen is that standards for the cloud need to emerge that will drive down apprehension and drive up adoption of services.”
However, he also noted, with any new service or technology innovation, there are risks, and warned that a business should always know what they are paying for, what their service level agreements are, and what they can measure the service they are receiving against.
“It would be foolhardy to rush into the cloud without carefully reviewing service levels, privacy, compliance, data ownership and data mobility,” said Styer.
“You need to know what you hope to achieve from adopting cloud services, the level of experience and the quality of the products and services your hardware and software partners.”
He also revealed that NetApp has found, among its customers, that companies that are successfully working in the cloud are those that are enhancing their existing infrastructures to take advantage of 'cloud bursting'.
This, he reckons, enables them to quickly leverage resources from the cloud rather than investing in those resources in-house, adding that development and testing is also happening in the cloud, which, in turn, reduces capital spending and related data centre costs while increasing speed and agility.
“If you want to dip your toe in the water before taking the leap into cloud services, then it is my suggestion that you identify some mature cloud services, such as e-mail, and test these against your expectations,” added Styer.
“Don't just look outside for services; also look internally and devise a strategy on how to evolve some of your internal infrastructure to a cloud model.”
When devising cloud strategy, NetApp advised organisations to ask a series of questions before taking the first step: 'How do you improve speed and agility; how can you support your business operations with fewer fixed expenses; and what can you do to engage a new generation of professionals?'
“It is critical, when starting the process, to define the business needs related to the deployment of the cloud services.
“Start with assessing your ability to assist in contracting for cloud services, then identify which services can reside in the cloud and which should be internal, and, lastly, develop a sourcing strategy to achieve the low cost, scalability and flexibility your business is seeking,” stated Styer.
He added that once companies have these elements in place, they can successfully ramp their business towards cloud computing and not a moment sooner.
“Remember the cloud is here; you just need to develop a strategy that suits your business needs and then takes you there.”
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