Not in my castle on a cloud

One of the more memorable lines penned by South African-born lyricist Herbert Kretzmer for the acclaimed stage musical 'Les Mis'erables' is: “I know a place where no one's lost, I know a place where no one cries... crying is not allowed, not in my castle on a cloud.”

For those involved in the high-intensity world of IT, this line may resonate. Technologies linked to cloud computing now represent any number of opportunities to reject individually owned, earth-bound, server-based infrastructures and rebuild or reconstitute them as utopian-like castles in the ether - with the power and capacity to reshape the business world below.

Unfortunately, without first making the correct choices in terms of technology, implementation strategy and support, the chances of success shrink, while those of being lost in a maze of mega-technology are enhanced - along with the inevitable tears when system glitches, cost over-runs, data loss and other critical failures spoil the fantasy.

While cloud technologies can significantly change the way businesses run their operations, creating new business models and rendering old ones obsolete, there is no need to rush the changes.

One of the most important benefits delivered by cloud technologies is cost reduction associated with the use of external service providers operating on a massive, global scale.

However, there are risks involved with the cloud, and it's important to work with experienced consultants who are able to 'think outside the box' when conceptualising and creating a proactive, future-proof strategy. In my experience, it's a vital rule that's particularly relevant in today's increasingly complex computing environment. The best advice anyone can give is first take advantage of the experiences gained by early adopters, and don't 'move to the cloud' simply because it's the fashionable thing to do right now.

Cloud solutions come in many guises; there is no 'one-size-fits-all'. For newcomers to the cloud, particularly small companies or start-up organisations, it is best to rely on basic cloud services, such as e-mail and social media, while allowing experiences to accumulate.

Don't 'move to the cloud' simply because it's the fashionable thing to do.

Martin May is regional director at Enterasys Networks.

Only then should a move to more substantial cloud-based services be made. These could include applications as diverse as subscription-levied file synchronisation, automated pricing and billing platforms, application deployment, virtualisation and management as well as disaster recovery - currently one of the more popular cloud applications in larger organisations.

Importantly, the deployment of any cloud computing framework must be able to automatically provision and prioritise applications and users. This framework must also provide all of the critical requirements for existing and new cloud applications. Meeting these targets is daunting, even for large, established companies.

As one industry commentator says: “Transferring large-scale business processes to the cloud can be extremely scary.” I agree. Once an organisation settles on a cloud application and throws all the corporate weight behind its adoption, it is often a costly exercise to change course.

My advice to end-users is to choose wisely and carefully before committing to any service provider. Once committed to a provider and its line of business applications, it can be hard to make changes.

One of the biggest decisions facing organisations that commit to a cloud future will be whether to opt for a traditional cloud (public or private) or hybrid cloud application. The choice is not easy and must be made with a view of the future that extends well over the visible horizon, with evolving system management and security issues always in mind.

These choices are becoming more complex as new cloud services are unveiled and organisations develop new ways of using them for improved business agility in rapidly changing markets.

Organisations deciding on the private cloud route, for example, will have to take a long, hard look at the health of their existing underlying networks and their readiness to support the challenges linked with private cloud implementations, which include significant, unavoidable increases in network utilisation.

Because cloud services will be around for many years to come, the quality of the work done today to fit them into development strategies and future corporate infrastructures will determine whether the company in question enjoys a tear-free zone in the clouds, or experiences some form of hell on earth.