Emtec »

Accueil Adviser Articles Emtec Adviser - Are You Prepared for the Cloud?

Emtec Adviser - Are You Prepared for the Cloud?

Upfront assessment of applications, architecture key to successful cloud initiatives.
 

Cloud computing promises to dramatically increase the speed with which applications are designed, built and delivered. To reap all these benefits, however, organizations must do their homework and make good decisions up front. An excellent starting point is a cloud readiness assessment.

A readiness assessment can help organizations determine what applications can most effectively be shifted to a cloud platform. Despite the overwhelming industry hype, the cloud isn’t always the most suitable choice for certain applications, particularly those with heavy computing power, network bandwidth and online transaction processing (OLTP) requirements.

Only by aligning the architecture — compute, network, data center, power and storage resources — with applications can an organization be on the path to achieve the reliability and performance it requires within a cloud environment.
“In cloud computing, true protection is an outcome of the right architecture for the right application,” said Janel Ryan, senior product marketing manager at SunGard Availability Services.  “Organizations need to fully understand their individual application requirements and, if using a cloud platform, the corresponding cloud architecture. With that knowledge, they can make informed decisions about what cloud platform best meets the reliability and performance requirements of their specific applications.”

Here are five considerations for companies looking at cloud computing architectures.

Availability. Not all applications are created equal, nor are all cloud platforms the same. Organizations need to tier their applications, identifying which applications need to be highly available, which can accept downtime and how much downtime is acceptable. They need to understand the business risk associated with a lack of availability of their data. For those applications that need to be highly available, businesses should consider enterprise-class technologies that have been rigorously tested versus looking at building something internally. It's also important to look at multi-site solutions and disaster recovery/business continuity planning. For most businesses, this means working with a service provider or consultant because they usually have access to greater levels of expertise and provide these services as their core business.

Security. Security is still the primary concern for businesses regarding the cloud. Concerns include the loss of control of their sensitive data, the risks associated with a multitenant environment, and how to address standards and compliance. Organizations need to know how a shared, multitenant environment is segmented to prevent customer overlap. How is the solution architected? Is the service provider's cloud infrastructure — network, virtualization and storage platforms — secure? 

Manageability. Businesses need to determine what they are accountable for versus what they expect from a service provider. Most public cloud vendors do not provide administrative support. Organizations need to have the technical expertise in-house to design the right solution or seek the services of an outside provider. They should define what level of management their applications require and have an identified change management process. 

Performance. As with a more traditional hosting model, it's important to understand workload demands on the infrastructure and what the potential bottlenecks are. Organizations should perform their own testing to evaluate how a cloud environment affects compute, storage and network resources.

Compliance. Organizations need to determine where their data will reside as well as who will interact with it and how. They need to understand which areas of compliance the service provider controls and how to audit against the standards and regulations to which they need to adhere.