How to prepare for the implementation of cloud computing

Many enterprise IT professionals think of cloud computing as a low-level form of outsourcing. This reflects the fact that most cloud-based services are still not up to corporate standards and cannot be supervised and controlled by IT managers.

However, the business sector sees the concept of cloud computing as an attractive option. The business unit is puzzled by the speed with which the enterprise IT department adapts to cloud computing needs.

Cloud computing has all the proof of quality as a disruptive technological innovation. All IT professionals should be aware of this.

As one early application pointed out, the resistance to cloud computing was largely political and bureaucratic, not technical. When you go into cloud computing, you don't know who controls what and who is currently on the resources. We are still studying political issues. We have only succeeded in some small departments, but this shows value.

Don't ignore cloud computing and want it to disappear, consider the following questions:

• Start experimenting with cloud computing with unimportant applications. Some cloud computing can also be used to provide overloaded capacity.

• Prepare the business unit to adopt cloud computing. Even if the IT department cannot justify the use of cloud computing, your business unit will be able to prove it. Cloud computing is a tempting business. The infrastructure of cloud computing can be configured with a credit card, and the entry and exit thresholds are low. Don't stop these efforts, learn from them.

• Let cloud computing vendors know what you want. These companies need your business and look forward to providing you with guidance on what to win. Once you've experienced their service, tell them if they need to introduce some changes to better meet your needs. We've seen a lot of difference in cloud computing products and you have to compare to buy them. Harald Prokop, senior vice president of engineering at Akamai, said he looked forward to seeing many different cloud products compete. If you have a huge demand for processor, storage, or geographic distribution, there is a cloud model for that requirement.

• Use cloud infrastructure within the company. Learn how cloud computing vendors can improve the utilization and reuse of your internal infrastructure. Hardware and server workload abstraction is critical, and using virtualization software can do the job. Blade servers, such as HP and IBM, can dynamically move workloads through new virtual I/O capabilities and middleware software provided by some vendors. Middleware software provided by some vendors, including 3Tera, Cassatt and DataSynapse, can provide this functionality for blade servers and traditional infrastructure (virtual or physical).

• Build your own cloud computing. If you have large data center resources and application deployment is the core competency of your business, using a cloud computing architecture can help your IT department respond better to your business needs. Some vendors ' plans, such as IBM's Blue Cloud Computing program, may help in this regard. If you are providing infrastructure services to external customers, don't just say it, but do it and test the results.

Is cloud computing ready for business applications? not yet. But cloud computing is rapidly maturing. The concept of cloud computing is very popular in emerging companies, because cloud computing is suitable for small businesses to buy products and has the potential to change what we know about it. IT professionals can ignore cloud computing. But doing so may be a mistake, because cloud computing looks like a classic disruptive technique.