8 Big questions you have to think about in cloud computing

In order to let enterprises into the era of cloud services, you racked your brains, shirtless, your soul possessed ... Now that you have succeeded, the boss agreed to the proposal to sign the cloud. So what's next?

Of course, you will build a complete project plan, right? However, cloud computing is different from ordinary projects, and you need to consider its unique strengths and weaknesses. Let's ask you eight questions, you first have to make a good answer, and then pull the switch, of course, before the cloud query, 51cto.com readers can refer to the following article "cloud computing" has become an inevitable trend where the opportunity? "Analysis: 2015 cloud computing market size will reach 180 billion U.S. dollars" In order to have a more comprehensive understanding of cloud computing.

One: Are you sure it's safe?

Security remains the most worrying issue for cloud computing, the study found. You should have verified the security practices and policies of cloud service providers, but now it's time to go further and send your security team over. You need to let the service provider put your cloud platform into the day-to-day security audits, and at the very least include the usual scans and penetration tests, and your team should analyze potential vulnerabilities. The analysis results must not be taken lightly, because there have been some real examples, the company would like to use cloud services to transmit confidential data, the result is found that they will be searched by search engines. Of course, this security concern is not unfounded, according to 51CTO before the article, including Cisco in many companies to cloud computing security newspaper hesitant attitude, detailed see "Cisco CEO Chambers called Cloud Computing is a security nightmare."

B: What is your support plan?

The next key step is to expand your support contact list beyond the sales team. Like everyone else, we love professional salespeople, but once you start using the cloud services regularly, you should build a much more contact list than the usual support list.

This approach was appreciated by Midwest Finance, which recently moved mail services to cloud providers, and then one day suddenly a series of emails were rejected. The company's IT team called the service provider's support, but the problem was not resolved two hours later. So the IT team, in addition to non-stop cooperation with the service provider, but also quickly find more people to solve the problem. If the team does not jump out of the ordinary, it may take a whole day or more to resolve the problem.

You need to be sure you can get out of the supplier's normal support channel. You may not like social networks yourself, but LinkedIn and Facebook's technology community not only help you to quickly verify and solve problems, but also allow you to exert influence on suppliers.

This impact shows a major difference between cloud computing and traditional vendors. Most companies pay special attention to the time to sell software or hardware, but the life of a cloud service provider depends on the monthly cash flow. So be sure to pay attention to this and remind them all the time.

Third: How to set up the network of the supplier?

Your application team should have figured out how the data moved between systems, but don't stop here. Learn more about how your data gets in and out of the cloud. All cloud vendors should have at least one load balancing and cluster design. You want to make sure that you know what the vendor's network configuration is and who is responsible, which is a critical issue in the production environment.

Yes, we're talking about a huge Visio drawing. It's not as easy as it sounds. The job you face is to fill in the cracks between countless teams, applications, intranets, security, and cloud providers. Your best bet is to return to your own network infrastructure team, which can now be excluded from the cloud services discussion. You need to use their skills to help you draw fully connected drawings.

The details of your drawing vary, depending largely on the specific cloud proposal, but don't bother the supplier. Any data stream in the production process can be drawn.

These jobs will be rewarded in the case of problems, such as a clear and complete data model diagram between the internal system and the cloud system that can help you solve the problem quickly when there is a problem with load balancing in the cloud service.

Four: Why is the speed slow?

In our survey, 40% of the companies said they had no mechanism to oversee the implementation of cloud applications.

This is a big mistake. Once you start using the cloud platform, you have to get a variety of rock-solid metrics about performance, bandwidth impact, and performance on the customer side. This solution requires a participatory approach, whether willing or unwilling, to include your in-house team, cloud providers, and local bandwidth providers. Establishing a physical connection diagram will help determine this plan.

There is no separate tool to do this. The components of the survey plan will mix various internal monitoring tools, Internet provider reporting tools, and the latest monitoring procedures such as hyperic and Pathview, and in the cloud, it is best not to forget that speed and storage demand is driving cloud computing's rapid rise.

Five: How to charge?

Moving a complete IT service to the cloud presents a new challenge, especially for big businesses. Mainframe users have complained that the x86 world does not have a reasonable fee model, often only to calculate hardware or basic licensing fees, other costs are gone. Often large opportunities are charged on a comprehensive accounting cost, and the way cloud computing is charged will scare people familiar with the big iron blocks.

The right range of business charges should include monthly fees, moderate bandwidth, integration and development costs, training, and support. Of course, if you're really good with the cloud, this simplification can be simplified to a monthly fee, which makes cloud services look cheaper, but not everyone is optimistic about the profit outlook for cloud computing, and interested readers can see 51cto.com's article, Microsoft: Cloud computing profitable but long term pressure on profit space

VI: Have you been tested?

One of the big benefits of cloud computing is that it's faster and easier to test. This, of course, is a big problem because once the test is passed, people tend to start preparing the production process happily.

All you have to do is step back and build a new test plan. "Any converged service should have a more comprehensive test plan than the internal system," said AppLabs vice president of the Test services company Ralph

Decker said. The goal of a standard test plan is to reduce risk in terms of usage, performance, and security. "When you move the system into the cloud, you introduce a series of projects that are beyond your direct control, so the risk becomes higher," he said.

One trick is to include a simulated internal operation during testing. For example, if you are going to unload some background transaction tasks in the cloud, start with a complete test environment (including the front-end internal system).

This looks like a lot of work, but you have to build a good test environment for your development team. If your system is virtualized, you have a good chance to move this virtual gadget into the cloud's test plan.

This approach not only allows you to have targeted testing projects, but also enables staff to access a wide range of potential cloud computing environments in a secure way and gain valuable knowledge. Interested 51cto.com readers can also do the following test "fun test: To determine whether it is cloud computing 15 ways."

Seven: What if the service provider closes?

Now it's time to challenge the suppliers you choose, see how they survive, and make promises that are guaranteed. There have been some notable bankruptcies, such as Entillium, and a few precursor acquisitions, including Rackspace's acquisition of Slicehost and Jungle Disk.

Large listed companies are easier to check. But it is best not to limit the financial situation to an in-depth analysis of their cloud strategy. Remember that if an important role such as Microsoft or at&t expands the scope of cloud services, this does not mean that the overall market will be better.

If you choose small and medium sized private enterprises, you need to dig a little deeper. It is best to find their financing background and venture capitalists. In addition, you can consider some of the industry risk assessment tools, such as DB assessment products, if the vendor does not provide enough detail, you should be more vigilant.

Make sure you have the backup and disaster recovery plan and the most extreme Z plan. Suppose suddenly nothing can work, and in the worst case how do you retreat. What if your cloud provider suddenly closed today? We know this is a bit of a nit-picking, but corporate bankruptcy and termination of service are now a grim reality to be considered.

Eight: Do you know what you're doing?

For many people, cloud computing is like an old hat, but they haven't called it that before. However, new storage and processing methods, coupled with a sharp reduction in the price of cloud computing in various areas of the rising heat, if you are still full of questions about the concept of cloud computing, you may wish to view the following article 51cto.com, may help you better understand cloud cloud security of the seven core technology, "cloud computing" has become an inevitable trend where is the opportunity? "cloud computing-the ten most popular science knowledge you must master," the head of Google's cloud program talks about "cloud computing" secret weapons.

According to a recent survey, more than 40% of respondents used large-scale cluster projects as advice or integration. Most people's spending is on the plan, but 15% of people report an unexpected increase in costs. I hope you don't become one of them. You have to admit that cloud computing is a new thing, and it helps to plan well.