Big talk Cloud migration: Fasten your seat belts without panic.

"InfoWorld" magazine's Windows columnist J. Peter Bruzzese was too superstitious about cloud computing before, and the recent pledge of two pots of cold water has made him reconsider his passion for cloud computing.

Recently, I attended the TechMentor conference in Orlando, where I delivered two lectures a year to discuss many topics (mainly exchange-oriented) and watch Mark Minasi discuss cloud computing at a seminar titled Cloud Computing: An unorthodox economist's view. Minasi is a technical writer who has always been famous for speaking in Windows technology, supporting business newsletters and forums. At this symposium, I felt that minasi poured cold water on his head. Instead of trying to show that cloud computing is deceptive, he is trying to advise administrators to prove that some of the things we hear about cloud computing (such as saving us a lot of money or making our network more "flexible") are real and effective.

Obviously, the word "cloud" is often another way of saying "the Internet". But the concepts of cloud computing and cloud-based services are long past when we build websites on a single server. Today, we focus on enterprise-oriented services: SaaS (software as a service), PaaS (Platform-Service), and IaaS (infrastructure as services). The use of these services requires a great deal of trust.

The hype over cloud-based services has been going on for years, and like every other vendor, Microsoft has joined the cloud. Cloud computing promises a number of benefits: reducing infrastructure costs, charging for actual usage, being flexible to deploy, and reducing the need for people.

Three security considerations before migrating to the cloud

After listening to the seminar, I was scared to death by cloud computing, and I felt that Minasi's goal was not to scare us away, but to let us see the reality and let the attendees think about it before they fully trust the cloud computing concept.

At the same time, I received an e-mail from Andy Cordial, chief executive of Origin storage, which lists the security issues that it personnel should be aware of before migrating data to a cloud environment. His view is not terrible, but to move to the cloud to the environment before we get on the plane. He outlined several key security issues:

◇ data: Not all data is suitable for cloud environment. If "sensitive information is compromised, it is likely to endanger your business", then you should consider retaining this information.

◇ Security: You need to ensure that your cloud provider's security measures are reliable and unambiguous, regardless of the service, whether it is a data repository, a managed messaging environment, or a collaboration tool such as Exchange and SharePoint.

◇ encryption: In fact, you don't know how safe the proposed approach is to ensure our data. Time will prove everything, but at the same time you have to take all the measures to ensure data security; Encryption is a key part of this. In terms of virtual storage, Cordial said: "Given that AES 256-bit encryption is considered the safest method in a real-world environment, I would not recommend a less secure encryption method to protect virtual storage." ”

Should I give up support for Microsoft cloud services?

It was because of Minasi's conversation and cordial's mail that I had to say I felt a little discouraged. As an administrator of the BPOS (Business Productivity Online standard) and a respected member of Office 365, I have always advocated migrating many services, especially exchange, to a cloud environment. Should I take a step back and advise people to stay away from cloud computing, especially given the concern of many managers that this could ruin their jobs in the long run?

Yes, I was a little scared when I was flying, but it didn't stop me from getting on the plane the next time I was going to the Las Vegas meeting. Yes: Flying may be a problem, and if we are in danger, seat belts are not going to help much. However, I would like to fasten my seatbelt as well as others.

Panic is not necessary, you have been hiding in the data center is not a way. But we should all listen to the message of Minasi and cordial: be careful. They are trying to wake us up and don't let the cloud hype of manufacturers, consultants and experts get in the way. Make sure that all promises are written in black and white. Once you've decided that it's best to take your data back to your own business, or replace it with another, more cost-effective or more complete provider, you need to know how to retrieve your Exchange, SharePoint, or any data.

You must ensure that the provider has the appropriate qualifications this is a key factor. After all, we are dealing with a provider that will process your data, so you must n't be lazy. How long does it take? What platform does it use? What is the encryption method for your data? What kind of disaster recovery process is in place? What happens if a provider is acquired by another local or foreign company?

Do what you do: Check Microsoft's commitment to cloud computing

I ask you to pay attention to what you do and to whom you buy cloud services, and it is one thing to follow my own advice. To tell you the truth, I didn't mean it. I'm a bpos client, and I'm eager to migrate to Office 365 and Microsoft, advising others to use Microsoft's online services, but I've never read Microsoft's service level agreement (SLA) carefully.

After listening to Minasi's report, Reading Cordia's emails, and realizing that I had to do what I said, I read through all the terms that Microsoft promised in its SLA. If Microsoft does not have the promised terms, its SLAs clearly state that Microsoft will offer customers a discount on monthly service charges. SLAs specify what downtime is, and Microsoft promises to reduce service charges if the monthly uptime is less than 99.9%. In the case of e-mail services, Microsoft also provides service-level guarantees for virus detection and spam blocking, including the maximum acceptable number of false positives. Microsoft's Forefront Online Homeowner for Exchange (FOPE) also has service levels for uptime and e-mail delivery. The final result: I am quite satisfied with Microsoft's SLA.

Despite all the hype outside, it is clear that the pace of cloud migration is slower than those who have spared no effort to advertise cloud computing. It personnel should conduct this migration in an orderly and cautious manner, which will certainly bring the internal deployment technology and cloud technology to the IT staff environment. For IT staff, the key is to make the process of migrating to the cloud as smooth as possible, regardless of the extent to which the migration is appropriate for your business.