How to build a real enterprise cloud computing strategy

Cloud computing has commercialized IT infrastructure, and enterprises of all sizes can be more agile and cost-effective, but it is important to note that it is not suitable for all businesses.

When developing cloud computing strategies, companies need to remember that some applications are not suitable for cloud computing. At a conference on modern infrastructure decisions held last week, David Linthicum in his "business computing rethink" speech that in any case it is worth knowing what the public cloud can bring to the enterprise. He is senior vice president of Cloud Marvell.

"If you understand that this is just a platform change, it won't be that scary," he said. "We're all turning to the new technology, to the cloud, we're just using things we don't have, and it's about open Internet resources." ”

Enterprise Cloud Computing Strategy

In some cases, the proposition of cloud computing is a lack of courage, but not in other cases. For example, the retailer needs to expand or shrink quickly, or to expand storage at a low cost, when the cloud is a good choice and a strategy should be developed for cloud computing.

Many businesses that use the public cloud expand their data centers in this way; they add capacity or use the cloud as a backup data center, 2ndWatch CEO Kris Bliesner says 2ndWatch is an Amazon Web Services integrator. "This is cheaper than storing the archive in the cloud," he said. " ”

The cloud is also a good choice for the devops that surrounds the platform as a service. In addition, large, highly scalable data systems running in the cloud apply to cloud computing, as are new and small businesses, Linthicum says: "Most Amazon businesses come from small companies." ”

Many enterprises that use the enterprise application, or service (SaaS) version, or their cloud computing strategy is to meet high-performance computing requirements with the cloud, or office automation application requirements, such as Office 365.

On the other hand, most legacy systems are not suitable for the cloud, partly because they are difficult to migrate to the public cloud. The system requires a high degree of security or a large amount of regulatory control, and these systems are not suitable for cloud use. "We will only use cloud computing for applications that do not worry about security issues," Ashish Patel, a storage infrastructure director for a financial asset management firm on the east coast of the United States.

However, the fear of using cloud-based systems is clearly wrong, Linthicum: "If you're worried about cloud security, don't go into the cloud, it's probably as safe as your local system." ”

Businesses that use substandard network infrastructures are not fit to go into the cloud. In fact, in many cases, moving to the cloud requires upgrading the network infrastructure, Linthicum said.

In addition, businesses should not put applications or systems that are tightly integrated with local systems and data into the cloud.

Because public clouds are a good way to reduce the cost of infrastructure upgrades, businesses have recently invested heavily in hardware and software that cannot be moved to the cloud.

Businesses that want to move to the cloud need to develop a complete strategy that takes into account actual revenue and plans for the next five years. This is a long-term systemic change that requires high-level support.

Everyone has his own way, but there are still some general guidelines available. Cloud migration program begins with understanding your business \ Users and Technologies. Then define your goals while ensuring security, governance, and performance.

While many companies view the cloud as a way to cut costs, ROI does not matter; Most of the costs associated with the cloud revolve around its business agility. Business Agility is the reason to take advantage of this technology.

(Responsible editor: Lu Guang)