Cloud is not a product, a managed service or software as a service

Cloud is not a product. There is confusion in the market about what cloud is, due to the fact every other day a vendor will announce their “latest cloud solution” which equates to little more than a hardware and software bundle - this is not cloud. Cloud is also not managed service, software as a service or a fancy lease.

Cloud is a commercial relationship that enables an on-demand service that allows you to only pay for IT services as you consume them. Just like your electricity bill, if you use less electricity your bill goes down, if you use more your bill go up.

The right cloud solution will allow you to realise cost savings through minimising waste by only paying for what you use; allow you to throw away the crystal ball used when sizing a new application because in the cloud you can change performance and/or cost characteristics of the environment as required; and allow you the ability to turn IT services on and off as needed.

In a recent Sweeney Research survey, commissioned by Hitachi, it was found that only 45% of organisations had the ability to dynamically alter the cost characteristics of their environment when requirements change. This lack of ability to adapt can significantly impact business agility.

Before you jump into cloud you should consider getting cloud ready. Understand which of your applications will benefit from a cloud solution as cloud is not right for everyone; purge unnecessary applications and data as there is no point paying for something you no longer use; and establish an application classification catalogue that clearly articulates SLAs requirements for each application to ensure that you deploy applications onto the right cloud service. Here is a brief overview of the different cloud options available to your organisation:

• Private cloud: A cloud-enabled infrastructure within the physical walls of your data centre. A private cloud can provide many of the pay-as-you-go and cost-saving benefits of cloud without the security risks associated with public deployments because it is accessed over an internal network or intranet. Private cloud tends to be an organisation’s first step into cloud. Our experience is showing that archive-based private cloud solutions are reducing file sharing storage costs by up to 30%.
• Trusted cloud: Defined as cloud-enabled infrastructure that resides at a trusted service provider. In this case, access is limited to appropriate resources at your organisation and delivered over a virtual private network or a secure internet connection. This is particularly relevant for running a specific application such as SAP or a Dev & Test environment that can grow and contract through the project’s life cycle.
• Public cloud: Similar to a trusted cloud, except that there is usually more general access over the internet providing limited security. Be careful before moving business-critical data into a public cloud solution; despite many being quite inexpensive or even free, SLAs are generally not guaranteed, increasing their risk profile.

When selecting a cloud service provider, it is important to know the storage platform that the service is being deployed on. We have seen a number of cases over the past 18 months where a storage hardware failure has brought down the cloud service.

Ensure your provider is running a highly resilient storage platform; ensure that you have data mobility allowing you to move your digital information assets between different types of storage arrays to allow you to alter the performance, cost or availability requirements of your applications non-disruptively as required; and ensure that they have a cloud platform that is open and non-proprietary as it will ensure a more cost-effective cloud service over time.

Organisations need IT agility to maintain their edge in today’s competitive market. To achieve this, cloud promises an on-demand service model that can support your business needs today, while providing a solid foundation for the future.

Just remember, cloud is not a product.

By Tim Smith, Senior Marketing Manager, Australia & New Zealand for Hitachi Data Systems. He is responsible for the development and execution of the marketing strategy for Hitachi Data Systems across Australia and New Zealand as well as chairing the Hitachi Group Brand Committee for Oceania.