The joke going around IT circles is that ‘Cloud is just someone else’s computer.’
I appreciate the humor of this because there is so much marketing buzz around cloud that it almost makes it difficult to comprehend its true value.
As a Cloud Program Manager for Sirius, I view cloud as a model for enabling ubiquitous, on-demand access to a shared pool of configurable IT resources on other people’s computers.
Joking aside, cloud can be employed to address many of today’s common data problems. Some clients have difficulty handling new information requests, while others have problems dealing with growing volumes of information or processing their data in new and different ways. Their businesses have often grown faster than their IT technology base. And IT leaders face a lot of business demands for economy, agility, efficiency, and better risk management.
Unfortunately, many enterprise IT environments are organized in such a way that they are not equipped to meet these demands. Instead, data centers are still functionally organized; they have separate storage teams, networking teams, service teams, software development teams, and multiple other functional groups. The organizational silos make it difficult to be agile, forcing them to look at newer, better ways to deliver IT.
I believe the enthusiasm for cloud is well deserved, as the pay-as-you-go utility model for IT can provide tremendous competitive advantage. But success requires an optimized cloud strategy based on well defined, accurate requirements tailored to an organization’s unique needs.
In meeting with clients that have begun to embrace a cloud strategy, I often see cloud deployments that are not optimized, and an inability to scale applications to meet short- and long-term business requirements. I come across valuable but underutilized cloud services that could provide potential savings or true optimization.
A deployment of cloud services without clearly defined requirements can result in sub-optimal cloud resources and increased risk. When considering cloud strategy, you must look at the entire cloud ecosystem. A good starting point I like to use is my cloud requirements checklist:
- Current infrastructure
- Application infrastructure
- Storage
- Network
- Security & compliance
- Regulatory requirements (PCI, PHI, etc.)
- High availability & disaster recovery
- Monitoring and management requirements
Sirius provides cloud solutions across all deployment models, as well as full consulting services. Our services can begin with a complimentary Cloud Briefing, where we work with you to uncover your unique requirements for a successful cloud deployment to maximize the business value of your cloud strategy.
Contact Sirius today to learn more about our comprehensive approach to documenting business drivers, examining the technology environment, and identifying and evaluating potential cloud alternatives. Learn more by visiting the Cloud Solutions page at siriuscom.com.
