A Barometric Read On Cloud Computing

Even though the debate on cloud computing’s definition continues, the cloud computing industry will experience rapid growth. The extended forecast definitely shows atmospheric change when it comes to IT infrastructure.

“More and more, enterprises are realizing the value of virtualization, especially because hosted IT infrastructure eliminates the headaches of owning and maintaining hardware”
-Layered Tech CEO Jack Finlayson

Climate Change

Cloud computing has evolved to the point that it now makes sense for expanded business use ... so much so that the business drivers have led to Gartner estimating that cloud computing will be a $150 billion industry by 2013.

Here's why - the things needed to develop, maintain and cultivate enterprise-class cloud computing environments, including more sophisticated components, infrastructure and technologies, now exist. So, businesses are developing new business models that leverage virtualization and other elements of this intensely hyped technology so they can take advantage of the benefits that cloud computing delivers, including higher productivity, greater speed to market, lower costs and near-instantaneous scalability of computing resources.

Value of the Cloud

Although cloud computing is much more widely used today than many realize, it has advanced so much that CIOs now have an easier time explaining to their CEOs and CFOs the value of migrating to cloud computing and virtualized environments, especially with the competitive advantages they generate. The investment required to migrate to the cloud alone creates immediate short-term value, while also delivering long-term upside.

"More and more, enterprises are realizing the value of virtualization, especially because hosted IT infrastructure eliminates the headaches of owning and maintaining hardware," said Layered Tech CEO Jack Finlayson. "Cloud computing and virtualization platforms offer unprecedented processing power, bandwidth, and storage capacity that can meet the changing day-to-day needs of businesses without the burdens of capital expenses and IT staff overhead. This virtual approach allows enterprises to dedicate their resources to what matters most ... their business and their customers."

Lifting the Fog

Migrating to the cloud brings on a new set of challenges that, in the past, put many CIOs and their IT staff into a daze. But relief is now here in the form of highly qualified hosting providers that offer managed private cloud services. The data center staff at these hosting companies are engineers who are experienced in administering hundreds of virtual machines and other elements of cloud computing.

External private cloud providers, i.e., hosting companies, will play a much larger role in enterprise IT, especially as enterprises continue to look for ways to lower costs. Hosting companies shoulder the capital spending required for hardware and other key cloud components, thereby lifting that financial burden from enterprises and their IT budget.

Outside help often brings inside benefits - by utilizing managed private cloud services, enterprises can realize the added value in refining IT staffing to complement business plans to further improve operations and the bottom line. Transitioning IT infrastructure to an experienced hosting provider means that CIOs can concentrate their most skilled people on high-value projects and other activities that more directly affect their company's revenue stream.

Clouds Come in All Shapes and Sizes

When it comes to cloud computing, there's no such thing as a silver-bullet solution. That's why enterprises are being more strategic about their cloud computing deployments and are developing custom migration plans.

"Avoiding cloud computing altogether is sure to bring competitive disadvantages, but putting everything on the cloud can lead to an infrastructure disaster," said Finlayson. "Enterprises should evaluate business drivers and align technology solutions to their corporate needs, as well as consider taking a hybrid approach to cloud computing where a portion of the IT infrastructure stays in the physical, dedicated server world, while the remainder migrates into the cloud. One thing is for certain, not everything should go into the cloud."

For example, enterprises typically should keep large Oracle or SAP databases on physical dedicated servers - whether in the onsite data center or with a hosting provider. Other services, such as e-mail and other application solutions can be moved to an external cloud provider. Some or all of cloud computing's benefits will accelerate enterprises' migration to cloud computing, and with a hybrid approach, enterprises will get the most out of their IT infrastructure.

Controlling Your Cloud

Every enterprise is concerned about controlling its own data, especially when it comes to cloud computing. Until recently, this has been a major sticking point in enterprise cloud adoption, but enterprises are increasingly leveraging private clouds versus public cloud offerings so that their mission-critical or proprietary data isn't floating around in a public cloud where neither access to the data nor the integrity of the cloud can be guaranteed.

Enterprises do not want clouds with shared resources, like those that exist in purely public cloud environments. Whether it's an "internal private cloud" created and maintained by the enterprise's IT staff and housed within its onsite data center, or it's an "external private cloud," where the enterprise engages with a third-party hosting provider to develop and operate a private cloud within one or more of the hosting company's data centers, enterprises want to control their own cloud infrastructure.

By taking on the detailed up-front planning, deployment of the cloud environment, and ongoing system maintenance and updates, hosting companies can help launch enterprises into the cloud and enable CIOs to redirect their staff's focus on high-value IT projects that directly benefit their business. 

The Sky's the Limit

We're now in the first meaningful stage of cloud computing's rocket-ride of growth and enterprise usage, and it's all fueled by the need for further operational and financial improvement. Many considered cloud computing to be the next IT infrastructure revolution or fad, but the truth is that it's been a progressive evolution. Everything is now in place for enterprises to maintain and even grow their cloud computing environments, and with higher productivity, lower costs and near-instantaneous scalability of computing resources, businesses will continue to take advantage of the benefits that cloud computing delivers.