Cloud Computing

Introduction:

Assuming that the company doesn’t have a mature IT organization, Hybrid cloud deployment model will be the best option. This hybrid model will be combination of public and private (outsourced) models. This will reduce the startup costs for migrating to cloud services.

Hybrid Deployment Model:

The company should first identify critical vs. non-critical applications of their business processes. The company should select non-critical application which would have least impact on their business and begin migration with it to public cloud platform. This will help the company to transition smoothly without risking their business.

The public model also helps the company gain insights of cloud models which will in turn help them in outsourcing critical parts of their application to a private cloud provider. Since this is the first-time implementation, migration costs will be low and at the same time the company will have an opportunity to gain knowledge on IT requirements, cost savings, infrastructure requirements, skills needed and improved functionality compared to current software. However, there is a security risk migrating to a public cloud platform for which appropriate measures must be taken.

There may be certain limitations to understand the underlying operations of public cloud platform since it is owned by the cloud provider. It is good to have company employees certified of cloud services who can analyze the new functionality for improved features which will also help them in private cloud model implementation.

The company should also consider the user experience before transitioning to new cloud platform. Based on the analysis in the public cloud platform, the company will now have an idea of what worked, what did not work and whether it is good to proceed with cloud migration.

After fully analyzing the public cloud platform, the company should start slow transition process for private outsourced cloud model. After selecting an appropriate provider, it should list out the hardware and software requirements, infrastructure requirements, security, data center requirements, user workload to accommodate the new cloud model. The company should also consider the new features that worked and whether they can be included or improved further in the private cloud platform.

References

· Kale, Vivek. Guide to Cloud Computing for Business and Technology Managers: From Distributed Computing to Cloudwa.. [VitalSource Bookshelf].