5/1/2020 Cloud Computing - Benefits, Approaches, and Considerations

By: Roy Castleman on April 30th, 2020

Cloud Computing - Bene ts, Approaches, and

Considerations
CLOUD

Cloud computing is an expanding technology that is leading the digital transformation of

businesses in various sectors. The strategies that organizations take in their cloud journey can
give them a competitive advantage and lead to rapid growth. But this may not only mean a
simple deployment of technology that the company must adapt to, a new cloud approach
could be truly transformative.

In my time working for the London-based Computers in the City, I've helped numerous
companies grow and expand their business with the Cloud. I've learned a lot over the years
and wanted to share some thoughts on the bene ts, approaches, and considerations.

Get Trained: Learn where and when The Cloud ts into your information
management strategy.

The Current Use of Cloud

It should be no secret to anyone that cloud computing is growing fast and is set to
revolutionize the business world. According to forecasts from Gartner, the revenues for public
cloud services worldwide will have increased from $182.4 billion in 2018 to $331.2 billion in
2022.

According to a survey by LogicMonitor, by the end of 2020, as much as 83 percent of business

workloads will be stored in the cloud. This forecast can be broken down into 41 percent in
public cloud services, such as Microsoft Azure or AWS, 20 percent in private cloud, and 22
percent running on hybrid cloud platforms.

Enterprises are often driven to cloud engagement by the cost savings, or as part of a larger
digital transformation, but the cloud journey is not always a smooth one. Savings may not be
realized immediately, and a transformation that is not carefully planned could potentially be
more disruptive.

A cloud transformation needs to take into account such things as the apps that will be
migrated and supported by the cloud, network transformation, and whether hybridization will
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5/1/2020 Cloud Computing - Benefits, Approaches, and Considerations

be a possibility. A reliable IT support company will be a useful resource for consultation and
execution.

Instead of just planning for the advantages that cloud services can o er, enterprises must be
careful to consider the various challenges of cloud migration.

One of the greatest issues in cloud engagement is security. This is hardly surprising given the
rapid rise in data breaches of various kinds. Cloud providers are currently able to keep pace
with the threats, but this does mean that safeguards such as authentication, identity
management, and access control mechanisms must be kept to a maximum.

Businesses must also ensure that resources and expertise are kept to the highest level. This
means keeping up with newly available tools is important, as is sta training. Additional
challenges can be encountered with the management of multiple clouds, cost management,
and compliance.

The Bene ts of Cloud

Flexibility: With cloud solutions in place, employees will be less engaged in data storage
issues. They will be able to access data when they need it, creating a more exible
working environment. Compared to hosting on a local server, cloud solutions o er
improved exibility and a greater range of choices, as well as more o ce space. This
means more e ciency and time to focus on core business functions.

Financial Savings: Businesses may be concerned about the initial costs of implementing
cloud-based solutions, but the returns on investment in the long term should also be
considered. More immediate access to data will save money and time on launching
projects, and as cloud services can be paid for on a pay-as-you-go basis, there is less risk
of paying for something you won’t make use of.

Mobility: Cloud computing certainly o ers much better and faster access to corporate
data for sta members. Access from mobile devices gives sta the option to travel, it
provides more options for contractors, and it leads to improved e ciency and a better
work-life balance. According to research by Dell, businesses that prioritize employee
satisfaction are up to 24% more likely to expand their use of cloud technologies.

Scalability: With the cloud, the available solutions are much more exible. While a local
server cannot be easily scaled, scalability is a built-in component of cloud solutions. If you
experience a peak in your website tra c, your cloud capacity can be increased instantly,
then later scaled back if this is necessary. Packages do not need to be permanent, and
the costs re ect this.
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5/1/2020 Cloud Computing - Benefits, Approaches, and Considerations

Security: There are many who are concerned about the safety of data that is held by a
cloud host. But hosts are usually dedicated to security, and studies have shown that
bigger threats are posed by internal data theft and human error. A recent study found
that improvements in security following cloud migrations were found by as many as 94%
of businesses. Provided that the right security measures are followed, the cloud is
generally a safer place.

Business Continuity: Once they are freed from the limiting factors of physical
equipment, cloud computing can o er business operations a much more reliable
response in worst-case scenarios. 2020 has already seen a major disruption to business,
and those with the best disaster recovery and backup solutions will nd themselves in a
better situation. Cloud design, including redundancy, ensures that in the event of a
server failure, data access can come back up immediately. This ensures a minimal loss in
productivity.

What's the Best Cloud Approach?

'Cloud-First' Approach: The ‘cloud- rst’ approach is a leading strategy that is
recommended by Gartner analyst Elias Knaser, who suggests that failing to do this will
cause a business to fall behind their competition. The importance of cloud- rst is that it
is accepted by the whole organization, and not only the IT department. This means cloud
solutions must focus on the complete use of cloud technology so that business leaders
can develop the bene ts and return greater pro ts.

Hybrid Cloud: While some organizations are caught between the di erent pros and cons
of public and private cloud deployments, hybrid cloud is the environment that connects
the two in a single infrastructure. In order to o er more freedom or exibility, hybrid
cloud infrastructures should be built up from the foundations. When building and
deploying applications to hybrid cloud, enterprises need to take into account the
productivity and enablement of the developer. The needs of an app can change, and this
could mean a shift from private to public.

Multi-Cloud: A term that describes the use of a variety of cloud solutions in a single
architecture is multi-cloud. While the governance of a single provider can be challenging,
the challenges are vastly increased with a multi-cloud environment. The services
provided are on-demand and self-service, but this places a greater emphasis on
organizations to manage their own consumption, as well as their use of multiple
providers.
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Cloud management tools can help to orchestrate workloads, and additional automation tools
help to render everyday operations more e cient. Businesses can use strategies for cloud
management tooling by choosing and deploying the most suitable cloud management
solutions. The best approach is to use the fewest of tools that are su cient for all the
management needs. It is better to prioritize the use of the cloud platform’s native toolset and
supplement this with third-party platforms where it is necessary.

There are many considerations in developing a cloud strategy, and then choosing and
deploying the most suitable cloud solutions. While all deployments are more than likely to
bring bene ts, nding the approach that is the most e cient and cost-e ective will produce
the biggest impact. This will, in turn, create a competitive edge, and return the most pro ts for
the business.

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