Tag Archives: business continuity

Obstacles to Cloud Computing Adoption

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Misinformation and a lack of understanding have delayed some companies from obtaining the advantages of cloud computing.

With the explosion of information regarding cloud computing, a lot of people think that everybody knows more than they want to about the technology. Yet according to many IT solution providers who are working with customers to help them transition to the cloud, the biggest issue holding them back is a lack of understanding about what exactly is cloud computing.

“Not understanding the cloud is holding them back,” said Connie Arentson, president of Heartland Technology Solutions. “The fact is they’ve got their infrastructure in-house with all their data on it. There’s a security in knowing where it s at and having it there.”

Arentson believes her customers will start really considering cloud computing when their existing, on-premises hardware gets to the end of its life and needs replacement.

Greg Onoprijenko, president of e-ternity Business Continuity Consultants, agrees.

“Education is always a big one, because people in general are still trying to wrap themselves up on cloud,” said Onoprijenko. “They don’t know what they don’t know, so we re spending a lot of time educating customers on just exactly what it means because there s still a lot of confusion around what cloud is.”

Onoprijenko believes the best way to overcome the lack of customer education about cloud computing is to show them case studies of similar companies and IT departments that benefited from the transition to a cloud infrastructure.

Jason Bystrak, director of Cloud Services at Ingram Micro, suggests that users cloud confusion has been fueled by those who are trying to sell it to them.

“There’s some murkiness around cloud as far as what is cloud, because it seems that everyone who deals in IT seems to want to throw the cloud label on it,” Bystrak said. “We have mice vendors that call themselves cloud vendors. It really stems from marketing.”

The results of insufficient cloud education are a natural distrust of the unknown, and a natural resistance to change from a model that has worked to one that is unproven, even if it holds the promise of cost savings and more efficiency.

“The obstacles to the cloud–what’s slowing people down is for people to learn and take comfort that you can move select systems to the cloud without a major disruption to your business or your end users and to feel comfortable with the learning curve that their data is safe, secure and stable,” said CloudStrategies CEO Pete Zarras.

Zarras believes that cloud adoption will accelerate as users learn enough about the security and reliability of cloud-based services that they stop focusing on the technology and come back to putting their concentration into the business objectives they seek to achieve.

“It’s a timing thing, to evaluate the cloud in the context of core business solutions, drivers and initiatives,” Zarras said. “It’s not just the cloud for the cloud s sake. It’s how the cloud figures in the rhythm of other business events. You have business or technical objectives to meet, and cloud is a clean and effective path to achieve them.”

Right now, it’s the concern about security and what happens to data in the cloud that’s the biggest drawback for many enterprises. However, some see a silver lining.

“When we start to actually peel back the onion on security, it’s more perception than reality,” Ingram Micro’s Bystrak said. “From an IT security perspective, first of all, most of the cloud providers have better security practices and policies than most of the end clients. From a physical security perspective these providers data centers are cutting edge.”

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The Cloud for Small Business

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Apple Inc yesterday announced the coming of its cloud based platform, aptly dubbed iCloud. According to news reports, the web service will synchronise and coordinate shared content across all devices – a key element being its ability to stream music; in other words an all-new iTunes.

Following its hotly anticipated autumn launch, iCloud has the potential to revolutionise how music is acquired and distributed, offering a service to rival that of Google, Amazon, and Spotify in the UK. Given the huge success of its predecessor, it’s easy to imagine iCloud dominating the industry and becoming the go-to music source.

While MDs, FDs and other senior management will no doubt join up to the iCloud service for downloading their music in a heartbeat (after all, if you don’t have an iPhone, well…) it begs the question why owner managers are so seemingly reticent to use similar services within a working environment? Especially as most people have probably long been using ‘cloud’ based applications for business and leisure without even knowing it nor giving it a second thought.

Not farfetched

If you have a Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo or other hosted email account and use downloaded resources such as Google Docs, you’re already on the cloud. When you think of it that way, becoming a fully fledged cloud convert by entrusting your work email and desktop to the ether suddenly doesn’t seem so farfetched. Especially when you consider that, up until the early 90s, the mainframe technology that most offices relied on was akin to what’s now being billed as ‘The Cloud’.

No applications were hosted on the user’s machine but accessed via a server in the corner of the room. The cloud works on the same principle – instead of sending your device into processing overdrive by running multiple programmes, your assets are held in secure data centres.

The greater peace of mind this delivers from a business continuity perspective is perhaps the strongest argument for making the switch (because your data is stored in at least two locations the chances of complete shutdown are almost negligible) but considerations such as running and environmental costs (cloud services are estimated to save at least £1 per day in electricity charges); more flexible working (the ability to access your documents from anywhere with an internet connection); and the option to determine individual user rights (restrict employee downloads, including social media activity and the extraction of confidential company documents) also make a compelling case for the cloud.

For start-ups too, the upfront savings on physical hardware and deployment make the cloud’s pay-as-you-go model a more viable IT infrastructure solution.

Security scare

What’s holding businesses back then? Recent high profile scares at Sony, Amazon and Google have raised concerns in the media about security on the cloud. But the reality is that cyber criminals are unconcerned where the data is hosted – many companies that have stored their data on-site rather than ‘in the cloud’ have suffered a similar fate. Hackers can only break through if the firewall software fails to prevent unauthorised users gaining access.

And seen as very few small businesses can afford the high-end security systems that protect specialist data sites, for SMEs, the cloud is certainly a safer place to store data.

The benefits of cloud computing far outweigh any outside chance of a security scare (and let’s face it, unless you’re in the same league as Sony you probably don’t feature too highly on the average hacker’s hit list).

Indeed, the fact that 70% of CIOs in public and private sector companies in the US, Europe and Asia, said that they were either using or planning to use cloud computing services for hosting their data and applications is testament enough to widespread business belief in the cloud and, closer to home, around 90% of our North West client base at Flexsys is considering moving their email – and at least 70% all their networking, data and applications – over to hosted services.

So, if you can’t beat them, should you join them? Perhaps when you’re downloading your holiday playlist consider what a move to the cloud could mean for you and your business. Because, to paraphrase our friends at Apple, if you’re not on the cloud, well, you’re not on the cloud…


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McKinsey Sees Agility Side of Cloud Computing

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Back in April 2009, McKinsey set the cloud computing community afire with a presentation arguing that corporate cloud computing adopters might expend more money using cloud versus traditional data center resources. As reported by Steve Lohr in the NYTimes Bits blog:

“The McKinsey study, “Clearing the Air on Cloud Computing,” concludes that outsourcing a typical corporate data center to a cloud service would more than double the cost.”

Many in the cloud computing space, including Gartner’s highly respected Lydia Leong, immediately took the ‘math’ behind this report to task.

My issue at the time wasn’t the math, but the premise. I couldn’t imagine any CIO – in their right mind – outsourcing their entire enterprise datacenter to the cloud.

To cloud or not to cloud, should be evaluated and employed in the context of specific business needs, accounting for fit, risk, cost, opportunity and overall value. This is no different from other technology investments.

Fast forward to late 2010, McKinsey published a couple of reports highlighting the value and role of cloud computing in flexible and responsive organizations. Different lens, different result.

In November, McKinsey published the results of their 5th business technology survey. The headline is that executives want more immediate value from IT as well as forward looking strategies that support growth and innovation.

“The demands on IT, results show, are more intense than ever. While many organizations express basic satisfaction with their own IT departments, new hurdles face IT executives as business units are demanding more value from the function. C-suite leaders are pressing IT executives for gains from transformational technologies like cloud computing, and they want IT to help turn growing stores of corporate data into information assets that support growth and guide innovation.”

Specific to cloud computing, 70% of the non-IT executives surveyed (n = 252) view cloud computing (any network delivered resource, including SaaS) as a way to increase business flexibility. These executives also see IT and business continuity value, but not to the same degree as business flexibility. I take this as a good sign. Business executives “get” the true potential of cloud computing.

In December, McKinsey published an interesting paper entitled Reshaping IT management for turbulent times, which advocates “A new model for managing IT combines factory-style productivity to keep costs down with a more nimble, innovation-focused approach to adapt to rapid change.”

“In most organizations, IT began as a support function, leading to a one-dimensional management approach. However, technology-enabled products, interactive communications, and an “always on” information environment have thrust IT to the forefront, with critical implications for business growth and customer engagement. In addition, established practices, such as lean-management techniques, have highlighted the value of IT in reducing waste and increasing productivity.

This deeper recognition of IT’s potential has given rise to a new management model consisting of two categories: “Factory IT” and “Enabling IT.” Factory IT encompasses the bulk of an organization’s IT activities, applying lessons from the production floor—scale, standardization, and simplification—to drive efficiency, optimize delivery, and lower unit costs. Enabling IT is focused on helping organizations respond more effectively to changing business needs and gain a competitive advantage by spurring innovation and growth.”

According to the report, there are 3 key components of the Factory Model:

1. Industrial IT – applying traditional business-management techniques to IT (such as Lean, disciplined governance, performance measurement, transparency)
2. Flexible IT factories – building IT that’s more responsive to changing business conditions, utilizing the cloud and agile development techniques:

“The cloud. Cloud computing offers access to information, processing, and storage through the network or an external service provider. This mode of delivery allows companies to purchase computer processing as a service, rather than making up-front investments in IT capacity and in-house support staff. The New York Times, for example, digitized and catalogued more than 100 years of archived articles for its Web site in a 24-hour period by using Amazon.com’s cloud offering, avoiding the need to configure and operate a set of servers for a onetime effort.

…Together, the cloud and agility can make the IT factory more nimble, with lower costs and faster delivery.”

3. Holistic business cases – cutting complexity through improved planning (complexity builds over time, result of systems evolving beyond initial intent)

While not stated in the report, I believe cloud computing supports the Rapid Experimentation component of the Enabling IT Model:

“Where lean manufacturing and Factory IT seek to avoid errors, Enabling IT’s mind-set tolerates (and even encourages) the mistakes that result from experimentation and iteration as long as they happen quickly, the outcomes are measured, and the lessons are incorporated into the team’s thinking. More companies are embracing rapid experimentation as a way to develop, refine, and upgrade their services or products.

Capital One and Google, for example, have been at the forefront of this trend with their credit cards and online services, respectively. That wave is spreading to traditional players: P&G’s Vocalpoint, a network of mothers, provides feedback on new product ideas. Similarly, a leading fast-food company is using IT systems and analytics at test sites to gauge the impact of new menu choices on store-level revenue, operations, and customer experience.

Such experimentation requires the right set of technical capabilities and a flexible IT environment. Managers must employ tools to define, build, test, and improve new products quickly, integrating feedback from both internal stakeholders and a set of users or customers.

Responsive IT support is a vital component of this effort. By assembling a team to work hand in hand with the managers on these new business offerings, IT provides essential support to help build and modify business processes and systems rapidly.”

Changing their lens from IT expense to business value, McKinsey has identified several (viable) value propositions for cloud computing. Switch your own lens. What do you see?

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Cloud Computing: Top 10 Risks

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With each passing day, more and more businesses in the UK are signing up to cloud computing, the revolutionary concept which allows clients to store data and run software remotely, rather than from an in-house server or computer harddrive. The potential and possibilities of cloud computing seem considerable. But so do the risks and snags.

Here we’ve outlined the top 10 risks of cloud computing today. If you can explore all these issues before deciding on a particular cloud provider, in all likelihood you will enjoy a smooth, productive spell in the cloud and your business will see dramatic benefits as a result.

1. Business continuity

If you outsource an essential function such as e-mail, payroll or data management to an external provider, it’s pretty obvious that you’ll come to depend on the internet. If the ‘net goes down, your provider will be unable to provide your function, and your business will, in all likelihood, have to shut down. Check the speed and reliability of your internet connection before you move into the cloud; if your connection isn’t sufficient, don’t make the move.

2. Responsibility gaps

A lot of companies mix up what software they have on site and what they have in the cloud; in such an environment, lines of responsibility can become blurred. For example, if you’re e-mail goes down, it’s easy to get confused about whether the responsibility lies with your e-mail provider, or the cloud-based hosting company.

Before committing to the cloud, you need to make sure your service level agreement (SLA) leaves no gaps, and no room for ambiguity – with every possible scenario accounted for.

3. Level of support

Different businesses need different levels of support from their cloud provider. If your cloud services are absolutely crucial to your business, they need to be back up and running within minutes in the event of a crash; you may even require 24-7 support for your firm.

You need to make sure your cloud package provides the level of support you require before you sign the contract; if it doesn’t, go somewhere else, even if that means a more expensive provider.

4. Dodgy providers

With hundreds of cloud computing providers shooting up all over the place, some of them are bound to be built on shaky foundations. If you outsource a function to a dodgy company, and that company goes bust, you’re going to have a problem retrieving the time and data you’ve lost. So it’s crucial that you select a vendor which is sound, stable and experienced.

5. Data security

Once you’ve sent your essential company data to the cloud, how do you know it’s secure? How do you know it’s not being passed around the cloud provider, or the third parties it uses? Your vendor needs to have essential features such as encryption in place, and any hosting company it uses needs to offer the highest levels of security.

6. Regulatory complications

Even when your data is in the cloud, you’re still responsible for it. Does it comply with privacy laws in your provider’s home country? Does it breach any other rules and regulations?

Before you commit, check with your cloud provider that your data won’t breach any regulations when it leaves your office, and make sure you get definite answers.

7. Complexity

The idea of moving to the cloud may not sound too complicated on paper, but in reality it could get very hard to follow, with loads of different support providers, or ‘sub-clouds,’ handling the data you send into the cloud.

When you’re dealing with your cloud company at the initial stage, make sure you quiz them on how their system operates, and feel free to ask any questions, no matter how trivial they may seem.

8. Hidden costs

Although it may seem cost-effective to go into the cloud, it could end up becoming really pricey if your provider tacks on a load of additional charges for things like downloads and overtime.

You need to find out all the extra costs and charges at the outset, and work out which of these are relevant to your business, before committing.

9. Scaleability

Hiring a cloud provider is useless if it can’t support you as your business grows. If, for example, you use a cloud-based video conferencing service, and the number of people taking part in your conferences increases, the cloud provider needs to have the bandwidth and the codec to handle the increased activity. If they don’t, choose someone else.

10. Going overseas

If, in the near future, you plan to branch out overseas, it’s important that your cloud provider can support your expansion.

If your offices are in the UK, and you plan to open a new office overseas, can one cloud provider continue to serve you? Can they work across different time zones and different languages? If you establish a joint venture or distributor agreement, will they be covered by a different cloud provider? Or will you have to hire another cloud provider, which can lead to overlap? All these questions need to be answered before you decide which company to go for.

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