Leveraging the Power of the Cloud

IT Leaders have been leveraging cloud solutions to quickly deploy new products and services, scale capacity to meet resource demand, and reduce the costs of maintaining physical data centres. In the past, organisations were limited by legacy infrastructure that couldn’t keep up with the pace of emerging technologies, increasing file sizes, and an ongoing surge in demand for computing power. The need to constantly deploy security patches and ensure the physical security of on-premises infrastructure adds complexity and risk to legacy IT operations.

For smaller organisations, the flexibility and cost effectiveness of cloud solutions has eliminated the need to invest in expensive hardware and facilities to deploy innovative, best-in-class applications and services. The pay-as-you-go model for as-a-service products (SaaS, IaaS, PaaS) has removed barriers to entry, and allows start-ups to scale their IT footprint as demand for services increase.

Benefits of the Cloud

Scalability

Planning for capacity required organisations to forecast demand for IT resources up to 5 years into the future and spend millions of dollars on hardware devices that may become obsolete before they fully depreciate. Cloud computing solutions allow companies to rapidly deploy additional CPU and network bandwidth to handle larger workloads, increasing transaction volume, and spikes in the number of end users. Capacity can also be scaled down during times of decreased demand allowing companies to deploy the right amount resources at the right time.

Cost Savings

Cost reduction is a primary driver of decisions to migrate IT infrastructure to Cloud Service Providers (CSPs). The fixed costs of maintaining and securing physical devices and data centres are transferred to CSPs. The ability to pay-as-you go allows organisations to turn on/turn off infrastructure as demand changes and avoid costs incurred due to overcapacity.

Most CSPs allow customers to purchase additional capacity in advance at a discounted rate which improves cost savings. Cloud Cost Management and IT Financial Management solutions (ClearCost) provide analytics and insights to help automate purchase decisions and optimize cost reductions.

Performance

Organisations can improve performance and reduce downtime by leveraging cloud solutions. The ability to instantly deploy CPU, storage, and network bandwidth allows websites and applications to function as expected during times of increased user activity. Cloud data centres allow end users to access applications and digital content stored from a closer location in the cloud, which reduces the distance data must travel and improves speed.

Flexibility

Cloud resources can be accessed from any location and can be deployed anywhere which removes the need to have developers located close to company facilities and data centres. Customers can also access cloud hosted applications and websites worldwide making it easier for companies to compete in new regions.

Cloud Service Providers allow companies to choose from a variety of instance/storage types and sizes, develop in any coding language, and deploy a large array of database solutions. Any workload can be migrated to the cloud which enables organisations to focus on innovation instead of maintaining physical IT infrastructure.

Security

Most cloud solutions are built to comply with government and industry data security standards which reduces the resources required to maintain compliance. A decentralised, cloud infrastructure reduces the risks associated with maintaining the physical security of company data centres. Security patches and upgrades are supported by the Cloud Service Provider, helping to ensure that your cloud infrastructure stays up-to-date and is protected from data breaches. Company data is replicated and stored at different locations in the cloud, providing enhanced disaster recovery capabilities.

Things to consider before migrating

Formulating your cloud strategy can be time intensive and careful consideration of deployment approach is essential to reaping the full benefits of the cloud. The choice between hybrid, multicloud, and single cloud should be aligned with organisational strategy, compliance needs, and the competitive landscape.

During migration, existing infrastructure will still need to operate which may cause a temporary increase in costs due to maintaining both on-premises and cloud environments simultaneously. Large databases may need to be transferred to the cloud via physical hardware due limitations in internet speeds and the ability to ensure data integrity. Migration can take a considerable amount of time since the best approach is to move your existing infrastructure on piece at a time to avoid data loss.