Why Aren't You Using the Cloud?
Former CIO, U.S. Department of Education CEO, BINARC
Senior Strategic Advisor, BINARC Senior Solutions Architect
It is almost a waste of time to extol the virtues of moving your computing capabilities to the cloud. The list of benefits is almost too long to mention. Some of the more obvious include, 1) getting out of the hardware business, 2) only paying for the computer power you need and use, 3) obtaining more robust security, 3) reducing your IT operations staff, 4) instantaneous scaling, and 5) redundant infrastructure to support Disaster Recovery, just to name a few. While the benefits are numerous, many companies still have not investigated the value of migrating to the cloud. The following discusses some of the more prominent reasons organizations continue to maintain on-premises IT footprints and operations. This article/blog debunks the myths and responds to those reasons. More importantly, the blog provides a high-level methodology for exploring a potential move to the cloud.
There are numerous reasons business owner's list for not migrating to the Cloud:
- The organization has invested in hardware infrastructure that is not yet end-of-life.
- The organization is concerned that it will give away control if someone else manages their infrastructure.
- The organization is concerned that the cloud won’t meet government standards and is too risky.
- The organization is concerned that a cloud environment isn’t secure, and their data will be compromised.
- The organization is concerned that they can’t control their costs.
- The organization is concerned that the cloud won’t seamlessly integrate with external systems.
- The organization is concerned that they will be stuck with the cloud provider for the long-term.
The organization has invested in hardware infrastructure that is still not end-of-life
Having invested in hardware and other devices that are not yet at end-of-life can be a real conundrum, in terms of moving your operations to the cloud. It must not, however, end in a no-go decision. A prudent approach to migrating to the cloud is executing a robust analysis to determine what systems and operations are good candidates for such a move. Once this data is available, the organization should develop a roadmap that iteratively moves systems to the cloud. This allows the organization to continue to utilize its existing infrastructure and as those devices become aged, continue to move other applications to its cloud footprint. After all, the true beauty of the cloud is that it can be elastically expanded and sized as the need arises. Even if desired, BINARC would recommend against a big bang approach to migrating your current ecosystem to the cloud.
The organization is concerned that it will give away control if someone else manages their infrastructure
This notion continues to be one of the most misunderstood urban myths surrounding cloud operations. The reality remains that most business owners don’t currently own and operate the infrastructure they currently operation within. This role typically belongs to the organization’s IT department. And the actual data center that the applications run in are typically not physically located on premises even if that’s how the CIO defines them. In many ways, cloud computing has benefits that on-prem operations simply can’t compare to. For example, you only pay for the computing power that you use. In contrast, your on-premises resources cost and depreciate whether you use them or not. More importantly, based on the KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and Service Level Agreements (SLAs) agreed upon, if they are not achieved, you don’t pay.
The organization is concerned that the cloud won’t meet government standards and is too risky
The good news is that the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) was designed to ensure that cloud providers adhere to strict government standards for their cloud offerings. At minimum, the standards include guidance for Security, Authorization and Monitoring. The FedRAMP program eliminates one more exercise for federal clients wishing to migrate their operations to the cloud. From a compliance perspective, interested parties have the entire federal government behind them in terms of ensuring the standards and services they pay for are received.
The organization is concerned that a cloud environment isn’t secure, and its data will be compromised
Data security is arguably the most important technology attribute to today's business leaders. In an age where data is power, a marketable commodity and prone to theft and ransom, the security box must be checked. In the federal space, FedRAMP ensures that your cloud provider offers and maintains the most robust security capabilities available in the marketplace. Low, Medium, and High levels of the FedRAMP certification ensure the solution in question is appropriate for the agency security needs. More importantly, placing security in your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) ensures that when cloud providers fail on this front, there is a monetary penalty.
The organization is concerned that they can’t control their costs
Cost-control is where the cloud truly excels. Sharing resources with other businesses in the same data center significantly reduces the overall cost of computing. Not only are you sharing the cost of hardware and software, but you are also sharing operations and staffing cost, as well as consumables like water, gas and electricity required to power and cool the data center. As previously mentioned, being able to pay for only the computer power you use is a huge benefit over purchasing hardware that will only be marginally utilized. Metering, which is the concept of collecting data and calculating cloud usage truly allows the client to map cloud footprint to its needs. For example, when cyclical spikes in usage are anticipated, the cloud can be sized to support the need. Conversely, when the need for computing power is minimal, the footprint can be downsized both in terms of storage and processing power. BINARC uses tools available with Microsoft Azure to right-size resources in the cloud based on performance insights and fluctuating demand.
The organization is concerned that the cloud won’t seamlessly integrate with external systems
While this is a concern that business decision makers need to consider when migrating to the cloud, from a technical perspective, the box is already checked. When you really think about it, even your current ecosystem includes lots of integrations within and between your on-premises systems and disparate systems outside of that very ecosystem. Current technology offers up numerous ways to seamlessly integrate systems between multiple platforms. These include both APIs and middleware whose only purpose is to allow tight, accurate and performance-based integration between systems and applications.
The organization is concerned that they will be stuck with the cloud provider for the long-term
This final bullet highlights concerns around technology lock-in. Nothing is worse than investing in a technology, whether it be a database, hardware, or development tool, and finding out years down that road that you are stuck with that purchase for what appears to be an eternity. That very technology may become too expensive to maintain or simply no longer meets your business needs. Moving away from said technology, however, may not be feasible or simply too risky. There should be no such concerns about cloud adoption. Contemporary Infrastructure as a Service (IAAS) offerings allow for the install of different tools, software, and applications such that changes in the future become less problematic. If you wish to move your technology ecosystem to a competing cloud provider, a low-risk lift and shift exercise can be executed. Additionally, such a move eliminates the loss of sunk costs that upgrading an on-premises platform would result in. BINARC advises its clients to adopt a hybrid cloud approach and utilize multiple cloud providers simultaneously.
Discover, assess, right-size, and migrate. A Methodology for exploring a Cloud Migration
- Review your current IT Instructure and Operations
- Develop future proof requirements for your new environment
- Assess which systems are good candidates for migration
- Develop a roadmap the provides sequences for migrating applications
- Perform robust tests with one or more systems
- Migrate initial applications
- Execute the remainder of your roadmap
Conclusion
While a certain amount of risk comes with migrating to any new IT infrastructure, whether cloud or on-premises, current technology and methods have drastically reduced the points of failure. This blog has debunked many of the myths and clarifies how to cope with the various concerns that organizations have when it comes to transitioning away from on-premises to cloud computing. The critical question is, why haven’t you migrated to the cloud?
Migrating small to large infrastructures and operations to the cloud is BINARC’s core competency.
BINARC is a Microsoft Certified Partner and has transitioned many companies from legacy operations to full cloud capabilities. Not only does BINARC handle the technical aspects of a cloud migration, but it also assists clients in modifying DEVOPS to support new computing paradigm. Reach out to BINARC to receive a free high-level assessment of your current infrastructure and a plan for migrating to the Cloud. For more information, visit our website.