Are you cloud ready?
For many midsized organisations, the Cloud used to represent a step into the unknown that may invite security risks, increased costs and a larger IT workload.
Joanne believes organisations are now realising that cloud computing can actually reduce IT costs by moving the right workloads to a cloud-based IT consumption model. The Cloud can provide anytime access to key business applications, provide organisations with new capabilities and streamline business, whilst maintaining the right level of security.
Cloud computing is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. With both public and private cloud deployment models available, an organisation has the flexibility to get a solution tailored to their business demands and needs. They can choose to utilise the public cloud, build their own private cloud or even organise for a vendor like IBM to build and run a private cloud for them. Companies should take the time to decide which workloads are suitable for moving to a cloud and which deployment model suits them best.
No matter what an organisation chooses, reputable vendors like IBM now have the ability to assist companies of all sizes to create their own secure and scalable cloud infrastructure. The cloud can also offer midsized businesses significant cost savings as well. Joanne Explains: “For as little as 10 to 15 cents an hour, you can have additional storage capacity.”
For midsized businesses starting out with the cloud, it’s important to select the type of cloud that best suits the workload. Private clouds offer the greatest security because they are run behind a company’s firewall. Therefore, Joanne suggests that mission critical data may be better suited to the private cloud, while the public cloud is great for such things as development and testing.
Adapting to the cloud, public or private, allows organisations to easily experiment with virtualisation, standardisation and automation – all processes that can increase the efficiency of an organisation.
For smaller IT solutions, Joanne explains that IBM also has very simple cloud based solutions for companies that need additional server capacity immediately.
“I’m particularly excited about the prospect of the public cloud area. We have an offering at the moment called SmartCloud Enterprise. Quite literally in six minutes you can provision a service, get an IP address and be up and running with additional server capacity.”
This lightning fast set-up is a very good way for companies to dip their toe in the water and experiment with cloud solutions. Plus, as this is a scalable solution, you also have the ability to use as much or as little of the cloud that you need.
For first-time users of the cloud, IBM recommends to start by trialling one area of your IT infrastructure. If you feel this solution works for you, then you can simply add more services to the cloud. The beauty of utilising such a scalable solution is that you also have total control.
This blog was first published at IBM Business Insights Blog and is republished here with kind permission of the author, Joanna Dooley, director of Strategy, Transformation and Offerings, Global Technology Services, IBM. Dooley’s 13-year IBM career spans a number of senior roles within the Global Technology Services team with a primary focus on sales, offerings and Integrated Technology Services.
