Here are some of the key best practices that I have learned over a period of time for running a Cloud Implementation. Enjoy your Cloud!
Form a Cloud Initiative Team & a Cloud Champion
The first step in your vision to have a successful Cloud Implementation is to form a Cloud Initiative Team, some people refer to it as a "Tiger Team"! This team should comprise of key Business Stakeholders, a Cloud Architect, Vendor / Partners of the project and key technical IT resources who will drive the project, evaluate Cloud technologies and help to define the business strategy around Cloud Adoption. Another important thing to do is to designate a Cloud Champion - a "go to guy" for everything related to the Cloud project including working as a liaison between various teams & the Cloud Initiative Team.
Build a Parallel Cloud Environment from Ground Up
A lot of organizations try to add on the cloud infrastructure to their current behemoth IT infrastructure and let it grow to be a big white elephant! Avoid this pitfall...Try and build a parallel Cloud Environment from ground-up. This gives you a chance to break free from the traditional mindset & processes & gives you the ability to experiment & explore. This will lower the barriers to entry for your IT Admins & Users and create a wall between your Revenue Generating environment and the new Cloud Environment. This also helps in your learning experience and avoids costly mistakes that can impact your revenue stream.
Simple Hardware & Software Standards
Avoid a complicated hardware / software spread. Try to keep focus on a single technology stack which is simple & will satisfy 80% of your users. For e.g. bring in virtualized x86 servers running Windows or Linux. The more complicated your environment is, the more technical resources you will need to administer and more chances of failure!
Bring in Existing Shadow Cloud Users
There is a possibility that there are multiple business / IT users internally who are using the Cloud (Amazon EC2, Google etc) without the knowledge of the IT Management teams. Rope in these users to adhere to policies & processes that the Cloud Initiative Team has worked on to increase their adoption. Make it an inclusive approach rather than an exclusive one!
Enforce Deployment Policies from the Start
Deployment Policies are crucial for an organization to ensure that users are kept in check, enforce the security of the Cloud & applications on the cloud as well as bring in the high level of automation that Cloud services can provide.Policies instruct automated systems on how, where and if a technical service can be deployed in your Cloud Environment.
Also published on BMC Communities
Form a Cloud Initiative Team & a Cloud Champion
The first step in your vision to have a successful Cloud Implementation is to form a Cloud Initiative Team, some people refer to it as a "Tiger Team"! This team should comprise of key Business Stakeholders, a Cloud Architect, Vendor / Partners of the project and key technical IT resources who will drive the project, evaluate Cloud technologies and help to define the business strategy around Cloud Adoption. Another important thing to do is to designate a Cloud Champion - a "go to guy" for everything related to the Cloud project including working as a liaison between various teams & the Cloud Initiative Team.
Build a Parallel Cloud Environment from Ground Up
A lot of organizations try to add on the cloud infrastructure to their current behemoth IT infrastructure and let it grow to be a big white elephant! Avoid this pitfall...Try and build a parallel Cloud Environment from ground-up. This gives you a chance to break free from the traditional mindset & processes & gives you the ability to experiment & explore. This will lower the barriers to entry for your IT Admins & Users and create a wall between your Revenue Generating environment and the new Cloud Environment. This also helps in your learning experience and avoids costly mistakes that can impact your revenue stream.
Simple Hardware & Software Standards
Avoid a complicated hardware / software spread. Try to keep focus on a single technology stack which is simple & will satisfy 80% of your users. For e.g. bring in virtualized x86 servers running Windows or Linux. The more complicated your environment is, the more technical resources you will need to administer and more chances of failure!
Bring in Existing Shadow Cloud Users
There is a possibility that there are multiple business / IT users internally who are using the Cloud (Amazon EC2, Google etc) without the knowledge of the IT Management teams. Rope in these users to adhere to policies & processes that the Cloud Initiative Team has worked on to increase their adoption. Make it an inclusive approach rather than an exclusive one!
Enforce Deployment Policies from the Start
Deployment Policies are crucial for an organization to ensure that users are kept in check, enforce the security of the Cloud & applications on the cloud as well as bring in the high level of automation that Cloud services can provide.Policies instruct automated systems on how, where and if a technical service can be deployed in your Cloud Environment.
Also published on BMC Communities
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