Cloud - Do It Right!

"Do It Right!" This article was inspired by one of the DNA attributes of my current company - BMC Software! With so much of hype around the Cloud and every organization wanting to move to the cloud, it has become imperative to understand how to implement a cloud strategy in the right way. The Cloud marketplace is becoming more and more crowded making it more challenging for the CIOs to select the right cloud vendor with the right mix of services & capabilities. The cloud services are also moving up the value chain and into the enterprise computing realm, thereby increasing the stakes! The selection criteria for a Cloud Vendor is shifting from price advantages to things such as security, reliability, scalability, control and a trusted vendor relationship. A great focus is also being emphasized on how the End User Experience is.

Cloud computing must be enabled with effective security, resiliency, service management, governance, business planning and the end to end lifecycle management with extensive compliance reporting & auditing capabilities. These are the components of an effective and comprehensive cloud architecture that will enable the enterprise to control the environment more effectively, optimize productivity, reduce the associated labor costs and ensure a safe environment for business users. Organizations should feel secure with the Cloud services being offered - that's the key!

Basically, the cloud architecture should deliver best practices in a standardized way and should have the following characteristics:

• Should be based on open standards
• Should deliver robust security, governance, compliance and privacy capabilities
• Should combine powerful automation and service management with rich business management functions for fully integrated, top-to-bottom management of cloud infrastructure and cloud services
• Should support the full spectrum of cloud service models, including Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) & Software as a Service (SaaS)
• Should enable the flexible scaling and resiliency required for successful cloud economics and ROI
• Should facilitate seamless integration into existing customers’ environments
• Should be based on best practices to enable continuous improvement 

Your Security focus areas for the Cloud services should include:

• Federated Identity Management (OpenID / Representational State Transfer - REST), Authorization & Entitlements
• Auditing & Comprehensive Compliance Reporting
• Intrusion Detection & Prevention
• Secure integration with your organization's Enterprise Security Architecture & Infrastructure
• Secure separation of Subscriber Domains

I have tried to highlight some of the key things to consider before you proceed with your cloud deployment:

1. Strategize & Plan - spend enough time on planning - this may sound so simple, yet you will be amazed at how many people don't do this!
2. Define & Document the Requirements (both functional and non-functional). This should include use cases, roles, processes, approvals, workflows, automation, integrations etc.
3. Prepare the Logical Design of the cloud solution, and yes, get your Cloud Architect & the entire teams involved at every stage with a strong buy-in from the stakeholders!
4. Layout the Physical Design that defines the details of the implementation of your Cloud.
5. Evaluate Vendors who can support your strategy, plans and designs & finalize the one whose infrastructure is capable of handling all of the characteristics mentioned above.
6. Don't forget to negotiate which I am sure you will not!

Then, your arduous journey begins on a "Do It Right" implementation of your Cloud!

Also published on BMC Communities blog - Cloud-n-more

Questions to Ask Your Cloud Service Provider...

If you were to sign up for a Cloud Service, be it Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) or Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), what are the questions that you would ask? I have tried to list down most of the questions, however, feel free to be extra cautious and do due diligence before you sign the dotted line!

1. Where will my information be stored? Do I have any control or say in this matter? What are the Security laws in these locations?
2. Can I physically inspect your Cloud operations?
3. Can I get historical data on your Performance Indicators along with historical downtime records?
4. What are the Exit Charges or Penalties if I want to switch to another Cloud Service Provider? Will you delete all the data if I move? How do you prove that all data has been removed from your systems?
5. What are your Disaster Recovery Plans & Policies?
6. What are your Privacy Policies?
7. What types of logs will you provide? Can I get a sample log file? How long do you keep the logs?
8. What are your policies regarding my sensitive data during a legal investigation?
9. What are your up-time SLA's?
10. What types of encryption policies will be implemented?
11. How will my servers be provisioned / decommissioned? 

This does not purport to be a full list of questions but tries to cover the majority of questions that you need answers before you sign-up...

Also posted on BMC Communities blog - Cloud-n-more

How did Cloud Computing evolve?

There were a number of dynamics involved in contributing to the evolution of Cloud Computing. Virtualization technologies, high-bandwidth internet & communication technologies, delivery of enterprise apps, software inter-operability standards, Web 2.0 were some of the key influencing factors for the emergence of the "CLOUD" world!

In 1999, the face of Cloud Computing entered the corporate world with the introduction of SalesForce.com to deliver Enterprise Applications over the internet. This marked the beginning of Software As A Service (SaaS). In 2006, Infrastructure As A Service (IaaS) and Platform As A Service (PaaS) were introduced by Amazon's Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) commercial web service. In 2009, Google & Microsoft entered into the foray of offering enterprise application services!

Is Cloud Computing the same as Grid Computing?
Not really! Grid Computing uses distributed virtual machines to usually complete a focused single large task, whereas Cloud Computing also uses distributed virtual machines to to complete different types of tasks!

Is Cloud Computing the same as Software As A Service?
Not really! Software As A Service (SaaS) is a software that an organization can purchase and use & it can reside on the user's machines or machines owned by a service provider. SaaS is one of the sub-sets of Cloud Computing.

Is Cloud Computing the same as Virtualization?
Not really! Virtualization can be used to implement Cloud computing.

Is Cloud Computing the same as Service Oriented Architecture?
Not really! Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) supports data exchange among different applications that are a part of a business process.

All the above perceived synonyms (not exactly synonyms!) are used with reference to Cloud Computing, but they should not be confused with Cloud Computing as they are sub-sets or bits & pieces of the Cloud Computing world!

More on this tomorrow!