1. What Every Business Should Know About The Future OfComputing
Contrast: CBT Jim Beebe [email protected] July 23,
2012
2. What is Cloud Computing? Computer Services asUtilities.
Cloud Computing is the transition of advanced business technology
from the specialized to the commonplace exactly the same transition
as electricity and telephone services in the past. Cloud computing
users consume and pay for resources as needed without the cost of
maintaining an internal infrastructure and personnel. Services can
include full integration and interoperability with users internal
systems or they may be standalone, disconnected systems. Complexity
of the implementation is dependent on the level of integration and
customization. Cloud computing relies on standardized delivery
mechanisms such as the Internet for networking and web browsers for
the user interface rather than traditional proprietary networks,
storage and servers. 2
3. Small And Medium Businesses Now Have theOpportunity to
Leverage Enterprise BusinessTechnology.Traditional Desktop
Computing is the standard, one computer per user,computers and
telecommunications are2012 2005 2010 2011 discreet. 2013 2014 2015
2016 2017 2018 Devices User Infrastructure Network, storage and
processing infrastructure is owned and managed by the business.
ApplicationsApplications run from the desktop with data located on
centralized servers,managed by the business. Virtualization has
begun to commoditize computers application users can select from a
tablet, desktop or notebook as they choose. Infrastructure moves
into public and private clouds wholly or partially owned and
managed by service providers. Applications are available as
services that are delivered on web browsers and are available
anywhere the Internet can be reached and often even when it cannot.
Within five years nearly all traditional business applications are
available as services and standard devices are no longer
needed.Legacy IT, or traditional IT with Transitional Cloud or
Utility Basedbusiness owned and specializedresources. 3
4. Cloud Computing is the logical evolution of the Internet.
Cheap bandwidth andlarge scale server farms combined with the
technical complexity of modernbusiness applications lead to
externalization of services in congruence withconvergence of end
devices. Cloud-based services include: Software as a Service
(SaaS): A service provider owns, hosts and manages the complete
software delivery experience delivered via the Internet to a web
browser. Delivery models include multi-tenant, dedicated, on-demand
or elastic. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): A service-based
model for provisioning core computing servers, storage, and network
resources for deployment and execution of externally hosted
applications. IaaS services may incorporate usage based metering,
which allows for rapid expansion and contraction of capability.
Security as a Service (SecaaS): Delivers traditional information
security services, such as intrusion detection and mitigation, as a
managed service. Security as a Service delivery models include
fully-managed, specific or on-demand services. Platform as a
Service (PaaS): A software development and delivery platform on
which customers utilize special software development tools and
methods to manage the software design, development and delivery on
a hosted or service provider owned system.
5. Software as a Service (SaaS) is a Technology That Delivers
aComplete Application Directly to the End User via a WebBrowser.
Examples of SaaS that are available today include many well known
web applications including Salesforce.Com, Microsoft Office 365,
Google Docs, Yahoo Mail, Linked-In SaaS offers the benefit of
immediate access to sophisticated business applications in a
consistent, high performance and secure manner from anywhere
Internet access is available SaaS delivered applications are
accessible via most common platforms including Windows, Tablets,
Mac and mobile devices. Some of the risks associated with SaaS
include challenges in the forms of compliance, security and
reliability. Service Level Agreements and service provider security
and compliance measures must be clearly understood and managed.
5
6. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Provides Processing,
Storageand Network Infrastructure as a Commodity, Enabling Rapidand
Reliable Deployment of Business Systems With LittleCapital
Investment. IaaS is agnostic to the processor, storage or
networking requirements of the application. Examples of IaaS
providers include Amazon.coms AWS, S3 and CloudFront . Services
which provide large scale server environments to thousands of well
known applications, including many Facebook applications and the
LinkedIn service, are commonly hosted on IaaS systems. Benefits of
IaaS include rapid delivery and scaling of systems, very strong
security and the shifting of risk to a service provider. IaaS
provides an inherent advantage by leveraging enterprise systems
architecture without the investment in privately owned data
centers. IaaS is the fastest way to move traditional applications
into managed services via physical to virtual system migration.
Additional benefits of IaaS include options for rapid disaster
recovery and managed administration and security. One of the risks
in using IaaS is regulatory compliance. A complete understanding of
the service level agreements and obligations is necessary before
entering into an IaaS arrangement. Additional risks include
physical security of the hosting service, legacy application
compatibility and actual delivery of the service in accordance with
the agreed service level. 6
7. Platform as a Service (PaaS) is a Software Development
andDelivery Method Designed Around Cloud Computing ThatMay Bring
Future Benefits PaaS delivery methods are relatively new, but there
are several large providers with offerings. Microsoft (Azure),
Amazon (Amazon Web Services), Google (App Engine), Joyent and
Salesforce.com are major players in the PaaS market. PaaS accounted
for approximately 1.5% of software market sales in 2009. The key
benefits of PaaS include rapid application development in a form
designed specifically for cloud computing. PaaS software
development utilizes traditional development tools and languages,
but include functionality meant to abstract the various layers of
software, data and delivery. PaaS development is non-specific to
end-user device and PaaS applications will work on any supported
web browser. 7
8. Security as a Service (SecaaS) Shifts Security
Inspection,Enforcement, and Management Processes from theCustomers
Location to the Cloud. SecaaS providers include most of the
well-know vendors in Information Security. Services that have
traditionally been offered in-house are now scaling up and adding
benefits when serviced from the cloud. SecureWorks, McAfee,
Symantec and several other security vendors now offer SecaaS. Other
providers include IBM, WebSense and Barracuda SecaaS benefits
include clean integration with existing security, simplicity and
flexibility, allowing service providers to plug and play with
existing infrastructure and provide immediate gains in overall
security and reliability of IT resources. SecaaS implementations
take little time in some cases it can be started with a simple
phone call and can be in place in hours. Fewer attacks reach the
internal resources, reducing the risk of any security gaps or flaws
being exploited Secaas can significantly reduce the workload on
internal IT staff and centralizes reporting and audits for
compliance. 8
9. Emerging Technologies in Cloud Computing OfferOpportunities
Specialized services on-Demand are emerging. Communications as a
Service (CaaS): Hosted VOIP or other communication providers, such
as Skype, Nortel CaaS. Storage as a Service (STaaS): Rented storage
infrastructure Amazon Storage Cloud (S3) Backup as a Service:
Member Firms may consider Backup as a Service through providers
such as SugarSync, DropBox, ZumoDrive and others, but consideration
for compliance and security should be given before wide adoption.
File Sharing Services: Dropbox, Office Live, Google Apps and other
services allow for rapid sharing of documents and even
collaborative editingl. However, Member Firms should consider the
potential compliance and audit issues before adoption. Virtual
Desktop Services: Service offerings from several new companies
promise to deliver a completely transparent and portable desktop
over the next few years. This is a new technology and not mature
enough to recommend, but it has the potential to completely
transform the office and completely commoditize end user desktop
hardware. Private/Public Cloud Hybrids allow migration and
interoperability between internal and external cloud networks. This
will allow Cloud users to leverage the storage requirements that
their applications need without incurring the financial burden of
expensive public cloud storage. 9
10. Implications and Risk Management When Working in theCloud
Expense Management: Understand what you are getting and the cost it
can surprise you! Data Security: IT has limited visibility into the
physical location of data storage, may be unable to impose security
policies on remote locations, and has limited ability to monitor
applications hosted in the cloud. Governance and Regulatory
Compliance: Controlling the data shared with a cloud service
provider and the providers partners is difficult, especially when
combined with requirements for compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley,
HIPAA, Basel II, and other regulations. Service-Level Agreement
(SLA) and Performance: IT may lack well-defined, meaningful clauses
in SLAs with cloud vendors. Integration and Interoperability: The
lack of standard interfaces and authentication infrastructure poses
potential interoperability issues between cloud service providers
and between the cloud provider and the enterprise. Bandwidth and
Connectivity: One of the most significant constraints of Cloud
Computing is the reliance on Internet Infrastructure. Member Firms
will need to insure adequate bandwidth (speed) and reliabiltiy of
Internet connections. Redundant connections are recommended for
businesses who rely heavily on Cloud resources. 10
11. Is it for me?Traditional Business Technology Cloud
Computing Large Capital Investment Little to no capital investment
Specialized Staff and Training Leverage specialized staff at
provider Ongoing maintenance and upgrades focus on your business
Integration and Interoperability you Businesses may need to
compromise own it, so you control it. on interoperability of
applications. Investment and complexity increases Disaster Recovery
is generally built-in with Disaster Recovery requirements. Service
Levels are difficult to enforce. Service Levels are enforceable.
Difficult to scale or shrink after initial Unlimited scalability to
your current investment. business needs. 11
12. Consider Your OptionsContrast: CBT will work with you to
evaluate your current and futurebusiness technology requirements.
We will help you identify systemsthat are good candidates for the
Cloudl, and perhaps some that are notquirte ready. Before you
commit to either on-site or cloud basedsolutions let us help you
find the right path [email protected]