Next Stop in Cloud Computing: How Can It Be Implemented?
July 1, 2012
Cloud computing is being embraced by most enterprise IT shops – at least according to attendees and vendors at the 10th Cloud Expo in New York, writes Roger Strukhoff of Cloud Computing Journal. Many organizations now want to know how to harness the strengths of cloud computing.
The word of the day at Cloud Expo was "multi-cloud," Strukhoff explained:
"It turns out that enterprise IT is complex, and that cloud is not going to eliminate that complexity, at least with larger shops. However, it will continue the push in recent years to eliminate silos, decouple and loosely recouple services, get a grip on measuring things, and provide the vaunted ‘single pane of glass’ through which IT management can view and manage what’s going on," he writes…
Cloud’s potential to offer apparently infinite elasticity and to remove some of the day-to-day management headaches when moving things offsite remain a positive for the cloud. And the need for highly skilled IT workers and managers will only increase as companies realize that they really need to know what they’re doing in the cloud.
"It’s not just a buzz term, not a panacea to IT complexity," writes Strukhoff, "but rather, a foundational, transformational change."
Google: Use the Cloud, Save the Planet
Cloud computing reduces energy use and carbon emissions, according to Google, which claims that an average enterprise can lower its energy usage by 65 percent to 85 percent by switching to online productivity tools.
A typical organization has more servers than it needs for back-up, failures, and spikes – an inefficient system that wastes energy and money. Cloud-based services, by contrast, are used far more efficiently by thousands of people, and are engineered to minimize energy output.
With cloud computing, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) cut its server energy use by nearly 90 percent and its carbon emissions by 85 percent, according to an article on PCWorld.com.
Born-again Cloud Advocates Finally See the Light
Many of those who said cloud computing will never work several years ago have suddenly come around to the cloud way of thinking.
Not only do they support the cloud, but they say they always did, according to a post by David Linthicum on InfoWorld.com.
"I refer to these folks as ‘born-again cloud’," he writes in a pointed, and comical, commentary.
Cloud deniers are becoming cloud supporters and conveniently forgetting their early rejection of cloud technology, which is perfectly fine to Linthicum.
"The fact is that many people in tech function like a kid’s soccer team: There is no core strategy. Instead, they chase the ball from place to place, hoping to get a whack at it," he writes.
BYOD Security, Management an Issue for IT: Gartner
The bring your own device trend has created new opportunities for businesses looking to increase productivity from mobile employees and remote offices, but security remains a top concern for IT departments, according to a report from IT research firm Gartner broken-down by eWeek.com.
According to the survey, the security top issues included the use of privately owned devices and deployment of new enterprise mobile platforms. Gartner recommended focusing on mobile data protection (MDP), network access control (NAC), and mobile device management (MDM) tools. Survey results also indicate enterprises are providing support for BYOD programs, offering technical support for 32 percent of smartphones, 37 percent of tablets and 44 percent of laptops.