Lifting the Fog on Cloud Computing

George Ulbrich, Manager of Information Technology   email
July 2011

While the idea of virtual technology may be simple, the application and options are quite complex.  The amount of information available is like a thick fog—difficult to navigate.  Before jumping into “cloud computing,” you need to understand what it is and how it can apply to your business.  This article defines the common segments within cloud computing and provides an explanation of some of the risks and tips for how to mitigate them.  

Cloud Computing Defined

Cloud computing– a centralized system for sharing files and applications over the internet -- is a hot topic in numerous trade and business publications.  It can be put into several segments, including the following most popular categories.

Software as a Service (SaaS) is generally an application or applications that are hosted centrally and delivered via a Web browser interface or a Web enabled application that you can access from a device that is connected to the Internet.

Utility Computing is the packaging of computing resources and is usually associated with the storage and virtualization used by enterprise IT in an on-demand function, such as needing a new server for an application or additional storage space on the network.

Platform as a Service (PaaS) is actually a variation of SaaS.  Your application runs on a provider’s hardware and infrastructure, and it is delivered to the users via the Internet.  This service may be close enough that you can use this as a virtual data center where all the environmental issues and security are handled for you.

Managed Service Provider (MSP) is usually a network-based service or application that is used by an IT Department or IT professionals and not by end-users.  Examples include a virus scanning service or a security service.

Mitigate Risks with Your Service Level Agreement

With everyone talking about moving to “the cloud,” a business owner must research which of the various segments best fits their business, the vendor they are going to employ and which applications they think will work with the segment they have chosen.  This process should include a detailed review of the contract or service level agreement (SLA) by all key personnel, including your general counsel, to make sure all the various areas of risk and liability have been addressed.

There are many questions that need to be answered when you are reviewing the contract from the vendor.  First you need to make sure the SLA meets your expected work flow and accessibility. 

Once you have determined the work flow and accessibility will meet your needs, you need to ask where your data will be stored.  It is important to know whether your data is located with another company’s data on the vendor’s hardware.  If another organization that is sharing your vendor’s hardware is involved in illegal activities, the vendor’s hardware could be confiscated, along with all of your data.  If this risk is unacceptable, then you will need to ensure that your data is located on an independent system where none of your data will be commingled with any other organization’s data. This will increase the cost of using this application in the cloud, but it can provide a higher level of acceptable risk to you and your organization.

The next question to ask is how you gain access to the data in the case of unforeseen circumstances.  Since you need to be able to access to your data at all times, the service should have some way of replicating your data to you.  There are always issues that arise in business operations, but by having a working copy of your data on site it can aid in keeping operations in your control.

Additionally, the SLA should include information concerning support requirements and times when the system will be down.  You need to know what happens when things stop working and how long it will take to get things working again.  This is an area where virtualization (an option in various segments) makes a great deal of sense.  The vendor can get a new “server” up and running in a matter of minutes instead of hours.  This also can be a great help with patching software and up time due to patching issues.

Some businesses are going to find that the cloud is just not going to work for them, while others will find it a good fit.  Some will find that a hybrid solution, some things in the cloud and some things kept in house, will work best for them.  In fact, many of you may already be using “the cloud.”  If you are using any of the more popular applications, such as Yahoo! Mail or Google’s Gmail, you are already in “the cloud.” 

Whichever way you go, make sure that you have spent some time getting information about your vendor and applications so that the move to “the cloud” doesn’tresult in your parade getting rained on.   For more information about “cloud Computing,” contact George Ulbrich.