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Cloud-based services: so much to consider
29 March 2010
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Cloud-based services? It’s okay to stick your toe in before taking the plunge. Co-sponsored feature: AT&T
Enterprises and their communications networks continue to grow larger, more distributed and increasingly collaborative in nature. The latest trend, cloud computing, comes with the claim that organisations can harness these capabilities to respond more quickly to today’s fast-changing IT climate.
Service providers consistently advise carrier and enterprise customers to take advantage of third party services so that they can focus on core competencies. But the optimal IT model is likely to be an amalgam of in-house, managed and cloud-based infrastructure as well as server-based and software-as-a-service applications.
As cloud-based services gain momentum, even the most progressive ventures proceed with caution. Hybrid IT environments continue to make sense for most established businesses.
If cloud-based services are truly in vogue, why the restraint?
A certain amount of healthy trepidation is warranted. A shift away from home grown IT is best begun after careful consideration of several valid concerns:
- Are the infrastructure and applications secure?
- What amount of downtime can your business endure?
- Will the external operation be accessible where and when needed?
- How much development is required to integrate these services with operations and existing applications resident behind the corporate firewall?
- What is required to create a connection between cloud-based and private networks?
- What management and monitoring capabilities are available to maintain cloud-based services and applications?
- What are the legal ramifications of placing customer data in the cloud?
While these concerns seem daunting, they bring to light the reality that the service surround, policies and performance of cloud-based services may not yet be as robust as those associated with existing infrastructure. However, as long as potential drawbacks are properly addressed and the provider employs procedures to protect each customer’s business, there remain many sound reasons to proceed with cloud-based services.
Periodically, it’s worth scrutinising your internal business processes and asking: “Why are we doing this? Why are we doing it this way? Is it worth it?”
If the answers aren’t strongly positive, it may be time to consider cloud-based services. By off-loading non-core processes to third party specialists, customers can successfully reduce overall expenses while continuing to realise high quality, reliable services. Services provided by a third party may help to streamline operations, maximise productivity, extend a company’s reach and improve margins.
Cloud services — or “on-demand X-as-a-service” –– have evolved as a natural progression from dedicated in-house services to hosted and managed services. Dynamically scalable and often virtualised resources are provisioned as a network service and paid for as utilised, typically yielding cost economies and flexibility.
Users no longer need knowledge of, expertise in, or control over the technology infrastructure “in the cloud” that supports them. Components include managed hosting with cloud-based features such as on-demand network and server capacity provisioning, software as a service (SaaS), utility computing, web services, platform as a service (PaaS), service commerce and internet integration.
Taking the plunge
Be wary of providers that expect customers to shed existing IT investments and fork-lift upgrade to cloud services. To evaluate potential performance improvements and cost savings, a prudent course of action may be to experiment with select non-mission critical applications before entrusting others to safeguard your entire suite of back office functions.
A good place to start is with seasonal applications that experience peaks and lulls in network and server demand; these often benefit from on-demand pricing.
The preferred solution must meet your business and technical requirements and provide full lifecycle support for IT infrastructure at the location(s) of your choice. To maximise the business and strategic value of applications and lower total cost of ownership, look for a provider that offers comprehensive solutions, end-to-end performance, strong expertise and global delivery.
Why AT&T?
For more than a decade, AT&T specialists in the implementation and management of mission-critical IT infrastructure and applications have delivered managed solutions to carrier and enterprise customers. Today, AT&T provides hosting and application services to thousands of customers worldwide, including over half of the Fortune 50 and over a quarter of the Fortune 500 companies.
By selecting AT&T as your cloud-services provider, you will benefit from our experience with systems implementation and integration and managed services.
Our objective is to help you:
(1) maximise the business and strategic value of application(s) while reducing your total cost of ownership;
(2) benefit from configurable capacity and near real-time bursting to accommodate variable demand or peaks in traffic for applications with fluctuating demand; and
(3) quickly and cost-effectively implement advances in technology to meet your business needs. GTB
For more information, visit www.att.com/GoWholesale or contact
AT&T Wholesale at wholesale.product.info@att.com