Moving to the cloud can bring a number of advantages, but choosing which cloud solution to implement never comes easily. While the debate once centered on public vs. private, the emergence of a new contender, hybrid, makes the choice all the more complicated.
How can your company weigh the options and choose the cloud model — public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud — that is right for you? Which option stands to enhance your efficiency and effectiveness and deliver the largest return on your investment?
In this post, we will examine five essential factors to consider as you start to explore cloud options and make a decision, plus an overview of how each factor influences whether you go private, public, or hybrid. Use these steps to guide your exploration, but don’t rush to decide. Talk it over with experts and make a decision that matches your goals, workflow, and work processes — and will ultimately contribute to your bottom line.
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Security
Security tops the list of company concerns over whether to go public, private, or hybrid. Despite increased security features on public options, some companies need a tighter, more self-contained cloud environment.
If your company deals with sensitive data that’s subject to compliancy regulations (such as HIPAA), or you can’t risk the uncertainty of Internet security and need your assets tucked safely inside a firewall, then private or hybrid might be the better (or the only) choice. With private models, you own the entire infrastructure, and with hybrids, you can pick and choose what you need privatized — and what’s OK to go public.
Public clouds do provide a number of security features, and the longstanding myth that competitors can easily access your data just isn’t true. But the fact of the matter is that you don’t have total control over your data at all times. And for some companies, that’s reason enough to bypass the option.
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Customization
Every company has its own set of needs, some more unique than others. While the public clouds on the market — Amazon, Rackspace, Windows Azure (Microsoft), Google, Salesforce, and IBM, to name a few — come with some adaptable features, they might (or might not) fit all of your needs.
When considering the cloud option that best fits your needs, a first step is figuring out what features will help you operate more efficiently and effectively, and whether the public options can be tailored enough for your business. Major public cloud providers offer a range of pricing options based on what most businesses want. Yet for some, the level of adaptability still falls short.
In this case, private and hybrid clouds make a better choice because you can customize virtually everything, from your hardware performance to the storage and networking capabilities. If you find a provider that fits what you need, you can go public purely for the cost savings.
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Business Agility
Many say that business agility, or the ability to adapt quickly and efficiently to changes in the market, is key to success in the current business climate. The ability to scale up or down, rollout new products or services, seize an opportunity when it turns up, and ultimately stay on top of (or even ahead of) consumer trends and demands is key in business, but in truth, some businesses need more agility than others. If you never need to scale up or down, then agility might not be a priority. But for many businesses both big and small, agility is critical to maintaining (or gaining) an edge in today’s competitive, global market.
All cloud options (public, private, and hybrid) can make your company more agile, some more than others. One real advantage of the cloud is that it allows you to focus resources on value-added features like analytics and process improvements, which enable you to operate more strategically and grow your business.
As you explore cloud options, ask yourself these questions: What changes does my company need to be able to make quickly? What features does it need (or not need) automated? How much flexibility is ideal?
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Control
Some cloud options give you more control than others. With the traditional set up, in which the computing infrastructure exists in-house, IT teams have full control over everything. The downside of this is that when something goes wrong, it can take a long time to fix — and the onus falls on you.
With public cloud options, your IT team loses full control and shifts somewhat to the role of a coordinator. Consider this analogy from a Wired magazine article that compares public vs. private cloud options with public vs. private transportation.
When you take public transportation, the article says, the cost remains relatively low; you’re not responsible for the maintenance; and you can do something other than drive (respond to emails, read a book) while en route because your hands are free. In your own car, however, you have to buy (or finance) the car, fix anything that breaks, and keep your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel.
Now compare this with the cloud, which works in a similar fashion. Public clouds free up your IT staff to focus less on maintenance and more on revenue-generating features, while private clouds consume more of IT’s time — but leave them in charge of the wheel (and with ownership of the infrastructure).
Of course, the critical question is whether you need (or just want) control, and what kind of control it is that you require. Do all of your assets and processes need to come under your ownership? Or can you pick and choose?
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Cost
Prices vary among the three cloud models, with public clouds typically costing the least because of the pay-as-you-go setup. Hybrids fall next in line, and then private. While moving to a private cloud may be a choice made for reasons other than cost, the choice to move to public or hybrid cloud can often involve cost factors. Make sure you understand how you might use the scalable cost benefits of the public or hybrid cloud to your advantage.
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Once you’ve made the decision to move to the cloud, understanding where to go next can be tough. Knowing your needs and options is an essential first step. Take the time to figure out precisely what you need, and don’t settle. Consulting with an outside expert for more detailed advice on how you can maximize efficiencies, minimize expenses and make a smooth transition to the right cloud platform can often be the next best step.
The cloud isn’t just a place to house your data. It’s a core part of your business strategy and revenue-generating capabilities. Choose wisely, and reach out to RDA for help.
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