We are seeing huge demands in cloud computing due to the global request to stay home in this current Corona Virus crisis. With many of us now working from home, placing increasing demands on capacity and online usage, this is likely to continue long after the virus has passed its peak. Recently Barclays boss Jes Staley commented ‘having thousands of bank workers in big expensive offices may be a thing of the past’. With big businesses assessing the fundamental way they operate, we will see significant changes to the future of working influencing society, with home working being at the top of the list.
The past few years have seen enterprise businesses embrace cloud-based technology with over 93% of respondents to a recent Flexera study reporting having multi-cloud solutions combining both public and private clouds. However, multi-cloud architecture is complex, and the right tooling is essential to manage cloud resources effectively. The recent crisis has accelerated most IT programmes into a future few would have predicted even six months ago. Migration from data centres has been done at speed the ‘lift and shift’ process of moving data and code to the cloud completed incredibly quickly. With few modifications, this may be workable in the short term, but longer-term cloud-based applications will need to have some cloud-native localisation before costs of hosting non-native apps start to spiral.
We’ve seen a growth in the public cloud, which is now proving a trustworthy option with earlier concerns over security, cost and governance largely being overcome with businesses confident enough to move their sensitive data. But with higher adoption levels have come more wastage, 35% of organisations are currently squandering their cloud budget on ineffectual systems and processes. With the speed at which other less prepared organisations have recently turned to the cloud, it is highly likely this figure will increase with challenges around security, costs, governance and expertise.
Migration is tougher for larger enterprises who hold significantly more data with the governance risks this poses any cost savings to be made on maintaining and operating traditional data centres can soon be overtaken by software costs. Organisations will be increasingly focussed on value and efficiency to stand the best chance of coming out of this crisis positively.
So how can you ensure you are maximising your cloud efficiency in a time when you may have had to migrate your data quickly?
Expertise
Are you sure you have the right team in place, the most successful organisations have developed central cloud teams; however, this isn’t always feasible. So look for external help, people who have done this before and learnt the hard way what works and doesn’t – this will save you time and money in the long run, not all data engineers are equal.
Limit Access
You may have had to quickly move your teams to the cloud, ensure access is granted only to the people who need it. Not everyone should have access to everything; make sure your permissions are managed correctly.
Security
This is vital; don’t assume your cloud vendor protects your data; it is your responsibility to secure your data. Make sure your data is encrypted, spending time on this now can lead to cost savings in the future, preventing the loss of sensitive information and data breaches.
Connections
Don’t scrimp on your storage solutions or unreliable internet services. Make sure you have the correct network requirements to run your cloud-based infrastructure properly
Lock-in
Good for pub lovers, bad for your organisation, check penalties with your existing cloud provider, you may be locked in and unable to move your data later down the line.
Measure your cloud performance to ensure you aren’t in the 35% wasting their cloud budget
We suggest using these key metrics.
- What are the cost savings you have delivered to the business from moving from your data warehouse into the cloud and how has this made you more efficient
- How have you been able to increase the delivery speed of your products and services
- What is the value you delivering to your business units
If you haven’t yet moved to the cloud, ensure you perform a technical feasibility study. That way, you can uncover where things may go wrong. It will also help you to identify which IT capabilities you are thinking of moving to the cloud. Speak to your team to work out what apps are requested the most, what are the security and compliance issues you may have and what are the best ways to manage a seamless transfer of the data.
Data can be your most valuable asset when presented in a way where you can access and realise it’s true potential. The Oakland Group can help you adapt quickly, drive efficiency and enable innovation.
Source: https://www.flexera.com/about-us/press-center/flexera-releases-2020-state-of-the-cloud-report.html
