Cloud Computing Roadmap
Posted on 23. Dec, 2009 by vbrown in Cloud Computing, Enterprise Architecture
Don’t miss the truly strategic opportunities offered by the various forms of Cloud Computing!
Cloud Computing, like any innovation, will progress through the cycle of early excitement, followed by disillusionment as stories surface about early failures to live up to unreasonable expectations. Then, as successful experiences and best practices evolve, we’ll begin to see the real, sustainable benefits that appropriate use can bring.
Be Realistic…then Seize and Maximize the Opportunity!
Make your choice of when to jump on the Hype Cycle a strategic choice, subject to all of the “normal” due diligence and planning you’d apply to adoption of any strategy. As we enter 2010, the general consensus is that Cloud Computing is at the “Peak of Inflated Expectations.”
This is a normal part of the progress toward maturity and there are clear criteria you can apply when making the choice to adopt now, or wait. Here’s an outline of a process that will ensure that you’ve developed a valid adoption strategy, based on sound criteria.
Honor your corporate culture as it pertains to risk/reward
- Early adopter. Is it your “nature” to try to be first to leverage this kind of innovation? Some companies want – or need — to be perceived as leaders in the use of technology. Or, this specific innovation might offer an outstanding opportunity to gain competitive advantage.
- Mid-cycle. If Cloud Computing doesn’t appear to be strategically critical or to offer clear game-changing opportunities, then a mid-cycle adoption strategy might be best. As the technologies and best-practices mature, the risk and possible cost of adoption goes down.
- Late adopter (not strategic, and dangerous). If the rewards of adopting Cloud Computing appear to be marginal or non-strategic, then delaying adoption until Cloud Computing is mainstream and mature may be a good choice. There are, of course, serious risks of being “left behind” if this choice is based on aversion to risk, alone. For example, if your competitors are able to drastically reduce the cost of service, or introduce new offerings as a result of adopting a Cloud strategy, the results could be disastrous!
Clearly define your goals
- Financial. Have you identified cost savings and/or increased revenue?
- Operational. Does the Cloud offer operational benefits?
- Competitive. Have you identified clear competitive advantages?
- Services or Service Levels. Will Could Computing enable you to improve the quality of your existing services?
Understand and quantify ROI (or non-financial benefits)
- Operational (Opex) and Capital (Capex) savings by virtualizing internal data centers, or outsourcing non-core IT services.
- Improved service levels. Are there opportunities to deliver services more responsively and/or more cost-effectively?
- New products/services. Can you offer a richer set of services (and increase revenue) or entirely new products?
Define the role of clouds in your Business and IT ecosystem
- Consolidate data centers and servers to maximize asset utilization
- Outsource non-core IT functions – email, CRM
- On-demand development and test platforms
- Cloud bursting for seasonal, or to temporarily absorb growth
- Archive storage for off-line or near-on-line data
A cautionary note: There are some types of platforms and applications that are not appropriate for hosting in a Cloud, based on today’s technologies. High performance, high volume transaction systems are one example.
Based on all of the above
- Choose your Cloud Model(s) – Internal, Public (commercial), Hybrid, etc.
- Define target IT architecture – platforms and organization
- Perform appropriate capacity planning
- Develop migration plans and milestones – for example, virtualize existing platforms first, move non-core applications to a Cloud, begin full Cloud migration
- Identify training requirements
- Develop implementation plans (phased, I hope!)
The opportunities to gain cost savings, operational efficiencies, and, in many cases, competitive advantages from Cloud Computing are significant. Plot your roadmap wisely and reach your destination as planned!
Recent Comments