When asked to design, build and manage the infrastructure for a project with new requirements, how do you find the right solution with the right provider(s) at the right price?
Today everyone is talking about cloud computing and more importantly large and small companies are introducing many new products and services. In fact today there are over 1000 cloud services [1], to choose from.
Just as in any large project, like building a new home or remodeling a kitchen there are many requirements, demands and products to consider. Burstorm has developed a unique process and technology to inspect your current environment, factor in your needs and produce a manageable set of architectural alternatives. Since Burstorm has worked with a large and growing number of clients certain patterns have emerged which can speed the project and deliver results with higher quality and lower costs.
Market Perspective
Dynamic
The Cloud computing market is one of the fastest-growing segments today, with significant amounts of innovation and the introduction of new service providers on a frequent basis. As of September 2010, Cloudbook had identified 1,351 cloud service solutions, and the list is growing steadily.
Broad
The range of services provided in the cloud is broad, and the solutions are commonly segmented in layers as described below:
- Network, with the Internet being the first cloud.
- Data center/Co-location, which refer primarily to space, power and cooling services.
- Compute and Storage (IaaS), which allows you to get compute and storage capability as a services.
- Platform services (PaaS), which allows use of a development and operational platform to develop your applications as a service.
- Applications (SaaS), which provides complete functionality as a service.
In addition, around these layers are service providers that help enable certain aspects of the cloud and/or user interaction. To complicate clarity, many providers and solutions also span multiple layers.
Deep
You might have thought that was it, but wait! There is more! Within these layers are additional aspects regarding specific functionality, quality of service and financials (not just pricing, but terms and billing methods and patterns) that need to be in line with your business management requirements.
The Challenge
As you can see, before the question of what provider to select is even relevant, an IT organization has to consider a myriad of aspects in the context of its business requirements. Below are some examples of questions that should be answered in the process of selecting particular cloud services
- Even if you’d know exactly what you need the service to do, it’s not just about functionality. What systemic qualities (availability, security, performance, scalability and agility, for example) are important to you?
- How much is reasonable to pay for a service? The phrase “you get what you pay for” is very applicable, and determining the right price performance for your particular situation is quite complex.
- What is the best location? With the prices of bandwidth coming down, proximity becomes less important, and it becomes more about network peering capabilities than physical location.
- One of the great advantages of the cloud paradigm is the “on-demand” aspect. However, “on-demand” typically comes at a premium price. So if you’d know you will use a certain amount of cloud service, is it financially better to commit to a longer (more than 3 months) period?
- In that context, considerations around legal terms and penalties (what happens when you decide you want to change provider early or how to avoid lock-in) become critical to avoid negative financial impact.
- Assume you found a service that can do what you need today, but how about the requirements for tomorrow? It’s important to understand, not only today’s capabilities but also the strategic direction of your business and how it matches to a potential cloud service provider
The challenge is not only defining the above requirements but also mapping them to the right cloud services. This becomes even more pressing since businesses benefit greatly from “Just in Time” provisioning, which is what many cloud service providers deliver. Burstorm developed the know-how, methodologies and supporting technologies to help our customers meet the above challenges.
Content
