Sydney recently played host to CEBIT - Australia's largest annual business technology conference. While each CEBIT has a large trade exhibition showcasing the upcoming technology, and provides delegates a chance to meet and play, there is also an extensive conference held throughout the three days. One of the conference streams this year was focused on the cloud and the issues companies are facing when utilising cloud computing technology.
Everyone seems to have their own definition of cloud computing; at its core, however, most people will agree that cloud computing provides IT flexibility through a series of automation and standardisation techniques of traditional IT services. This allows a faster time to market, lower cost of ownership and reduced operating cost. Cloud computing comes in a variety of flavours, from personal-use cloud services to Enterprise IT systems.
Cloud computing continues to expand as people are starting to realise the benefits. Recent IDC research shows that worldwide spending on cloud services will grow from current levels by almost threefold, reaching $44.2 billion by the end of 2013.
One of the benefits of the Cloud is the ability to achieve economies of scale, While for a large company this offers a chance to grow with less cost, for small to medium companies this provides an opportunity to play on the scale of a large company - so only paying for what they are using as a service rather than the hardware costs and everything else that comes along with maintaining the hardware, This means that they can have the most up to date technology and speeds without the capital overhead, which they may not be able to afford, As we become more and more dependent on technology to run not only our businesses but the world, there is an increased focus on Disaster Recovery.
Being part of a cloud environment may provide an extra level of redundancy, generally both inside the main data centre where the environment is hosted and within an extra DR site. This means that if something were to happen to part of the cloud, such as hardware failure, then the environment can move around with minimal impact to the business.
While cloud computing has many benefits, there are always two sides that need to be taken into consideration. The biggest risk and concern for using the cloud is around security. If the data is being stored in a shared environment, somewhere in the world, how safe is it? Caution should be taken as to what type of data we are willing to store in a shared environment. Having said that, most of the companies selling a cloud solution have the most up to date security measures in place, though this doesn't mean we should not be thinking before acting.
Another factor which needs to be considered is where your data/application/service is being physically kept and any additional legal requirements that may come with it. Many jurisdictions have strict, regulations on the transfer and storage of data, especially personal or private data. Within Australia this is an issue, as many providers will base their clouds overseas due to cost, If the data is stored offshore, how can you be sure that it is being protected in accordance with Australian standards and laws? Companies choosing to turn to a cloud solution need to ensure they have performed the correct research on the company they are using. New Zealand appears to be leading the way with this at the moment, in producing the "New Zealand Cloud Computing Code of Practice". This provides standards to help protect the reputation of those providing professional services within the cloud computing industry as well as helping to define what good practice should look like in New Zealand.
The future of cloud computing will focus more on providing customers with Applications as Services, which is noticeable now for SAP and Microsoft solutions. This will provide a platform for new applications to reach the market faster and increase capacity requirements based on demand in a fast and efficient way.
The federal government has just announced a National Strategy for Cloud Computing. The strategy outlines the government's vision for using cloud to enable innovation and productivity across the digital economy. The ACS believes that this will only help the ICT industry within Australia and allow us to continue to grow, Taking a leading role in developing protocols that will promote trust and transparency will only help drive the uptake of cloud among business and consumers.
The innovation and creativity that will be available to small to medium and not-for-profit companies via the cloud offerings is only going to benefit the world in the long term. I personally can't wait to see what will be achieved by utilising this!
Posted By Lotfi Ben Taleb
Tunisian Blogger obsessed with technology news and innovations around the world. contact me
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