• How-to

Cloud computing, if the term has left you bewildered more often than once, simply refers to the delivery of hosted services over the internet. So, there is a service provider at one end, a consumer at the other end viz. you or your organization, and there are resources that are consumed. The catch here is that these computing or IT resources are shared across a multitude of users, thus offering advantages of scale to individual users. They are controlled by one service provider; however, as a user you have the flexibility to choose how much portion you want to consume and pay only for that much. This pay-per-use model leads to cost savings for companies and makes the proposition of cloud computing even more attractive for small players. SMEs can get access to sophisticated tech through the cloud which may otherwise prove to be expensive in an on-premise model. Cloud computing, thus, levels the playing field for SMEs in many ways. So if you are at the threshold of choosing a cloud services provider, you don’t need to look far. We tell you how you can go about doing this.

1. Evaluate your options: There are three main types of cloud services. Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) means that the provider offers a network, servers, storage etc that you can use. Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) means that the provider offers a platform through which you can develop and sell apps and runs an operating system for you to use. SaaS or software-as-a-service is the more popular form of cloud computing where users can use software applications/programs hosted by the provider without buying a license for the same.

You need to map your IT resources, the performance levels obtained in-house, which are the areas where you need more or less resources, which apps can you move to the cloud etc. You should also find out which type of cloud the provider is offering—private, public or hybrid. A private cloud has limited users; a public cloud is open to all users; while a hybrid one is a mix of both. This is also linked to security as we will explain further.

2. Check security and compliance norms: The single biggest concern in moving your data to the cloud could be security. Whether sensitive corporate and customer information should leave the four walls of the organization remains a debatable question across industry verticals. If you have achieved a certain level of security with your internal IT operations, be sure your cloud services provider offers the same security standards or betters them.

Your customers will also expect consistency in security of operations. Security could be managed in multiple ways comprising firewalls, identity and access management, and authentication. Every person in the organization cannot be given access to all resources/information. Authenticating the right people and giving them controlled access to resources is an important area where the service provider will have to prove his mettle. As far as compliance is concerned, if you are a part of an industry that is strict about its norms (like the PCI DSS for the finance industry), make sure your service provider also meets those norms.

3. Verify other performance metrics: Important areas for evaluating your vendor, apart from security and compliance, include availability, customer support, referral checks, disaster recovery plan and vendor lock-in terms. Let us look at the relevance of each. When you first move to the cloud, which are the IT functions that will move? Will you move primary functions like business intelligence (BI), CRM etc or will you move secondary and less important functions like back-up e-mail?

If you are moving your core functions, the availability of the service needs to be very high or 24/7. Your business will lapse if the service becomes unavailable. For customer support, simple things like the vendor returning your calls on time and being willing to explain various systems to you could make a difference.

If the vendor has a broad customer base, be sure you make a few calls to find out the satisfaction level of other clients. This will help you to identify the strengths of the vendor you want to sign the deal with.

Also, in case of natural disasters, what is the disaster recovery plan the vendor has for his data center? What is the lock-in period for the contract? What if you want to pack up and move to another vendor tomorrow? Is there scope for that? Would you rather go in for an open source cloud services provider like Rackspace rather than a proprietary platform like Microsoft Azure so that you can move easily?

4.Get down to specifics in the SLA: The SLA or service level agreement is the single-most important document in your contract with the cloud services provider. Does the provider have a standard SLA or is he willing to sit down and negotiate one with you?

The SLA defines the terms and conditions of service; if you plan to move your mission-critical or core IT functions to the cloud, you must ensure that there are enough penalty clauses in the SLA if the provider fails on the availability or any other front. You may never have to charge a penalty.

However, the presence of such a clause in the SLA tells you that the provider is confident of what he is doing and willing to share your risk. If the provider has underlying contracts with other larger providers whose infrastructure he may be using, make sure those SLAs align with the one you will be signing.

5. Tailor your cloud package to meet business needs: Finally, you have a core business for which IT is an enhancing and value-adding function. Map the needs of your business carefully and tailor the package of cloud services you choose to meet those needs. Cloud is the future and it will certainly help your business scale new heights.

©Entrepreneur April 2011

Tags:
Cloud computing, IT