Wavecom Solutions News
Harnessing the Power of Cloud Services
The Next Great Business Enabler
by: Simon Fidian and Jeremy Amen
Introduction
We are frequently asked: "What is cloud computing?" or simply, "What is the cloud?"
In our experience there is no one-size-fits-all answer. Often, it depends on your specific needs. However, what many people don`t realize when they inquire is that they are probably already cloud users. If you have logged onto gmail, used Skype, or posted on Facebook then you`re already using cloud-based services!
Of course, cloud services encompass much more than these applications. In fact, there are three primary models of cloud services currently available. And each of them is helping to rewrite the way in which technology is delivered and used.
In this article we will explain these three models and how each can be of value to you. We will also provide you some tips for discussing cloud features with your service providers, and discuss service deployment. Finally, we pose what we think is the right question for you: "What do I want the cloud to do for me?"
Before we dive in, though, we would like you to understand how we view the cloud: not as a jumble of confusing jargon, but rather as (a) a set of tools that can help address your infrastructure, platform or software challenges; (b) solutions to help maximize your enterprise`s productivity, efficiency, and bottom-line; and (c) a powerful enabler to help you capture opportunities and to grow profitably.
Three Cloud Layers
A common misconception is that there is one ubiquitous "cloud." In reality, the "cloud" is a common reference for a set of services in which the delivery and use of the services are de-coupled. The common reference of the "cloud" can itself be broken down into three primary types of services that are delivered by a number of providers: Infrastructure, Platform, and Software. In general parlance, the "cloud" also often refers to the connectivity between the service provider and the user - which oftentimes is the Internet.
"Infrastructure as a Service" (IaaS) is the base cloud layer. You can think of it as a hardware-outsourcing model. With IaaS you can forgo the expense of procuring and operating a set of dedicated hardware servers. IaaS may make sense for your environment if you need to build your own server with choice of software components (e.g., Windows, Linux, Solaris OS). We can also group non compute services into the IaaS layer such as cloud based real time and backup storage services. IaaS may sometimes be referred to as Compute and Store services.
"Platform as a Service" (PaaS) is the second cloud layer. As the name implies, it allows you to purchase a pre-built platform based on a specific operating system -- it could include software creating a functional server (e.g. a LAMP bundle containing Linux OS, Apache HTTP Server, MySQL database and PHP scripting). PaaS is for users who do not need open hardware, but instead require the functionality of an operating system (i.e. platform) and don`t need to build it themselves.
"Software as a Service" (SaaS), the best known and most prevalent of the cloud models, is the third layer. Effectively, SaaS is the ability to use an application without having to install and operate the software. It is the cloud service that many of us have been using for years. Whether, storing and sharing photos on Shutterfly, tracking leads on Salesforce.com or placing calls over Wavecom Solutions`s Hosted PBX phone service, we are consuming applications delivered from the cloud.
It`s interesting to note that the same infrastructure used to support upper layer SaaS may also be used to deliver PaaS and IaaS, which makes it a truly self supporting infrastructure.
Elastic, Virtual, Open, Accessible, Survivable
At its heart, cloud computing is a technology that centralizes the critical compute and storage resources. For those familiar with the history of computing, this description may trigger comparisons to the mainframe paradigm. But we think it is the differences from mainframes that are most compelling. In short, we think the cloud`s foundational characteristics drive its value: It is Elastic, Virtual, Open, Accessible, and Survivable. Those are the key phrases that you will want to keep in mind when assessing how cloud services can bolster your business, and when discussing cloud services with your service provider.
Elastic:
Elasticity in this context is an organization`s ability to obtain on-demand resources. Traditionally, resources are sized to the peak utilization regardless of normal operating conditions. In a successful cloud environment, you can scale up to the peak and back again on demand, enabling continuous right-sizing.
Virtual:
Virtualization in the cloud is making a portion of something whole appear as a self-contained entity. Utilized in the past to drive internal infrastructure efficiencies, virtualization has been a catalyst for cloud services. By exposing the virtual container to the "outside world", cloud providers have turned these internal efficiencies into third-party benefits.
Open:
Unlike the ongoing debates between open source and proprietary solutions we like to view the Openness of the cloud as the ability to support a "choice" of environment. Contrast this to the mainframe days, where we were restricted to the manufacturers environment. Cloud providers like Amazon have opened up their platforms with Application Programming Interfaces (API) allowing for integration with private computing environments.
Accessible:
Cloud services are highly accessible; often, all it takes is an Internet connection. Moreover, this ease of accessibility is driving innovation from the cloud, and enabling cloud providers to offer disruptive pricing for services to differentiate their offerings from premise-based solutions. Consequently, enterprises and consumers have an unprecedented number of solutions to choose from that just a few years ago would have been economically out of reach.
Survivable:
Simply put, the service is not reliant on your facility, servers or one particular network connection and should continue to be available in many fault situations.
Implementing Cloud Services
Now that we have a basic understanding of cloud services, how do we best deploy them? Not surprisingly, there are a number of deployment models that are available within the cloud framework. It is how you integrate the service that is going to determine the impact of cloud services on your business operations.
Implementing a cloud service should not be seen as an all-or-nothing proposition. Of course in some cases it will be a replacement of existing internal functionality, but this is very dependant on the service in question, or more importantly the business challenge you are looking to solve.
One common application where "SaaS" may make sense for outsourcing, for example, is a "Hosted Microsoft Exchange" service. But this in itself has many options. One option is to migrate the Exchange server to a cloud service; another option may be to utilize an Exchange cloud service for backup/disaster recovery purposes forgoing the need for replication of internal infrastructure for those extraneous events.
As an other example, many organizations use IaaS Compute Virtual Servers as a way to deal with unforeseen demand on internal resources, or to establish a development platform to write and create new applications -- so called "Sandbox" environments. These applications augment internal resources, creating "elasticity" in the business. Cloud Storage solutions may also prove to be flexible options to local tape or offline back-up solutions (depending on your regulatory and compliance requirements) by providing remote data storage facilities that provide real-time off-site replication..
The Cloud: The Great Enabler
The cloud is many things. But there should not be anything mystical, confusing, or intimidating about it. Rather than a "black box" of buzzwords, we would like you to view the cloud as we do: (a) a toolset to tackle your infrastructure, platform or software challenges; (b) servicess that can help you optimize your business`s effectiveness, and profitability; and (c) a powerful enabler to help you grow revenue and to efficiently scale to support it.
In short, instead of asking, "What is the cloud?" we hope instead you are ready to start asking, "What do I want the cloud to do for me?"
