Cloud Computing: Due Diligence
To state the obvious, cloud hype is extremely loud and distorted right now. As with most emerging technologies or computing paradigms, the rush by vendors to capitalize on (or, create) new opportunities and by enthusiastic early adopters to try to gain a competitive edge creates lots of confusion and silliness. (Maybe Gartner should have a “Silly Season” in their Hype Cycle!)
There is, of course, a great deal of value to be gleaned from the cloud movement – both from public cloud services and by implementing private/internal clouds. As cloud vendors and services mature, they will be a valuable addition to the IT landscape and will fill a variety of roles (some as core services and others as utility services). But enterprise users should not rush to try to realize the promised benefits without a clear strategy, realistic planning and – above all — risk management.
Just a brief comment about the etymology of the term “cloud. We used to use “cloud” as a symbol for some entity out on the network. We weren’t concerned with what was in that cloud (generally, it was a black box). Someone else was providing results/output from that we needed. It didn’t matter how the functionality was implemented as long as it delivered what we needed at the edge (contracts and other means of assuring the usability, quality and usefulness had to be in place, of course).
The cloud in “Cloud Computing” as we use the term today is quite different. These Clouds need to be grey boxes, not black boxes. We need to understand much more about their construction and how they operate. I strongly recommend that if you’re planning to host core processes or data in/on a cloud that’s managed and controlled by another party… you need to exercise due diligence and establish clear, contractual agreements on SLAs, ensure that security is appropriate for your use, and understand your data and process migration options — and that’s just for starters.
I’m elaborating more on this and other related topics to create a clear framework for a Cloud Computing Roadmap in my blog at http://www.StrategicITArchitecture.com.
