Cloud computing is on the rise. Without a doubt, the cloud model offers great benefits to those ready to take advantage of the opportunity. At the same time, there are risks for the unwary. The best advice is to follow the Boy Scout motto “Be Prepared”.
Most IT organizations have established a standard approach for evaluating hardware and software. A similar guideline needs to be established for assessing when to go to the cloud and for assessing potential service providers.
Some questions to consider:
Most IT organizations have established a standard approach for evaluating hardware and software. A similar guideline needs to be established for assessing when to go to the cloud and for assessing potential service providers.
Some questions to consider:
Capacity – What are the estimated capacity needs of the solution, how wide a spread from the low end to the high end? How volatile are the environmental demands likely to be?
Skill Set – Does the organization already have the requisite skills in house to efficiently run the system?
System Lifecycle – What is the expected lifecycle for the system? How long will it remain in operation? How frequently will hardware or software need to be upgraded?
Timeliness – How quickly must the organization respond to an increase or decrease in activity levels on the system?
Future Flexibility – Can the system be easily migrated from cloud to in-house (or vice versa) in the future?
Differentiator – Does running and managing the system provide a competitive differentiator for the organization or is it a commoditized capability?
Once the cloud decision is made, the next step is to assess providers. More on that in my next posting.
Skill Set – Does the organization already have the requisite skills in house to efficiently run the system?
System Lifecycle – What is the expected lifecycle for the system? How long will it remain in operation? How frequently will hardware or software need to be upgraded?
Timeliness – How quickly must the organization respond to an increase or decrease in activity levels on the system?
Future Flexibility – Can the system be easily migrated from cloud to in-house (or vice versa) in the future?
Differentiator – Does running and managing the system provide a competitive differentiator for the organization or is it a commoditized capability?
Once the cloud decision is made, the next step is to assess providers. More on that in my next posting.
RSS Feed