Kategorie: Management @en

I am often asked how it’s possible to identify true cloud computing. In general the tenor is: „Hey, we’ve outsourced our data processing to a service provider in his data center. So we do cloud, right?“

Hm, be careful! In the recent past cloud computing was abused by the marketing departments of some providers. This has led to dilution the term and has give him the attribute „hype“.

This „invention“ is called cloudwashing. Mostly implemented by established internet service provider, webhoster, or companies who did not understand what cloud computing basically means. The results are old products, usually virtual servers or ASP services, equipped with a „cloud label“ on it, like „cloud server“ or something with the term „cloud“ or „as a service“ in it, e.g. to recognize at a monthly fee or you have to manually adapt the scalablity of your infrastructure. Another example is the need to install a local software component like the Java environment when using a SaaS application.

The main problem of cloudwashing is the awareness of the general public to think that everything(!) that is provided over the internet is per se CLOUD today! That is totally untrue BUT the marketing departments reinforce this thinking.

Say No To CloudWashing!

The reason of cloudwashing is simpel. Cloud companies like Amazon (AWS) or Google have an immense head start of about six years. Established providers are forced to jump on the very fast driving cloud train. Due to their technological disadvantage and not existing cloud thinking they are just able to create a new cloud label or campaign.

To identify a true cloud computing offering just look on the following characteristics. (The list is necessarily not complete.)

• On Demand:
  I obtain the resources at the time when I actually need them and „give them back“ afterwards.
• Pay as you Go:
  I only pay for the resources that I actually use, when I use them. The ressources are charged either per user or per gigabyte or per minute/ hour.
• No basic fee:
  Using a true cloud computing offering, I’ll not pay a monthly / yearly fee!
• High availability:
  If I need the resources I can use them at this time.
• High scalability:
  The resources can be adjusted automatically to my needs. This means that they either grow with my needs if I need more power or decrease if the requirements lose weight again.
• High reliability:
  The resources that I use are available at the time when I actually need them – I can rely on that.
• Blackbox:
  I need not worry about how it looks inside the cloud offering. I just use the service through an open, well documented interface.
• Automatization:
  After I’ve made ​​a basic setup concerning my needs (IaaS), no further manual intervention during the use of the service is required. I must not adjust e.g. the performance of the server or the amount of space manually. For me, automation options are provided.
• Access via the Internet:
  This is discussible. However, the cost advantage obtained through cloud computing is obsolete, if an expensive exclusive leased line is required in order to use the resources of a provider.
• No additional installations:
  When using a SaaS offering the complete access takes place via the web browser without installing any additional software components like Java (environment).

Does cloud computing promote the shadow it? Yes, definitely! But, what exactly is this term „shadow it“ we are talking about? In simple: The use of IT resources such as hardware and software by employees without the knowledge of IT departments.

This is not a new problem, on the contrary. Most computer in companies are in general not sufficiently protected against the common people. Via USB sticks or other media, but also the Internet software can access the PCs. For the first two-mentioned thin clients – computer with a minimal hardware configuration – eg without a CD drive can help.

In general, a shadow-IT arises not out of spite, but out of sheer desperation. So it happens that companies do not have enough software licenses available and the program can not be started because the authorization key is located on a server. In most cases, the short-term removing of the network cable is a solution. But in the long term only a software e.g. from the open source domain is an alternative.

Cloud Computing promotes this problem!

Instead of worrying about local alternatives, we now avail ourselves of the cloud. Nowadays it is easy to use a free cloud storage e.g. Dropbox, or to create a document using Google Docs. Going one step further, the kidnapping of documents or other files with it is also encouraged. Upload a file in Dropbox and Google Docs is done quickly. If the upload of files is prohibited, lets make this simple by creating a new Google Docs document and copying the contents from the local document in the „cloud“ document.

It’s similar with infrastructure resources, so virtual servers from providers like Amazon Web Services, GoGrid and Rackspace. Due to the ever-easier-to-use management interfaces via a web browser, developers or departments can build up their own virtual datacenter in the cloud, without the notice of the IT departments.

But why is that?

During a conversation I recently heard the following statement:

„Our infrastructure services (IT / data center) is too inflexible and the period until we get new resources for a project is too long. In addition, they are not able to provide us a cloud computing infrastructure. Therefore, we have begun a test project to evaluate at the Amazon Web Services.“

Such statements show the problem: IT departments are hanging behind the technological requirements of the departments!

What needs to happen?

IT departments of course have the option using firewalls and other security technologies to restrict access to external systems. However, it is simply so that a limitation of the employees also reduces their creative potential. Therefore it is important for IT departments in the first place to provide active educational work.

In addition, IT departments should not be a supervisory bodies.

Some companies are now about to monitor corporate credit cards. If no corporate credit cards exist, the fees and travel expenses of employees are beeing monitored, as employees and departments have started to pay the costs of cloud service with a personal credit card and charged the costs to expenses, etc.. Such practices are however a surveillance state and foment distrust within the company.

IT departments should start own small cloud projects and report on them actively. True to the motto: „Do good and talk about it.“ Thereby they show their colleagues and employees that they have the required expertise and are also open to the cloud and new technologies.

Today the IT is the business enabler and through the cloud IT departments get more potential to promote even more.

Integrating Social Media means to open the company and the philosophy of the company at first. The company must allow its employees to use Social Media. Next is to close the security hole when the staff is using Social Media. For example employees can communicate important business information over the web. It’s the same with SaaS or cloud solutions like Dropbox. Employees are able to copy the sensitive data into a Google Docs document or upload it to Dropbox.

Another problem is the shadow IT SaaS can bring into the company. With just the use of a credit card employees are able to use new SaaS or other cloud solutions and use them parallel to the existing IT when they do not get what they expect from the IT-department. It’s the same with mobile devices. Bring your own device is a great idea and on one hand it can save money regarding hardware costs. But a company should ask if it wants that a employee stored the sensitive business data – and if it’s just email – on the hybrid (privat/business) mobile device. The problem is that there is a need for a mobile management system for the devices to control the apps etc. or better virtualization of mobile devices. On the other hand the private data of the employee is stored on the device, like private emails, maybe documents, photos, videos etc. Especially in Germany there is an issue with data privacy laws.

The main challenge integrating SaaS into existing operations is to synchronize the data between different SaaS solutions. It’s the same situation we faced with in early times with the isolated applications. There is a need for a middleware which integrates the cloud services. So at first it seems to be very easy to use SaaS. Create an account, create users, import the data, start to work. For startups or small companies this way works. But if you take a look on mid-sized or big companies the challenges are big.

Actually SaaS is the best way to integrate mobile and Social Media solutions in the existing operations of a company. Today it’s the easiest way to get access from any device and any place to the data, applications and get in touch with people and customers. The problem for the mobile use of SaaS are still the unstable mobile internet connections.

Image source: http://www.4wallpapers.com, http://web.me.com

Companies are faced with new technologies like Twitter or Facebook where customers are able to ask something or to give an advice or just want a feedback in realtime and in public. Companies which have a Twitter and/or Facebook account must use it actively and do not just count followers or likes. If a customer have a question using Social Media technologies the company needs to answer instead of doing nothing.

For the customer service for example Twitter and Facebook means, that the customer is waiting for a quick and of course high quality response. That means that the company needs to establish or add Social Media teams into its complaint management and the whole customer service.

There is also a need for integrating the companies Facebook wall and the Twitter mentions into the customer service systems, too. But not just systems are important. Also the whole company needs to understand the meaning of Social Media for the customer service. Companies which have a bad customer service do not fix any problem by using Social Media. Social Media means to interact with each other and the customer incl. Q&A sessions.

Image sources: http://www.sem-deutschland.de, bayintegratedmarketing

SaaS is a great solution for small, mid-sized and big companies to get things done in a quicker way and distributed over several countries. One big advantage is the capability to work in realtime on the same document or data with a group of people, for example using Google Docs. SaaS also gives you the opportunity to become more mobile instead of using local apps, because your data walks with you. The hook on this great way to work is an internet connection and of course a fast and stable connection. This is what the network provider etc. needs to face with, because mobile connections for example 3G are not stable enough especially when you are sitting in the train.

Social Media is a great way to communicate, deliver and get new information in realtime. It’s a perfect way for companies to get closer to their customers and let them become a part of the company and for example of the products lifecycle. But companies need to understand that Social Media is not just deliver new information. Social Media means communication and (realtime) interaction with their customers.

Another big problem of using Social Media for the enterprise is that this huge masses of data needs to be organized. Not just for the IT staff regarding storage capabilities. It’s a problem for the employees. When email grew up, the people say that they are not able to handle it because you get al lot of information the whole day, during the work and still after work. If we now extend that with Social Media for enterprises the organisation of this data is a big challenge. Because now we get information over multiple channels and need to sort and/ or put everything together. Actually Google tried to start that change with Google Wave. For me a mix of Social Media, live collaboration and email. But it did not work because it was to complex and it was hard to keep track of everything.

Image sources: http://retailprophet.com/, http://www.applicationsnet.com

Consumerization of IT basically means that not the IT-department or the purchasing department are responsible for which devices the employees use. They choose the device and software they want. For example, everybody heard the new term „Bring your own device“.

I think consumerization of IT is – based on cloud, SaaS and mobile technologies – a reasonable trend. Because we are going more and more in the direction of a mobile cloud. That does not mean, that the cloud becomes mobile itself. Instead of this we become more mobile and flexible. Because all our important data, applications etc. are always with us. Either local or provided by a cloud.

This trend also gives the employees more liberty on how they are working and actually where they are working. I am a fan of this cultural change, because I think it is basically not important where we are working. Some people are more efficient in the office and others are in the home office or a café. It’s the same with this „classical“ nine to five jobs. It is not important when you are working. It’s important that you are working and get things done in the expected timeframe.

For example: In his Connected World Report, Cisco found out, that 3 of 5 students would like to work more flexible and want to work outside the company. See more below.

Because of that it is not necessary that the IT department is dicating everything regarding the hardware or the local software because the corporate relevant data and applications are in the cloud. Of course, the whole implementation process is not easy and may become a big challenge for the IT departments.

Image source: http://www.uisgeek.com

At first Cloud Computing is no longer a hype! We are now in the evaluations and adaptions phase. And because of that the educational work ist still very important to show up the the capabilities of Cloud Computing and to help companies to evaluate the right services during the adoption.

Capabilities for example are cost savings and the change from capex to opex. Better resource allocation, flexibility, agility, location independence. As a result: better recruiting of employees from all over the world, for example: 37Signals.

It’s important that companies realize that Cloud Computing provider do not take care of the whole work in the cloud and that the way into the cloud must be good considered and planned. A company must know and analyze itself and needs to see we are the capabilities of cloud computing for itself. And if you have a well elaborate cloud strategy the way into the cloud is not so rocky as it seems.

The religious war

In principle we have the same situation in the cloud as we have seen in the past. In each area there is a religious war about which technology or which approach is the better one. So we know the war between Microsoft and Linux or current between the iPhone and Android. In the cloud, we have the war of the different deployment models like Private/ Public/ Virtual Private and Hybrid Cloud. But unlike such as the fight between Apple and Android, where the argue is between the cool brand Apple with its closed iOS system and the open approach of Android, in cloud computing the argument is primarily on the topics of data privacy, data security and compliance.

Everything depends on the use case

The fact is, however, that all depends on the current use case. Because there is no good or bad cloud. Let’s have a look on the different cloud deployment approaches:

Private Cloud
I am not an opponent of private cloud. I find the adopation of the concepts and methods of cloud computing for its own data center quite interesting. It is thus possible to make the internal IT more flexible and provide the internal customers and projects the resources on demand, whereby the resource allocation improves and billing is accurate as well.

Nevertheless, a company should consider whether it actually makes sense to build up a a private cloud in its own data center. Why? With the private cloud, you have the classic problems of data center operation, plus the complexity of the Private Cloud. Add to this the cost of the hardware / software / licenses and the training of the staff. Cloud computing has the purpose to let you focus on your core competencies. But with a Private Cloud you would not be able to do this.

Public Cloud
The Public Cloud helps e.g. Developers with a cool idea to get access to inexpensive resources for their needs. The required infrastructure for the project grows with the requirements of the developers and the actual software. Of course, Web applications are ideally suited. In the past months and years many great new applications and business models have emerged on the basis of Public Clouds. But even graphic designers should consider, whether they prefer to render their videos on an Apple Xserver or better start a performant instance in the cloud. And even for other areas where the privacy has not so much weight (depending on the country where the provider is located) are sufficient potentials.

Virtual Private Cloud
The Virtual Private Cloud combines the best from the worlds of a public and a private cloud. Here I see more productive systems in the future as in the public cloud. It is particularly interesting for companies for which negotiable SLAs and a higher service are more important. The providers of virtual private clouds also offer a better support in the management of the virtual infrastructure, because (among other things) within a public cloud there is a very high degree of standardization. In a Virtual Private Cloud you’ll get, however, the possibility for more customization.

Hybrid Cloud
In the midterm the Hybrid Cloud will be the most common cloud deployment model. Companies raise their resources when they need them and release them afterwards. So services (not only IaaS but also SaaS and PaaS) are adopted into the own companies IT. Of course, for the adaptation no own private cloud is required, but a cloud management system which is important for the management and monitoring of the individual services.

The cloud is about self-responsibility

Regardless of which model is used for cloud deployment at the end, the responsibility is an important issue! A user may not give the entire responsibility on the side of the provider. Of course, the provider is responsible for the infrastructure, but the company who wants to use the cloud must do its homework first. As a customer you should work together with the provider and maybe make the first step. If he shows no reaction, he is definitely the wrong provider for you. In the case of the Virtual Private Cloud you as a customer should have influence on the design of your virtual infrastructure and develop a strategy together with the provider.

In addition, every company should have a risk management system, that makes attention to potential hazards. When I worked as a manufacturing company, for example, I have more than just one supplier in the event that my primary supplier fails.

The Cloud Way

There is not exactly a path in the cloud, but there are things you should consider logically.

Have a strategy and think about your governance. One problem with the cloud is that it allures to try out. And suddenly you’re in the cloud and use unintentionally several services that do not fit into the IT strategy. In addition, you should think about what do you want to do with and in the cloud and what do you expected. Next, you need to define your own criteria to identify what you expected from the Cloud Computing provider. Subsequently, the areas in the companie must be identified that can go into the cloud, followed by the search for the services which are useful for the companies needs. This means that the company must be analyzed thoroughly. Furthermore, an open communication to and within the IT department is very important!

Design for Failure!

If you want to use the cloud, you should note one thing: Design for Failure!. The use of IaaS means in the first place, that the provider „only“ makes resources available, with which I can build my own virtual, scalable data center. I always notice that this understanding is lacking. With a Virtual Private Cloud it looks a little different, because the service stands in the foreground. Using a Virtual Private Cloud you should therefore develop a design together with the provider. Regardless of Public Cloud or Virtual Private Cloud, however it is important to know the cloud in detail that you use.

Regarding the design for failure you should always be careful not to create a single point of failure. And above all, always think about that something can go wrong at any point. The goal must therefore be that the application works at all times, even if the underlying hardware and infrastructure has a problem.

Multivendor Cloud Strategy

Regarding the design for failure you should also think about a multivendor cloud strategy. Beside IaaS this also applies for SaaS and PaaS. That means, that you not focus on just one provider and distribute your services or instances over several providers. At first you can choose a primary provider and make preparations in parallel at a second one. If the primary provider fails you can automatically switch to the second one. Besides the fact that you increase the reliability you also prevent a vendor lock-in and think about the basic and portable design of the virtual infrastructure.

Summary

For each company Cloud Computing has its potentials. Regardless of a private / public / virtual private cloud or hybrid or IaaS, SaaS, PaaS. It is necessary to find the right solutions for the company and to take a closer look where cloud computing can help to raise the own chances. That means to analyze, know and understand the company at first and to define the needs and requirements. Ongoing a cloud strategy must be developed and then the need for acting self-responsible is absolutely indispensable. Because Cloud Computing is not the universal remedy!