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Cloud Computing

Cloud Computing: Benefits and Deployment Profiles

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As discussed in the previous post (Cloud computing: adoption and concepts), this week we will address the benefits most commonly identified by companies that have consistently embraced cloud computing and the three currently available model deployment profiles.

Benefits of Cloud Computing

Cloud computing enables companies to eliminate or reduce investments in physical technology infrastructure, lowering the costs and costs of physical space, lighting, cooling, environmental management, and human resources involved in space maintenance. In addition, there is the possibility of an immediate redirection of resources previously dedicated to the management of physical assets, such as servers and storage, for other activities of greater added value for the company.

In this model, specialized hubs accurately provide the infrastructure needed to run each operation, preventing companies or sectors from stopping for lack of resources, space and capacity. In this way, high investments in capacity to meet resource utilization peaks are avoided, which for many years was a great challenge for the technology areas, since the infrastructure had to be often dimensioned by the utilization ceiling, operating with idle capacity for most of the year.

Another advantage is the reduction of service provisioning time. This is a value identified by most companies that have adopted the model in recent years. Cloud computing provides agility and elasticity to provision services and deliver on demand.

By migrating the data to a company that specializes in delivering cloud computing solutions, the organization is not only investing in an off-site storage solution, but also buying a little peace of mind. That’s because cloud solution providers like Amazon, Microsoft, IBM and Google rely on trained professionals ready to respond to emergencies, frustrations and failures 24 hours a day. By default, cloud computing offers an instant backup solution out of the place where you’re running. In cases of disasters, for example, business continuity is assured.

In essence, the cloud changes the cost structure and IT management, with the shift from a reality of equipment purchase, hiring of professionals and operation of internal data centers, to a paradigm oriented to the acquisition of services from which really necessary, and only when it is necessary. It becomes the responsibility of another company to make sure that everything is safe, available and reliable. This has generated, in the last 5 years, a worldwide trend of migration to the cloud. Companies (cloud customers) have become more concerned with their business and operations goals and less with the technology that supports their initiatives and related maintenance. In parallel, cloud computing has made room for technology to be increasingly used strategically, coupled with much of the innovation initiatives undertaken by companies.

Through the cloud it is also possible to separate two different IT environments in the so-called bimodal IT: the union of traditional IT, one that aims at stability, integration and operational efficiency, with the responsibility of keeping all processes uninterrupted; and experimental IT, which is differentiated by speed, agility and experimentation, such as the creation of an application for internal use.

Using the right services, operated properly, the cloud can encompass all internal and even external processes, as well as meet the mobility that companies need, regardless of the size and the segment in which they operate. After all, much of the appeal of cloud computing is tailored to the needs of each business model.

Different cloud profiles

There are basically three cloud profiles currently available, namely:

Public Cloud: is a service provided by a service provider to home users or businesses over the Internet. In this model, all hardware, software and other infrastructure items belong to the provider and are managed by the provider. The charge is based on the resources used, such as the infrastructure of the applications, physical infrastructure or software. The available resources are shared by the different customers who pay according to their particular use.

Private Cloud: Its main characteristic is the exclusivity in the use of resources available by a single company (or client, from the perspective of a cloud service provider). In this model, the cloud can be hosted both in the user’s own environment and in a service provider’s datacenter. One of the main advantages of this type of cloud is the high potential of inherent customization, since the user company has at its disposal unique features.

Hybrid cloud: is the adoption of public and private cloud simultaneously. Because it is dynamic, it can meet a high demand for scalability, shaping itself according to the needs and business model of the company.

In the next post, we will discuss the challenges for migrating to the cloud computing model and the best practices commonly adopted by companies that have succeeded in this endeavor.

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