Can you imagine doing business without a computer? Sharing information without a phone? Getting an instant answer without instant messaging?
There is little doubt that technology has become an integral part of our lives – the interconnecting thread that binds together people, events and interactions. It's hard to believe the evolutionary curve that brought us to this point began just four decades ago. And though we can easily remember a time when we didn't have a mobile phone or an e-mail account, few of us can now imagine a world without them.
Technology has, in a sense, formed its own 21st century ecosystem. Much more than just the Internet or IT network, this matrix of tools, processes and services has become a massive data processing infrastructure – a nebulous “cloud” which links users, information and services.
“The cloud initially developed around consumer-based services for sharing and collaborating,” says Dan Bertrand, an HP Fellow and Chief Technology Officer at HP. “However, more and more attention is turning to business users and processes as they see the business benefits of accessing information whenever and wherever they need it. And the cloud is what makes that possible.”
Businesses are now recognizing the value these services and associated delivery models can provide, says Bertrand. Cloud capabilities are bleeding into the business world as organizations look for ways to bring flexibility, productivity and ease of use into the enterprise environment.
“Cloud is the next big evolutionary change for IT,” says Bertrand. “It will open up new ways to source, deliver and govern highly scalable and flexible services. Businesses will drive the expansion of services delivered through the cloud to an entire new set of services to address their needs.”
Cloud is a phenomena that has rapidly risen over the past two years and now dominates technology discussion. It is considered “the next big thing” by some and pure hype by others. And precisely defining the cloud is proving elusive at best. But experts, analysts and IT developers all agree that it's not a substitute for existing technology; it's a dynamic expansion of current technology capabilities that will forge new paths into the marketplace through:
- New access – The cloud provides the foundational architecture for everything delivered as a service. This is accelerating the shift from technology-oriented to service-oriented, so now many people in business have rapid access through any Internet device to services that were otherwise unavailable, unaffordable, or just too technical for most people to use. Also, services and data are detached from any specific device, so people will be able to access information and data more readily.
- New software – Cloud applications are multi-tenant, multi-user, and massively scalable. They will provide much faster time to market and open access to exponentially vast audiences. Businesses benefit from lower cost and much faster time to market with the advent of flexible consumption of cloud applications.
- New ways to connect – There is significantly better access to data and information (such as business to business, business to consumer, and people to experiences) and more contextually relevant data because people connect to other people and what they know.
In short, the lines are blurring, Bertrand says, between how employees, suppliers and customers interact. Customers are placing and tracking their own orders, suppliers are connected seamlessly to respond to those orders and requests, and many “employees” actually work for partners in other countries. In a zero-latency world where answers and outputs are expected immediately, it's become a necessity to have a technology foundation that keeps you integrated with all these elements and also works to streamline and optimize your business processes. Cloud is a critical part of that adaptation to the next stage.
Kevin Torgerson, Senior VP, HP Service Delivery Operations, cautions that this adoption may not be as straightforward as many enterprises think. Torgerson and his team lead the architecture and delivery of cloud offerings within HP and work directly with clients on implementation.
“A lot of corporations, in their haste to derive the advantages of cloud, may be approaching the challenge in the wrong way,” he says. “The impulse is to just migrate existing workload into the cloud. Consider using the cloud to do new things that weren't possible or practical before, to extend and expand your “business as usual.” Remember: new access, new software, new ways to connect.”
But also remember, he says, that cloud-based services are an emerging technology and should be adopted with that “beta phase” in mind. Make sure you understand the risks and constraints while defining your short- and long-term plans.
For example, he says, there may be inherent issues of security, data integrity, compliance, latency, and service level agreement mismatches. He adds that the technology is several years away from all these issues being completely addressed and ready for the most critical enterprise operations on a broad basis.
“Understand that many business processes and applications are just not cloud ready,” Torgerson says. “Make sure the services are a proper fit for your enterprise and don't let the buzz around cloud gets in the way of smart choices. When enterprises contemplate replacing existing IT capability in their organization, consider that it can sometimes be more complicated than a simple “lift and shift” from your current in-house service to a cloud-based platform. You may have to rearchitect or rewrite software to take full advantage of the cloud environment and the service may not integrate with existing back-end systems without significant change.”
But just what is meant by cloud services? Again, that definition is elusive. But generalized attributes serve as parameters:
- Multi-tenant – multiple clients using a single, shared delivery system
- Low touch/highly automated – not necessarily “no touch”; throughout the process from choosing to using the service
- Standard service interface – self service, not customized; everyone accesses in the same way
- IT license owned by provider – may include licenses for hardware, routers, infrastructure, software, and so forth depending on what is provided
- Bill by unit price – small units such as dollar per CPU, per gigabyte, per minute
- Flexible capacity – scale up, scale down; not locked in to a certain level
- Consumed – over the Internet or accessible via the Internet
Services that meet all of these criteria have many advantages and open exciting opportunities. However, the implementation of only cloud services may not be adequate for enterprise needs.
Instead, HP experts recommend a planned hybrid approach of in-house, cloud, and hosted/outsourced services designed for the long run. This blended solution positions enterprises to ease into the future model of service-centric technology. At the same time, businesses can realize many of the benefits and advantages associated with cloud via more traditional IT services.
“HP has utilized aspects of cloud computing for decades,” says Ed Reynolds, an HP Fellow who regularly blogs on cloud topics. “Flexible capacity, unit billable, high automation, even accessibility via the Internet – these are all built in to many of our current offerings. The ideas that make up the cloud have been around a good while. This is just the first time those aspects have all coalesced under the cloud umbrella.”
Reynolds notes that when you map current technologies against the benefits associated with cloud services, clients are often surprised with the results. They find that they don't always need cloud to get the advantages such as:
Reynolds notes that when you map current technologies against the benefits associated with cloud services, clients are often surprised with the results. They find that they don't always need cloud to get the advantages such as:
- Less investment in physical assets
- Lower IT costs
- Pay per unit or period of time
- Quick access to services
- Process optimization
- Improved quality of service
- Less technical complexity
- Better visibility into data/analytics
“As business leaders, our clients are savvy about keeping up with trends. In our conversations with them, they say they want cloud services,” Reynolds says. “But further conversation shows that they want the benefits commonly associated with cloud. Many of these gains can be achieved through in-house and hosted environments, and it is important to have a holistic perspective on all of the various application and infrastructure options available to move towards these goals.”
Bertrand agrees, adding that “we're leaving behind the physical, manual processes that drove the industry for decades. But this doesn't mean that we're leaving behind all the technology.”
“We want to move our clients to a service-centric environment, to get them positioned for cloud computing, and keep them at the leading edge,” says Bertrand. “But we also want to do it in the most cost-effective and optimized way, leveraging their current systems and processes, minimizing disruptions and – most importantly – transforming their technology environments to optimize business outcomes.”