Cloud Computing

<strong>Advice: </strong>The cloud may not benefit all workloads equally. Don’t be afraid to propose noncloud solutions when appropriate.

Myth 4: “The CEO Said So” Is a Cloud Strategy

When asked about what their cloud strategy is, many companies don’t have one and the default is often (stated or not) that they are just doing what their CEO wants.

<strong>Advice: </strong>A cloud strategy begins by identifying business goals and mapping potential benefits of the cloud to them, while mitigating the potential drawbacks. Cloud should be thought of as a means to an end. The end must be specified first.

<strong>Myth 5: We Need <em>One</em></strong><strong>Cloud Strategy or Vendor</strong>

Cloud computing is not one thing and a cloud strategy has to be based on this reality.

<strong>Advice: </strong>A cloud strategy should be based on aligning business goals with potential benefits. A single cloud strategy makes sense if it makes use of a decision framework that allows for and expects multiple answers.

Myth 6: Cloud Is Less Secure Than On-Premises Capabilities

Cloud computing is <em>perceived </em>as less secure. To date, there have been very few security breaches in the public cloud — most breaches continue to involve on-premises data center environments.

<strong>Advice: </strong>Don’t assume that cloud providers are not secure, but also don’t assume they are. Cloud providers should have to demonstrate their capabilities, but once they have done so there is no reason to believe their offerings cannot be secure.

Myth 7: Cloud Is Not for Mission-Critical Use

Cloud computing is not all or nothing. It is being adopted (and should be adopted) in steps and in specific cases.

Cloud computing, even with its maturity in the past decade and use by businesses, is still prone to a good deal of myth surrounding its real value. Whether they revolve around security concerns or cost savings, cloud myths primarily serve to impede innovation and distract us from real progress.

Myth 1: Cloud Is Always About Money

Sometimes the cloud saves money, but there are many other reasons cited for migrating to the cloud, the most common of which is for agility. Gartner’s 2014 CIO survey shows that cost savings account for only 14% of the reasons for organizations’ use of the public cloud. Saving money may end up one of the benefits, but it should not be taken for granted.

<strong>Advice: </strong>Don’t assume you will save money unless you have done the hard work of honestly analyzing the situation. Utilize total cost of ownership and other models on a case-by-case basis and assess the implications of moving from capital expenditure (capex) to operating expenditure (opex). But most importantly, look beyond pure financial issues.

Myth 2: You Have to Be Cloud to Be Good

Some vendors practice “cloud washing” — the tendency to call things cloud whether they are or not. While some cloud washing is accidental and a result of legitimate confusion, we also see IT organizations call many things cloud as part of their efforts to gain funding and meet nebulous cloud demands and strategies.

<strong>Advice: </strong>Call things what they are. Many other capabilities (e.g., automation, virtualization) and characteristics can be good and do not need to be cloud washed.

Myth 3: Cloud Should Be Used for Everything

Unless there are cost savings, moving a legacy application that doesn’t change is not a good candidate. The cloud fits best where value is placed on flexibility and the business has the ability to consume and pay for only what is needed when needed.