10 Cloud Misunderstandings

Whenever something gets popular quickly, it’s likely to be surrounded by misconceptions – and perhaps that’s particularly true of technology. Let’s approach the issue head-on and discuss 10 things people get wrong when they consider cloud computing.

• Cloud as an Established Standard
• 10 Myths & Misunderstandings About the Cloud
• Test-Drive Your Own VM

Cloud as an Established Standard

The cloud is large and growing.

On February 18, RightScale released results from the 2015 State of the Cloud Survey conducted in January. The cloud portfolio management company asked 930 IT specialists from a diverse cross-section of business (76% of them non-customers) several questions about their company’s use of cloud technologies. The results demonstrated that cloud has become a standard technology in the business world.

“93 percent of organizations surveyed are running applications or experimenting with infrastructure-as-a-service,” explains the press release from RightScale. “82 percent of enterprises have a hybrid cloud strategy.”

10 Myths & Misunderstandings About the Cloud

The cloud is a misunderstood genius.

Here are 10 misperceptions people often have about cloud computing, as discussed by AJ Clark in Entrepreneur :

1. The technology you have currently in place will perform preferably using cloud services.

That’s not always the case. Remember that with a public server, you are sharing the resources of numerous machines with other users. Strong design of a public cloud makes it incredibly reliable, but you could experience performance issues with some apps engineered to run in on-premise datacenters.

2. Your ability to process huge datasets will improve.

Now, here’s the thing: Indiana University (IU) is known for building some of the most powerful supercomputers in the world, such as Big Red II, and IU distinguished professor of computer science Geoffrey Charles Fox has said that cloud often outpaces supercomputers.

However, the actual connection between you and the technology – your PC and the server – might hinder cloud speed versus a local system.

3. Hiccups are uncommon when support mechanisms are cloudified.

When you migrate to cloud, support components must migrate as well.

“While this shift can be beneficial,” Clark argues, “if access to the cloud is interrupted in any way, productivity could grind to a halt.”

4. You have to fully commit to the cloud.

Many companies use the cloud for a portion of their systems. In some cases, those systems are test environments as the firm considers a 100% shift.

5. All you need is virtualization.

One of the greatest strengths of cloud is that you move from physical to virtual (also distributing the resources to an integrated network of hardware, a major efficiency and speed advantage over the traditional VPS). You won’t realize the full potential of the cloud unless you set up strong automation mechanisms so that your server is optimized.

6. The best way to protect yourself is to engineer your own cloud.

You might think that Hillary Clinton was right – that you can better protect data by setting up your own system (after all, the State Department was breached).

However, says Clark, “the variety of attacks a cloud sustains can actually make it more secure… because the engineers protecting the network will be able to identify and correct more weaknesses.”

In other words, don’t forego cloud service providers (CSPs) for DIY unless you really know what you’re doing.

7. Cloud by itself will make computing budget-friendly.

You are able to scale as you go, benefiting from the elasticity of cloud. That means your budget becomes more agile as well.

However, it’s a mistake to think strictly in terms of straight costs. Again, optimization is key. You want to streamline your operations and speed up the flow of data to achieve the most significant savings.

8. With a cloud server in place, it’s easy to distribute mobile access to your workforce.

Cloud is particularly impressive in its ability to deliver a massive amount of raw processing power as needed. However, you also have to think about whether people will be able to use the software offline. “A hybrid approach combining local and offline data storage while interfacing with the cloud on an as-available basis is one best practice,” Clark suggests.

9. You can jump around from one provider to the next.

You always want to understand the agreement that you are signing when you select a cloud service. Look over the paperwork so you know if you have to stay with the organization for 12 months or whatever the parameters may be.

10. The provider’s employees will have access to everything.

Cloud companies would not survive in the increasingly competitive market if it were ever discovered that there staff wasn’t respecting the privacy of user data. In fact, CSPs are continually strengthening their account safeguards so that even they can’t get into your proprietary information.

Test-drive Your Own VM

Hopefully the above thoughts help to clear up some cloud misconceptions. However, the best way to get to know any cloud system is a test drive. You can create a flex cloud virtual machine now for free. Only pay when you are ready to deploy.