Cloud Computing Fundamentals

Cloud Computing Fundamentals

Callum Sherlock – Talent Acquisition Specialist – Technology – Landmark Information group

Why Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing is a revelation in IT that is changing the way we consume computing services as well as levelling the playing field for SME’s. In the last 10 years the way has been paved for computing to become more efficient and cost effective. Companies can save Millions in not only the cost efficiency of cloud computing, but by making them more agile – able to respond to changes in respective markets. 

In the past – hosting applications and data meant having to spend ￡millions on hardware and software and renting Data centre space to house those hardware and software assets. Cloud computing gives more options such as:

-         The ability to leverage remote systems on demand over the open internet

-         Ability to only pay for the resources you use.

-         Ability to scale up and scale back as needed. 

Cloud Technology, on the face of it, seems new, but is really just an evolution of technology over time. From the emergence of data centres in the early 1940’s to the rise of timesharing in the 60’s through to the 80’s and then the rise of distributed computing from the 80’s to the mis 2000’s. All these individual evolutions formed the basis of cloud computing which basically leverages a pool of compute resources to maximise cost and computing efficiency. 

Feature of Cloud computing include:

• On Demand self service
• Ubiquitous network access
• Resource Pooling
• Rapid Elasticity
• Pay per use 

The 3 delivery models of Cloud Computing are:

o  SaaS – Software as a service

o  PaaS – Platform as a service

o  Iaas – Infrastructure as a service

See: Types of Cloud

There are also 3 different deployment models. These are:

? Private Cloud

? Public Cloud

? Hybrid Cloud

Cloud Computing allows businesses to only pay for the resources that they leverage, as and when they need them. This means there is no need to buy expensive hardware of software ahead of the demand. The term in the industry is Elasticity, meaning you can deal with demand in a way that is appropriate at the time – for instance scaling down during the Covid-19 pandemic interruptions – without committed outlay that would end up costing (and wasting) ￡millions. You only pay for the resources that you use.

 Whats Next?

There are emerging new capabilities in the cloud such as Machine Learning and Big Data Analytics and the migration of applications to cloud based platforms meaning Business will be doing huge migrations of data into the cloud over the coming years.  

 Types of Cloud

To recap, the 3 types of Cloud deployment are:

o  Private

o  Public

o  Hybrid 

In my humble opinion, there is no such thing as a ‘one cloud fits all’ solution. Depending on the organisation you have to first understand the workloads – and then pick the cloud deployment model based on that organisation’s requirements. This process can take weeks, even months for large enterprises. 

Each cloud solution has its own pro’s and cons: 

Private Cloud – You own the hardware that the cloud runs on – it is for that companies use and theirs alone. 

·      You run the cloud on premises (on-prem) – some believe this provides the best security over public and hybrid cloud

X    Owning your own hardware and software means you are not getting the value of leveraging public and Private – it is expensive to own the hardware/software

Public Cloud – Leveraging cloud services over the open internet. Using hardware and software that you don’t own.  

·      You don’t need to buy expensive hardware or software, and you don’t need to buy data centre space to maintain these systems

X    Some consider the security of public cloud to be more brittle than private cloud. 

Hybrid Cloud – Use both public and private clouds, allowing you to run workloads on either cloud deployment models and having them work seamlessly together, you can deploy 1,2 or all these models. 

·      Can provide the best of both worlds – Since you have 2 different deployment models, you can leverage either to meet the demands of the workload. In some instances, workloads can be moved between both public and private cloud to maximise the value of leveraging the cloud platforms. 

The selection of which deployment model will work best really depends on each companies’ individual requirements. Part of the process of migrating to the cloud is understanding your workload and matching the appropriate deployment method to those workloads. This relates directly back to the business requirements and is therefore a critical decision. Business stakeholders who make these decisions need to:

·      Approach this decision with an open mind

·      Be prepared that 1, 2 or all types of Cloud may be necessary and leveraged in different ways to minimise cost and maximise efficiency – understanding what they are is the first step.

There are huge fundamental differences between different types of clouds. 

Saas

Software as a service – a finished application that you rent and customise to fulfil your individual purposes. A 3rd party provider hosts application software on behalf of the end user. More like applications that are delivered through web browsers or websites that provide the same value as traditional applications such as productivity applications like Microsoft Word.  

Replaces traditional enterprise applications like CRM and enterprise resource planning (ERP) 

Often overlooked by businesses that don’t always look to SaaS providers to provide alternatives to enterprise systems that have been housed within corporate data centres for years – meaning they miss out on a huge opportunity to save on expensive CRM and ERP software. 

E.g Salesforce.com – the largest SaaS provider in the world providing CRM and sales automation services. Office 365 – a SaaS version of Microsoft office platform. 

ü Provides cheaper ways to consume enterprise applications such as CRM and ERP.

Why SaaS:

-         Is often the path to saving the most money – given the outlay that businesses are making on expensive CRM and ERP resource.

-         Removes the need for businesses to spend on these types of software – the provider maintains the software and hardware

-         Unlimited scalability for businesses – as you can add seats or subscriptions as you add members to your team.

-         No need to update or patch software at considerable monetary and human cost as the provider makes continuous and automatic updates.

-         Supports both desktop and mobile computing. 

-         Risk is shifted to the cloud provider

-         Only pay for seats and subscription that you use – allows you to align usage directly with Spending. 

IaaS

Infrastructure as a service – In an IaaS model, a 3rd party provider hosts hardware, software, storage, and other infrastructure components from on behalf of the end user. 

They are designed to replace data centres including storage and computing services. 

E.G Azure (Microsoft) / AWS (Amazon Web Services) / GCP (Goole Cloud Platform) 

ü Provides cheaper platforms for applications and data. Since the hardware and software is shared between known and unknown users. 

They are the fastest growing types of Cloud in the world today. IaaS clouds are not all the same and you need to take time to consider the capabilities of each brand. IaaS clouds are likely to be vital to your organisation going forward and you will need to consider both what your current requirements are now, and what they are likely to be in the future.

 Why IaaS:

-         Provides Infrastructure services found in a traditional data centre.

-         Provides application and data hosting for existing enterprise workloads – such as applications and databases – or both.

-         Can be deployed as Private, Public or Hybrid cloud – That means you have flexibility to leverage whichever deployment model fits best for you.

-         Avoid buying expensive hardware and software – meaning you are shifting expenditure from CapEx (capital expenditure) to OpEx (Operational expenditure)

-         Only pay for the services you use – most providers bill by either time or volume of data.

-         Elasticity – IaaS clouds can scale up or scale back depending on the needs of the application workloads. So we pay more or pay less depending on required capacity.

-         Risk is shifted to IaaS providers – They look after the hardware and software as well as making the initial investment – they accept the risk (and the cost of that risk) 

PaaS

Platform as a Service - Application Development and testing deployment platform that you leverage on demand. In A PaaS model, it provides a platform allowing users to develop, run, and manage applications without the complexity of building and maintaining the infrastructure themselves. 

It’s a cloud version of application development deployment and the hosting of Applications.  

A lot of business stakeholders don’t fully understand it when they really should. Understanding how PaaS services work, enhances developer efficiency and brings applications to the business quickly.

 E.G Google App Engine – provides application development services as well as deployment and hosting.

 ü Provides cheaper ways to build web-based systems that enforce standards – the use of cloud based resources means that you are sharing resources and thus avoiding buying your own hardware and software.

 Integration of both PaaS and IaaS tends to be a trend that is becoming more and more commonplace. 

Why PaaS:

-         Reduces application development and deployment costs which cost businesses ￡Millions.

-         Enhances Developer efficiency and brings applications to the business quickly.

-         Provides and complete development and testing and deployment platform that most enterprises will find more Turnkey than traditional development tools.

-         Reduces the complexity of building, testing, and deploying applications by keeping the developers inside a well-defined environment, that limits the ability for the developers to make mistakes.

-         PaaS supports most IaaS providers including Azure, AWS and GCP OR you can integrate these platforms directly in with you PaaS built applications.

-         Things can happen more quickly as you do not need to maintain and debug your platform.

-         Shifts risk onto the PaaS provider.