Loud and Cloud

The importance of migrating to the cloud and the pitfalls of this…

The popularity of cloud computing has been soaring in recent times. According to the reports revealed by Verizon State of the Market Enterprise Cloud 2014, over 65% of current day’s enterprises are using cloud computing and this figure is expected to rise in the coming years because its benefits – lower capital, operating costs for data centres and improved application performance and resiliency.

Why migrating to the cloud computing is important?

There are several debatable points of cloud computing. Here are some that highlight the importance of migrating to the cloud.

• Cloud allows for the complete use of memory, processing, disk space etc., server resources can be put into better use.
• Setting up a multi-region infrastructure is no more a difficult task with cloud computing. Maintenance, time and human resource management, and error control effort become easier if you have migrated to cloud computing.
• Setting up a disaster recovery system for an entire data centre can be very expensive. Implementing cloud computing system allows for better control over resources.
• Tracking and upgrading underlying server software can be time-consuming. In some cases, Cloud provider will take care of this automatically. Additionally, cloud computing models can also handle administrative tasks such as database backup, software upgrades and periodic maintenance.

The pitfalls of cloud computing:

The possible drawbacks associated with cloud migration must never be ignored.

• Firstly, many start-up and inexperienced businesses make the mistake of not getting their cloud strategy right. Also, often they get confused regarding the definition of the cloud which further makes them lack clarity on what exactly they want to achieve by migrating to the cloud.
• Most providers of cloud-based retain backups in redundant servers ensuring that there is no threat of data being lost. However, assuming the service provider would offer a disaster recovery solution by default is one of the biggest mistakes. There may be no way to recover the data, when a disaster strikes.
• Underestimating the cost can be one of the major pitfalls of cloud computing because many businesses plan budgets only for storage costs while migrating to the cloud. Availing various other benefits that cloud computing offers can be a costly affair. However, a good understanding of services that are required to run businesses can help you eliminate extra costs. Also, before migrating to the cloud, confirm the total costs with the cloud service provider.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) V/S Microsoft Azure:

AWS and Microsoft Azure are regarded as the leading cloud service providers. AWS is considered to have more than 10 times the computation capacity than all of its 14 rivals combined, including Microsoft Azure. Despite this dominance, Microsoft Azure has been successful in building a huge global cloud network too. In fact, selecting one cloud over the other depends totally on the wants and needs of each individual customer, and the workloads they run.

Compute Storage Databases and Networking: Business are often interested in compute and storage. AWS offers EC2 instances which can be tailored to the needs of the businesses. Additionally, it also provides related services like Elastic Beanstalk for app deployment, AWS Lambda, the EC2 Container service and Autoscaling. On the other hand, AWS storage includes Simple Storage (S3), Elastic Block Storage (EBS), Glacier archive backup and Storage Gateway which helps in integrating on-premise environments.

Pricing: Both vendors offer free introductory tiers, before charging fees for their services. Microsoft Azure has recently made some changes to its pricing line with currency fluctuations but has ensured that UK customers would remain unaffected. The pricing structure of AWS is not always entirely clear and many customers look to third parties to manage costs.

Customers: This is clearly a biggest point for AWS as it has increasingly taken on large customer deals. Its client base includes AirBnB, Aon, Channel 4, Financial Times, Down Jones, Kurt Geiger, Nike, Lonely Planet, Pfizer and Royal Opera House. Microsoft has, perhaps, less high profile Azure users.

Undoubtedly AWS’ services appear to be superior in terms of offering the widest range of functionality and the most mature cloud offer. For large organisations, AWS offers an expansive list of tools and services coupled with enterprise-friendly features. Meanwhile, for those organisations which have already invested heavily on Microsoft’s technology and developer skills, Azure is certainly recommended.

At present we have requirements for Cloud Architects as well as Technical Project and Delivery Managers with AWS/Azure experience. Get in touch to find out more - [email protected]