The benefits of cloud computing continue to grow

In May of 2010, I wrote my first article dedicated to explaining the benefits of cloud computing (check out that dated graphic on that page).  I updated that article in August of 2012.  Now, it’s time for another update, or really,  more of an addendum.  The cloud industry has been unfolding for quite some time now and it’s clear that it’s not a “flash in the pan” or some trendy thing that will die.  In fact, it’s more relevant today than ever before!  In addition, there are more players and new technologies.  And, more importantly, the value & benefits continue to grow.

CFO’s see value in the cloud, Being Courted by Google

According to a Google’s BLOG, in a survey of 800 CFOs, 81% think (AKA a believe) that completely implementing cloud technology would improve employee productivity, and 71% say it would reduce the time required to bring new products and services to market.  The CFO on a company is normally a big part of the decision making process.  I point out “belief” because a lot of times decisions are made in part or whole on a person’s belief.  If the numbers in Google’s BLOG are true, it will continue to fill the sails of cloud computing growth in the years to come.  I can get pretty analytical, but in general, I align with with the conclusions for reduced time for new services and productivity.  Also notice, CFO’s are being courted by Google... and for good reason.

NASA Mars Mission Uses Amazon’s AWS

NASA’s use of Amazon’s AWS is interesting.  I knew that NASA had a private cloud so I didn’t expect them to use AWS.  I’m guessing this is a good example of using the cloud to augment capability quickly when you don’t have enough (cloud bursting) and take advantage of services that are too costly to build yourself.  NASA was able to quickly setup needed AWS EC2 services to prepare and serve images and then take advantage of Amazon’s huge network footprint to cache images on the edge of the net to serve images and other science data to a massive set of customers around the globe.

The Step Function of Cost

Building a “Private Cloud” within your data center has a lot of potential return on investment (ROI).  David Linthicom’s article, and others, are saying “you need to architect”.  

The focus needs to be on the architecture and the right-fitting enabling technology, including both private and public cloud technology, and not gratuitous opinions. There should be no limits on the technology solution patterns you can apply. If that means private, public, or a mix of both, that's fine as long as you do your requirements homework and can validate that you have chosen the right solution.

I agree, just stop architecting with brochure-ware and really think through your solution.  Think about what you need today, where you are going and how you integrate everything else.  Excluding software as a service (SaaS), when you compare private and public clouds there are some real advantages for a private cloud.  One of the biggest advantages I see public cloud solutions have, is the flexibility to scale up and down and time it takes to do that.

The thing I keep coming back to when I talk to people about public vs. private clouds is what I call “large step functions in cost”. One of the big step functions is cost to build a data center or enlarge it.  That large investments in infrastructure kills your ROI until you fully utilize that capital investment.  If you are building (or enlarging) a data center for example, most companies don’t build just what they need today, they leave some room for growth, and that’s “flexibility”.  That flexibility is costly because it just sits there on the books not really giving you any ROI until you start using it.  Really the ROI from that flexibility is only realized as future cost avoidance of the next step function in cost.  It’s like buying a restaurant and initially only serving breakfast.  Sure you’ll eventually staff up and start getting better use of that capital investment when you start serving lunch and dinner but until you do, your ROI may be negative.  Compare this to the cloud where having the capacity to grow costs you nothing.  Is “public cloud” always the best solution?  No, but you have options, architect, think, and compare.

- Chris Claborne

References & Related

• Benefits of Cloud Computing


• Challenges & Risks of Implementing Cloud Computing

Cloud in 2012? Start Planning Now

Thinking about utilizing cloud services in 2012 and want to start mitigating some potential risks today.  InfoWorld’s Tim Greene recommends that you start working over you network provider today.

Benefits of Cloud Computing

Updated 8/24/2012
Let's review the benefits of cloud computing. The core focus here will mainly be on cloud application deployment (sometimes known as software as a service or SAAS), like SalesForce.com for customer relationship management or Google Apps, for Office productivity. Cloud computing can also provide tremendous benefit by serving as a "platform" for custom development, like Google App Engine, which I will address in future articles. Cloud computing is in an evolutionary period in business computing, much like the migration from mainframe computers to desktop then to PC LANs, cloud computing is a major disrupting technology in business. This isn’t a bad thing; it’s just different and brings tremendous benefit. Companies that can adapt will benefit and get the jump on their competitors by reaping the benefits earlier. If you want an intro to cloud computing read my article, “Primer on Cloud Computing”.