FEATURE
Most businesses now are taking a hybrid
approach to the cloud by spreading their
resources between public clouds (for
front-end applications) and private clouds
(for sensitive data) with some also using
on-premise data centres to handle less
intensive tasks. The flexibility of hybrid
cloud solutions has made cloud migration
that much easier and it is more agile now
than ever before.
It is important, however, to use colocation
as part of a hybrid solution as colocation
data centres are able to integrate multiple
infrastructures into a single, optimally-
functioning environment by providing a
secure, private cloud with access to public
clouds. Colocation data centres can also
help enterprises deploy and manage a
hybrid data centre.
Benefits of the cloud
Cost – Regardless of their size, by
migrating their operations to the cloud,
businesses can save substantial capital
costs through a reduction in spending on
equipment, infrastructure and software.
It allows them access to additional
processing power for no extra cost and
the vast majority of cloud contracts
include the cost of system upgrades – new
hardware and software. You’ll also save on
the recruitment of additional IT staff and
the energy consumption that comes with
running your own data centre.
Scaling – Scaling is that much easier
with a cloud or colocation solution, as
you don’t need to buy extra resources.
Most cloud providers will allow your
business to easily upscale or downscale
their existing resources to accommodate
your business needs or any changes.
This will enable you to support growth
without expensive changes to your
existing systems.
When it comes to Digital Transformation,
easy scaling with minimal disruption is
absolutely vital, so cloud and data centre
solutions really is the key enabler of
Digital Transformation.
Efficiency – Not only will a cloud solution
enable your business to communicate
and share more easily outside traditional
methods, but it will allow more efficient
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collaboration between employees –
allowing them to share and work on the
same data at the same time.
Continuity – In the event of a data centre
disaster, if your data was 100% on-premise
then it might be lost forever. However,
with all your data stored in the cloud, it is
that much easier to back it up and restore
it – avoiding downtime, keeping data and
operations running smoothly and ensuring
business continuity.
Flexibility – Cloud solutions enable you
to access and process your data and
resources quickly and securely from
anywhere in the world, offering greater
flexibility to your businesses and their
employees. This flexibility also extends
to how data is harnessed. Netflix, for
example, spent almost a decade moving
its services to the Amazon Web Services
cloud to help deliver great end-user
content when in high demand. Big Data
sets are created against user profiles, data
which can be accessed to create new
features suited to each individual – greatly
enhancing the end user experience.
Security – According to the Cloud
Industry Forum, 75% of business owners
are concerned about data security and
56% about data privacy during the
decision-making process to move to the
cloud. However, because cloud service
providers are often used by so many
disparate businesses, their security is
generally that much more advanced than
a typical on-premise data centre.
They will use data encryption, key
management, strong access controls and
security intelligence in addition to regular
security audits and these security costs are
shared across all users in the cloud, making
them that much more cost-effective.
Challenges of the cloud
There are, of course, innate challenges
that are faced by any organisation
migrating their services to the cloud, with
security and the concern that valuable
data might be ‘lost in the shuffle’ amongst
the most obvious fears.
There are also industry-specific challenges
to consider, but the vast majority of
these challenges can be circumvented
by utilising the best practices for cloud
migration. To learn more, visit telehouse.
net/london-data-centres ◊
www.intelligentdatacentres.com