Cloud computing is no longer the outlier-it is the norm for most enterprises. As the cloud continues to expand in popularity and use, it is suitable for all to have a common understanding of cloud computing. Cloud computing can be broken down into five core principles. This article will explore all five principles to give you an overview and understanding of what you should know about cloud computing.
Dynamic Computing Infrastructure
Cloud Computing should be built on dynamic computing infrastructure. This infrastructure should be based on a scalable, secure physical infrastructure that is standardized and provides different levels of redundancy and virtualization. When coupled with provisioning automation, virtualization provides consolidation, which creates a high level of utilization and reuse.
IT Service-Centric Approach
An IT Service Centric approach encourages user adoption and business agility by making it easier and faster to perform administrative tasks. This, in turn, makes for greater expediency for business moves and reduces costs and drives revenue. An IT service-centric approach should provide users with easy but secure access to powerful pre-defined computing environments suitable for the execution of their services.
Self-Service Based Usage Model
Self-service based usage models provide the ability to upload, build, deploy, schedule, manage, and report on their business services on demand. Users benefit from self-service by enjoying a level of empowerment and independence that encourages and supports business agility. The IT team benefits from being able to delegate more tasks to users reducing administrative involvement.
Minimally or Self-Managed Platforms
Minimally or self-managed Platforms that are enabled through software automation, allow an enterprise to leverage a provisioning engine for deploying services and tearing them down; mechanisms for scheduling and reserving resource capacity; configuration, management, and reporting support, ensuring adequate resources allocation/reallocation for multiple groups of users; access control policies for resource utilization.
All of these capabilities enable business agility while enacting critical and necessary administrative control. This balance of power and delegation provides and maintains security and uptime while minimizing the level of IT regulatory effort. It also keeps operating expenses low and frees up resources to focus on higher-value projects.
Consumption-Based Billing
Consumption-based billing ensures that consumers only pay for the resources they use. For an enterprise, the benefit is that they pay only for the support they use, reducing their costs. From a provider’s perspective, it provides the ability to track usage for chargeback and billing purposes.
Support is necessary for all of the above principles. These principles are required to produce a cloud (private or public) that delivers a compelling business value that includes savings on capital equipment, operating costs, support costs, and increased business agility.
