Budgetary pressures are driving many businesses to reconsider the software licensing deals offered by traditional software developers and turn instead to a more flexible charging model. In cases like these, a viable solution may be offered by a move to cloud computing.

If your customers are battling to control the costs of IT, then they might welcome your advice on a hosted software model, such as cloud computing, where application resources are held and managed centrally by a third party, available to employees only when they need them.

This model dispenses with the need for up-front expenditure on hundreds of software licences, much of the functionality of which may be used only occasionally. It also allows the cost of in-house IT management to be pared back.

But with cloud computing still in its infancy, and with few examples of it presently in action - including software as a service (SaaS) - it’s important to first outline exactly what’s meant by a cloud-based service.

What is cloud computing?

‘It’s probably helpful to start by defining what a successful cloud computing implementation should look like,’ says Matt McCloskey, Head of Applications & Services with Virgin Media Business. ‘In my view, the prospective adopter of any cloud computing solution needs to tick several boxes before they can be sure it will deliver. The checklist below is something that you should go over with the client, item by item, before any commitment is made.’

Matt’s ideal cloud solution would be:

• Scalable - a solution able to be developed and expanded fast, in line with customer needs.
  
• Virtual - to shield the end user from the technology that makes the solution possible, presenting them only with the resources that they want and not the complexity behind them.
  
• On demand - with resources allocated and then removed in seconds when finished with.
  
• IP-based - so the solution can operate seamlessly in any LAN or WAN setting.
  
• Multi-tenanted - so that a single resource is used to share multiple applications among multiple users, enabling proper cost benefits to be realized.
  
• Measurable -with the solution’s performance backed by a well defined and clearly understood service level agreement.
  
• Priced by usage -so that the service is paid for according to the value it delivers and the use that’s made of it.

A trusted partner

You can enable cloud-based services by providing the client with a big Ethernet pipe to run services that extend from end user to cloud,’ says Matt. ‘You need to provide all necessary tools and to act as the perfect conduit between client and cloud solution provider. For anyone wanting to play the role of implementer and advisor to a client, it’s important to ensure that any cloud solution offers all of the following:’

• Savings – what’s on offer must clearly be cheaper than the existing way of doing things. There is some hesitancy about cloud computing at the top end of the market, among FTSE 100 organisations in particular, because of the capital expenditure that may be needed to ready their infrastructure. For small and medium businesses, the cost benefits of cloud computing are generally more obvious.
  
• Security – a challenge to get right and regarded as another barrier by the top end of the market. There are anecdotal stories of cloud security failures, as well as concerns about just how secure a multi-tenanted solution is for applications like customer relationship management and billing.
  
• Control – with the client lacking the same ownership over application deployment that they once had, they need simple web-based tools so they can see how the cloud solution is performing.
  
• Compliance – being sure that cloud computing does not throw up regulatory issues in areas like data protection and data security is important for everyone.
  
• Homogeneity – when multiple cloud applications from different providers are in use they need to be presented in a uniform way, interoperating with each other where needed.
  
• Self-healing – any cloud solution must be based on a self-healing network in case of faults.
  
• Portability – the client paying for the service wants to be sure that, in three years time, they don’t find themselves at the mercy of the service provider when they want to change providers or move to a new contract.

Network demands

‘Most successful cloud applications to date have revolved around relatively lightweight corporate applications that don’t make extortionate demands on network bandwidth; things like expenses management and payroll,’ says Vuk Trifković, Senior Analyst with advisory from Datamonitor. ‘There are other types of application, for example business intelligence, where data demands are greater. This doesn’t necessarily make the network side a problem per se, but it’s a consideration for anyone looking for a suitable partner to provide connectivity.’

Possible future changes to how data is trafficked is an important issue that needs working out up front, says Vuk. ‘Volumes may increase and the nature of the data may change,’ he says. ‘You need to consider, on the client’s behalf: ‘is the network used to manage the solution optimised for all different types of traffic? Can it cope with suddenly handling a lot of small but frequent requests for data?’’

System integration

You should also consider how well a cloud computing application will integrate with other systems used by the client, Vuk advises. ‘And there are other angles to consider besides the technical,’ he says. ‘Cloud computing frees you from having to manage and maintain, but it does involve a certain level of trust with the supplier of the service. It’s a mental shift. The user is not in charge; someone else is. Therefore, are there data security issues? Is there uncertainty about the legal status of data? If you are based in the EU, can you safely and legally put your data in the hands of a US-based supplier?’

However, none of these issues should dissuade your client from considering a move to a cloud model, says Vuk. ‘And as cloud technology matures, these issues will be less of a problem, I expect. But for the moment, dealing with them may well fall on your shoulders. Far from necessarily being the end of the relationship between SI and client, with the client choosing to interface directly with the cloud computing supplier, cloud computing creates a chance for you to build a successful practice based on being less of a deployer and maintainer and more of a trusted advisor.’

Further reading

Expert David Linthicum explains why successful cloud computing depends on governance.
http://www.infoworld.com/d/architecture/cloud-computing-needs-governance-be-successful-757

Discover more about the Cloud Computing Conference and Expo held every year in California, New York and Prague.
http://cloudcomputingexpo.com/event/session/515

IT consultant Dr. Jim Anderson considers what the future may hold for cloud computing.
http://www.theaccidentalsuccessfulcio.com/cloud-computing/cio-cloud-computing-what-the-future-holds

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