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Is the Cloud the Right Choice for My Company

A lot of people, myself included, have wondered why SaaS and cloud seem to be catching on more readily than ASPs at the start of the decade. Maybe we weren't ready then. SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) may have helped with this, in part.

As Linthicum points out in the podcast, cloud computing doesn't change the technology - it just changes the way we consume the technology:

Cloud provides us with another way to consume the same resources in a different kind of a model that enables us to scale up, it's fairly elastic, so in other words, we can scale up just by paying more money. The ability to support different levels of agility because we can provision cloud computing systems in a very short period of time, we can change providers, typically quickly and those capabilities fit right into the need that I think enterprises are looking at these days.

Linthicum's new book, "Cloud Computing and SOA Convergence in Your Enterprise," explores the connection between the two. It's an issue I've explored on this blog, as well as in interviews, including in an August interview with Atul Saini, CEO/Chairman/CTO of Fiorano Software.

However, while most of the news about moving to the cloud is positive, there are always caveats. Cloud can complicate load balancing and cloud offerings aren't always mature enough to deliver on their promises.

How can you tell if the cloud's a good choice for you?

Cloud computing is a better way to run your business for general apps that don't require complex system workflow or specialized LOB applications. Instead of running your traditional apps yourself, they run on a shared data center. When you use any app that runs in the cloud, you just log in, customize it, and start using it. That's the power of cloud computing.

Businesses are running all kinds of apps in the cloud these days, like CRM, HR, accounting, and custom-built apps. Cloud-based apps can be up and running in a few days, which is unheard of with traditional business software. They cost less, because you don't need to pay for all the people, products, and facilities to run them. And, it turns out they're more scalable, more secure, and more reliable than most apps. Plus, upgrades are taken care of for you, so your apps get security and performance enhancements and new features-automatically.

The way you pay for cloud-based apps is also different. Forget about buying servers and software. When your apps run in the cloud, you don't buy anything. It's all rolled up into a predictable monthly subscription, so you only pay for what you actually use.

I hear a lot about security and the accessibility of data centers all over the world, but how in the world will all of the information my company collects be protected? How will I be sure when I give my data to you that I can comply with all those regulations?

I would argue that it's no different than your own data centers and your staff, except that it's our data centers and your staff.  The fundamental limit is that networks and systems exist to do things with data. Depending on the sensitivity of that data -- which we can negotiate contractually -- it may never move out of your data centers and [the cloud] may lead to greater utilization of your existing data centers. Most of us are ignoring this aspect of things. APIs of the future will become much more rich and interesting when we can guarantee data around regulatory compliance and see real auditing information.

Why Host Using Cloud Computing?

Because the cloud can quickly scale to thousands of servers to make resources available as they are needed, companies such as Hosted Solutions Cloud computing customers never need to worry about physical space and hardware requirements to meet increasing traffic demands or huge traffic spikes.

What about Coexistance?

Coexistence is always an important feature for most companies.  Not every company is ready to do the plunge into the cloud on day one.  This is where coexistence can be a great leverage to being utilizing Cloud Computing as a strategic business solution.  An example is one of the great features of Exchange Online, part of the Microsoft Online Services BPOS suite, is that it allows coexistence with On Premise Exchange Servers. This can be very useful in situations where you have an On Premise Exchange Server and need to host some employees in the cloud.

So, the moral of the story: Yes, cloud and SaaS can be great options, particularly if you need agility and cost savings. But don't delude yourself about the realities of cloud. The key is to make sure it's the right option for you.