A critical factor to consider is how it can be used best and managed appropriately to achieve the needs of a company and explore cloud computing’s full potential. Here are the 4 most important things that companies need to understand about cloud computing and its management.
Performance
It is true that cloud computing can offer enhanced performance. However, it is important to note that there are instances whereby erratic performance can be experienced. This, of course, depends on the vendor. That’s why selecting the right vendor is critical. Before making a long-term commitment, make sure that you have a service level agreement (SLA) which guarantees all services required and which you are paying for. You also need to ensure that the services will always be available and verify the guaranteed availability before initiating the agreement
Security
For any company security of information is the most important aspect that must be guaranteed by a cloud service provider. It is not always easy to keep the systems secure as this requires investment in both technical and non-technical resources. Public cloud service providers are often highly secured and have cutting edge security mechanisms making them highly protected. Ensure you have highly trained employees to handle all emergencies with regard to security and be aware of the cost associated.
Portability
Before making a commitment to sign for a particular vendor, always take into account interoperability and portability. Many companies struggle with vendor-lock after signing up with some cloud companies. Among the leading issues which have been reported are setups of architectures and tools that some cloud vendors use which make migrating to another provider expensive and difficult. When looking for a vendor and during configuration, you should always make sure that industry standard settings such as APIs, data formats and protocols are used. This makes migration from one vendor to another not only less complicated but also less expensive.
Expertise
With the ever-changing technological landscape, new challenges associated with having the right expertise crop up. Consequently, managing services driven by technologies such as cloud computing require the right human resources to ensure operations run efficiently. This has become a huge challenge to organizations as experts in cloud computing are few and cloud technologies change constantly. So, IT staff must be trained adequately and regularly to handle different aspects of cloud computing. Also consider getting outside help to fill the existing gaps.