Obstacles for implementation of cloud services

Trends of implementation of cloud computing

About 65% of publishers of the software propose all the solutions or their part in the form of a cloud service, at the same time on average about 24% of a portfolio of typical software developer fall to the share of cloud services. Though about a third of publishers for the present do not locate services based on cloud computing, about 75% of respondents are going to offer next year at least a part of the portfolio in the form of a cloud service. As for respondents with the mixed portfolio (i.e. offering both traditional solutions, and solutions based on cloud computing), the share of cloud products at them will not change and will still remain at the level of 25%. On survey results, within the next five years the share of cloud solutions in the general portfolio of publishers of software will grow though the number of the publishers who are not planning implementation of a cloud delivery pattern will still remain at the level of 25%.

According to poll of SafeNet company and Association of information and software industry (SIIA) (spring of 2013) in which more than 600 software developers and more than 200 end users of the corporate software participated.

"The cloud delivery pattern is attractive both for publishers of the software, and for end users. Attractiveness of this model is reached mainly due to potential increase in transparency, use of more flexible business models and subjective simplicity in operation, – Michelle Nerlinger, the vice president of SafeNet says. – However availability of these advantages in many respects depends on capability of publishers of software in an effective way to trace and control the applications and to manage them – using the automated procedures and preserving of high operational efficiency. All this demonstrates that implementation of effective methods of licensing and management of the rights becomes a pacing factor of success for monetization of software in a cloud. For publishers of the software performing transition to cloud model, i.e. working in the hybrid mode, existence of the platform supporting delivery of applications both using traditional model and in a cloud, is absolutely necessary condition".

The factors influencing implementation of a cloud delivery pattern from the point of view of publishers and end users

One of pacing factors for publishers of software promoting implementation of cloud services is the aspiration to reduce the operating costs connected with delivery, activation of products and with ensuring technical support (so considers 62% of respondents). Among other factors – improvement of customer service due to "elimination of an excess headache" (46%); possibility of an entry into the new and niche markets (48%); additional opportunities for the analysis of use (33%); and acceleration of an output of solutions to the market (32%).

Justice of these expectations is confirmed to 61% of publishers of software which already implemented cloud approach: these companies announce positive financial effect, the caused decrease in operating costs and/or increase in revenue. Besides, only 6% of respondents noted deterioration in financial performance or gain of security risk with implementation of a cloud delivery pattern of the software.

Publishers of software are not lonely in the aspiration to achieve increase in flexibility and transparency due to implementation of a cloud delivery pattern. Thirty five percent of end users of the corporate software noted lack of necessary flexibility of processes of licensing which do not satisfy requirement of the organization any more and become the main problem when using software. Besides, 14% of end users of the corporate software called cloud services the most preferable model of licensing of software, and 16% of users separately noted that the model with payment depending on use amount for them is a preferable pricing model.

"The SIIA association with huge interest monitors those rapid changes which happen in a cloud delivery pattern of software, – Rhianna Collier, the vice president of division of SIIA dealing with problems of the software says. – We expect increase in a share of the software delivered in the form of service (SaaS), considering that software developers and users aim to take that advantage which is offered by a cloud delivery pattern".

Models of distribution of standard solutions are Advantages and shortcomings

Obstacles for implementation of cloud services

Features of cloud solutions

Some typical errors of deployment of cloud solutions

• "Quick start" with the conventional preconfigured processes. Customization under processes of the company is left for later-> In parts or in full the disabled application.
• Implementation of the Best-In-Class set of decisions without preliminary design of their integration-> the Cost of unprepared integration of systems and data can exceed the benefita received from a cloud.
• Failure from existence of internal (in-house) examination of the cloud applicaion-> Unjustified dependence on exclusive provider. Often financial losses.
• Support of a system is automatically assigned to provider without analysis of its model and fine tuning of internal processes-> Inadequate support and further development of a system.
• Reorganization of the corresponding processes and techniques of work is not planned or not provided by the project of transition to a cloud solution-> In parts or in full the disabled application.

Poll of 2014

More than a half (55%) of software developers do not consider the companies ready for implementation of cloud strategy, at the same time most often among the main obstacles for use of cloud model are given concern of the companies concerning security and safety of data in a cloud (36%) and expected costs and difficulties upon transition from traditional model to cloud (25%). On average, according to respondents to prepare all the products or their part for a cloud delivery pattern, about 16 months will be required, at the same time 26% of respondents do not exclude probability that they will refuse transfer of the products and solutions to a cloud delivery pattern at all.

Participants of the cloud Parallels Summit 2014 conference told that the Russian business most in the world is afraid of "clouds" why market participants continue to hope for the large companies and about other features of the industry.

1. Calculation on large business

The Russian market traditionally is guided by large enterprises. Case even not in the price of cloud projects: medium-sized and small enterprises in the country, according to Parallels, about two million that is 14 times less, than in the USA. However, the enterprises of medium and small business (SMB) should become the main audience for suppliers of cloud services.

2. Cloud passivity of a telecom and underdevelopment of hosting providers

Russia lags behind in the plan of offers of investments into cloud services from the large companies. Here, unlike the majority of the developed countries, the companies of telecom industry avoid to invest essential money in cloud services. According to the CEO of Acronis company Sergey Belousov, the main global driving force of cloud services for small businesses are hosting providers and telecoms. However, in Russia the market of a hosting, on subjectively historical circumstances, is insufficiently developed. And telecoms, on the same circumstances, are more focused on end consumers.

3. From clouds in Russia demand small

In the majority of the countries, according to Parallels, the basic reason of use of cloud services is IT-efficiency, expense reduction on IT while small enterprises receive the same technologies and capacities, as large. In Russia other paradigm of consumption. Here most often use cloud services to facilitate some daily IT-tasks: communication with the state, administration, e-mail. For more large-scale use of "cloud" in Russia are considered less often. If the SMB western enterprise on average uses now five cloud services at the same time, then in Russia this indicator hardly holds on to three.

4. The greatest fear in the world for date leak

The fear factor for confidentiality of data in Russia, according to the report of Parallels, is on the first place among reasons for refusal of cloud services, reaching nearly 60%. On this indicator Russia actually advances the whole world. For example, in the USA because of confidentiality endure almost twice less potential users of cloud services. In Russia also big role in control of transition to "clouds" — about 40% — play the recommendations of IT specialists.

5. Russia does not like to pay

Players of the market note that potential providers of cloud services in Russia more often than in other countries, prefer to agree about free use of the majority of opportunities of the platform or about a symbolical payment.

6. Record-breaking low demand of package offers

In Russia, according to the report of Parallels, today the lowest interest of SMB which are interested in packaged services — 45%. For example, in Germany it is 70% of SMB, in China — 74%, in Brazil whose cloud market is often compared to Russian because of close rates of development — 83%. A basic reason of so low indicator, given poll of the companies, in insufficient transparency of pricing of packets of IT services. Often it is unclear, on what offers in a packet the user will be able to save.

B agreements of SaaS does not have requirements to security

Most of the people who are engaged in purchases of IT are not satisfied how software providers, offered as service (Software as a Service, SaaS), define the questions connected with security in agreements. According to analysts of Gartner, such situation will remain at least till 2015 (on materials of News service of IDG, Boston^[1]).

"In service provision agreements of SaaS not enough attention is paid to security issues — specify in the report of analytics of Gartner Jay Heyzer and Alex Bohn. — Usually at the section devoted to security there are only general phrases that the supplier will make efforts, reasonable from the commercial point of view, for security maintenance". Often speak also about "compliance to industry standards" which actually never and were defined by nobody.

Suppliers of SaaS services often assume the right to change requirements to security at discretion, avoiding a reality.

Gartner analyzed more than 100 standard agreements about providing services and agreements on the service level (Service Level Agreement, SLA) therefore it became clear that providers prefer to use extremely indistinct formulations.

A set of the standards designed to increase transparency of services is gradually improved, but cannot be considered as rather mature yet.

There is no general opinion that should include SLA. As a rule, in them the allowed time of idle time and speed of reaction to addresses is specified. As for other parameters, in particular the terms of maintenance any of the general standards for the industry does not exist here.

Before signing of SLA clients should turn on in them the points regulating periodic audit of security provided with service provider, system testing on vulnerability, check of administrative personnel and classification of the incidents connected with security and failure in service with determination of requirements and selection of appropriate levels.

Clients should demand from providers of services of providing certain guarantees to them which non-compliance would involve the financial responsibility.

The recommendations of Gartner are reflection of the disputes continuing in the software industry since SaaS services purchased mass character.

By Gartner estimates, the total costs of SaaS services in 2012 made 14.5 billion dollars, and by 2015 they will reach 22 billion dollars. These digits reflect not only sales of traditional providers of SaaS services which the Salesforce.com company, but also turn of software developers, set on customer premise (in particular, SAP and Oracle), towards the SaaS model treats, for example.

The nature of purchases of SaaS services changes too. Today deliveries are even more often performed at the level of separate divisions (marketing department or personnel department), but not within the centralized IT strategy. Risks about which it is told in the report of Gartner considerably increase in these conditions.

Notes