Transition to clouds: myths and reality

Opinion 1. The organization loses control over the IT resources placed in a cloud

Cloud providers deploy the services in reliable data centers of the TIER III level and provide their availability according to the agreement on the service layer (SLA). Let's tell, the Microsoft corporation guarantees operability of Office 365 services during 99.9% of time, supporting it with financial liabilities. Are able to afford construct DPC according to requirements of TIER III — with difficult infrastructure, reservation of communication channels and the reliable system of physical security only very large companies and even for them such investments not always make practical sense. For small and medium business it is monumental task at all.

Besides, after transition to a cloud at the company decrease not only capital costs of acquisition of the equipment and purchase of licenses — labor costs on service also become significantly less and the IT department can focus on improvement of processes and adaptation of applications under needs of business. At the same time IT department manages access, sets the rights and restrictions and configures the corresponding settings. The client remains the only owner of data and, having decided to refuse service, can take away them with himself.

Opinion 2. It is dangerous to store data in a cloud

Digital revolution brought us a huge number of cyberthreats which constantly grows. Methods of malefactors become more and more sophisticated, and the annual damage from their actions on a global scale is already measured by tens of billions of dollars. Very often in the companies do not even know that their local infrastructures are successfully attacked. Adequately to resist to threats, it is not enough to deliver antivirus software on local computers.

Implementation of a huge number of expensive products for the analysis of all types of traffic and behavioural activity of users is required. It is necessary to conduct regular researches of vulnerabilities and penetration tests — maintenance of a security system in current status requires considerable costs. Suppliers of cloud services strictly monitor observance of regulatory requirements, implement expensive products and employ leading experts on security. Not all customers have such resources therefore transition to clouds allows them to shift partially expenses on provider for rather small subscription fee.

Opinion 3. Data in a cloud are available to the staff of provider and the third parties

This horror story is very much loved by opponents of transition to cloud solutions, however it has nothing in common with reality. For provision of services providers use modern data processing centers, each of which is a sensitive site. Get there it is very difficult even to representatives of state structures, legal basis in the presence of which you will be obliged to provide data where they would not be stored are for this purpose necessary. The Microsoft corporation, in particular, redirects requests of state bodies directly to users if it is not prohibited by the law, and tries to dispute attempts of mandatory disclosure of a confidential information judicially. Providers do not analyze corporate data and do not use them for the purpose of who are beyond the paid services (for example, for advertizing) — it is regulated by the current legislation and confidentiality agreements. Careful control and audit protect customer information from the staff of data centers, and the developed security protections prevent mixing of these different clients.

Opinion 4. It is necessary to transfer all data to a cloud

Gurus of cloud computing claim as if over time need for local IT infrastructures will disappear. While we do not observe it, the companies passing into clouds successfully use the hybrid approach — some part of applications and services remains on the party of the customer. Most often in clouds take out separate resource-intensive tasks if scaling options of local IT infrastructure are exhausted or, for example, when the needs for computing resources arise irregularly.

In a cloud very simply not only to start a new product or service, but also to refuse it if something goes not so. The hybrid approach simplifies IT infrastructure and allows users to work with applications and data practically in any place and from any device. The company can involve resources in necessary volume and regulate it, without spending excess means for local hardware and the software.

Opinion 5. Transition to cloud solutions is very difficult

Process of transition can be difficult, but, say, the Microsoft corporation offers customers all information, necessary for migration on Office 365: councils for setup of the firewall, the requirement to the return proxy servers, parameters of verification of certificates, tools for migration and step-by-step hybrid deployment. There are several ready scenarios of transition and in most cases it is possible to use already available tools and processes.

Similar solutions are proposed also by other cloud providers and if it is about difficult business applications, it is possible to use services of system integrators. Anyway, if the customer had a need for transition, local infrastructure does not suit it with something and its upgrade usually becomes more difficult and labor-consuming task.

Opinion 6. Permanent software updating at provider will break work of critical services

Practice shows that failures when updating occur in local IT infrastructures more often — cloud providers try to provide compatibility of the updated software with other applications. For example, regular updates of Office 365 for the last 24 months did not lead to any changes in an object model or API. Updates are tested previously and the large service provider has for this purpose much more opportunities, than any of his customers.

Opinion 7. Transition to cloud solutions leads to degradation of IT specialists

Transition to clouds can reduce the need for highly specialized employees and reduce the amount of the routine transactions (system administration and support) connected with ensuring operability of infrastructure. In the highly competitive industries the speed of passing of innovations in the company and also ability to apply versatile technical knowledge to increase in efficiency of specific business comes out on top.

Thanks to the standardized approach to the hardware, any supplier of cloud services can start very quickly and very often new products. It means that to modern IT specialists it is necessary to be permanent in a tone and to be engaged in studying of the latest technologies just every day. Decrease in qualification is impossible even in the theory here. According to the majority of the last researches of labor market, demand for high quality engineers, developers, architects of IT systems constantly grows in the world.

Opinion 8. Paid and free cloud solutions are equally effective

Practice shows that not all clouds are equally useful to business. The solutions used in the organizations should have recorded in the SLA level of operability of service and readily available technical support and also the clear security level. They should give to the customer the chance of the choice of necessary functionality for different user groups.

It is necessary to understand the main thing: if you do not pay for service, then you goods, but not the client — the company organizing a free cloud service should earn too. Usually it becomes or using targeted advertizing, or through sale of the paid version of a product. In license agreements of most free services the disclaimer in case of unstable work and/or a possibility of use of your logo, the logo/name is directly declared in the marketing and advertizing purposes. At the same time the supplier can stop at any time rendering services without warning.

Opinion 9. Transition to cloud computing does not give to business of real advantages

Let's consider start of service of corporate mail from scratch in any company. There are two main options — local service and ready cloud. In the first case certain computing powers and some amount of labor costs are necessary. If use of the commercial software with rather broad functionality is planned (like Microsoft Exchange), still costs for licenses are added. And, certainly, it is necessary to think of protection against viruses, spam and a phishing is time and money too. Own service needs to be supported in current status, administrators should set patches in case of detection of vulnerabilities and also to think of its reliability — all these "pleasures" are absent if to unroll corporate mail in a cloud.

It is possible to make it much quicker (literally within an hour), having reduced many times overhead costs of administration. One more advantage — payment a post factum for really consumed resources. Deploying the local service, it is necessary to put some additional capacities that is called for growth. In a cloud expenses depend only on the actual consumption.

Opinion 10 (unexpected). Subscriptions are more expensive, it is better to purchase perpetual licenses

Unfortunately, to pay once and it is impossible to forget forever. Very often in the companies there take place the restructurings connected with closing of legal entities and there is a need for transfer of the purchased corporate licenses on software. In most cases it is impossible — developers demand confirmation of affiliation of the organizations (which is absent usually) and refuse transfer. Agree, to pay once again for the same set of licenses not really pleasantly.

One more moment is connected with the termination of support of outdated versions of software products — for local IT infrastructure of the license it is necessary to pay again whereas on a subscription you always receive the freshest versions of software. Of course, total cost of ownership needs to be considered in each case, but payment on a subscription for actually consumed resources most often is profitable as to the developer (he receives the smaller amounts, but it is permanent), and to the corporate customer.

If to compare bluntly the cost of licenses, practically any service of the corporate level in model of a subscription will cost cheaper the complete local analog. Provided that such in general exists: for example, Microsoft Teams, Bookings, My Analytics, Stream, Power BI services are available only on a subscription. The number of such unique offers will constantly grow as thanks to cloud computing steel producers to realize requests of users much quicker.

It is possible to buy, of course, retail licenses, but they or are more expensive corporate, or have a number of significant technical restrictions (for example, impossibility of work in the terminal mode or centralized operation) so to save if it turns out, then it is rather to the detriment of itself. And it is always profitable to refuse the capital expenditure connected with setting of intangible assets on balance — this headache only slows down business.

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