New times, new solutions

Is now the time to review your business solutions, as the current pandemic has demonstrated flexibility is key to running a successful enterprise whether this is for your customers or your team? Could now be the time for hybrid (or multi-cloud) solutions as single solutionscan no longer offer the required flexibility to adapt to rapidly changing business conditions.

The recent need for remote working has highlighted XaaS solutions, whether this is Infrastructure, Software or the host of virtual Events that have popped up to fulfil our lust for information and networking.IT Departments have had to adapt and act fast to help the workforce while working from home, something that has been muted for a long time but has now proven so successful. We will no longer be slaves to the corporate headquarters.

We are not however suggesting enterprises ditch their legacy platforms but leveraging cloud environments to better adapt and plan more flexibility and resiliency for future social, ecological or environmental challenges.

The range of cloud services (private, public and hybrid clouds) available offer some very attractive options compared to or in addition to the traditional hosting model. There are however still misconceptions about cloud services, these can create some real problems when a service is regulated. Unfortunately, many of the licensing authorities (across many sectors) have been slow to understand how cloud really operates. A better description would be Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), cloud implies that the data sits somewhere but nobody can be quite sure where - nothing could be further from the truth.

The big advantage of a cloud platform is that you only pay for what you use with added benefit of being able to use additional computing power as you need it. This is ideal for enterprises who may have seasonal trading peaks or major events that they service. It makes no sense to build expensive infrastructure that you may only use once or twice a year, another term used for cloud - compute on demand.

Moving large applications from on-premises architecture to the cloud can be expensive and time consuming, which is why a clear strategy, aligned to the overall business strategy, is required. One that is best implemented now to start the process rather than having to do this process in one go.

One stumbling block to a successful hybrid cloud platform can be secure and reliable connections between the various providers and their differing operational protocols. This is where you need to choose carefully, does the provider understand your company or industry. Every cloud provider will take your business but when they understand your business, products and customer requirements then you get a hybrid solution that truly benefits your organisation.