More than 80% of large companies will use hybrid cloud environments in 2018, according to a report by consultancy IDC. Far from existing a dominant technological environment, organizations are currently evolving towards a combination of different technology models that include models in the cloud of different suppliers and inherited own infrastructures. In this new technological context, the traditional in-house IT outsourcing model is losing weight in favor of flexible service models, particularly that of cloud technology. In fact, the budget allocated to these traditional models will go from the current 57% to 43% in the next two years, while that allocated to cloud models will rise from the current 43% to 57%. It is a fact that more and more Spanish companies are making the leap to the cloud, although all the experts consulted point out that they are doing it very slowly due to the uncertainty generated by facing a new technology and, ultimately, a change in paradigm. And the fact is that cloud computing offers advantages that traditional data centers can not compete with: it allows you to grow without having to worry about an infrastructure, it offers the possibility of accessing from any moment, place and device, accelerates processes and, most importantly, it reduces costs infinitely since it only pays for what is used and eliminates the expenses that entails the maintenance of physical facilities. The magazine Business Harward Review has come to compare the cloud with the jump of the steam to the electric power that supposed so many advantages for the factories. However, facing this process of change is not an easy task. Towards a 'cloud' strategy IDC predicted a couple of years ago that 70% of CEOs will change to a cloud first strategy for 2016. The main problem faced by managers of both large and small and medium-sized companies is what specific services to migrate . Currently, virtually any IT service for different internal and external audiences can be taken to the cloud. But not in all cases it is advisable to do so immediately.
According to Faustino Jiménez, CEO of Itconic, a technological company expert in managed services over the cloud: "There is no universal solution or formula that serves all those companies that want to migrate their data to the cloud, simply because each case is unique A good analysis of the current situation of the company's systems is vital ". In this sense, the first thing that must be taken into account when facing this transition is not so much the size of the company, but how much data we are talking about and what use of technology is going to be demanded. For those cases in which it is calculated that the level of use of technology will be low (for example, in that of the self-employed), it is recommended to use only cloud-based products such as Office 365, Google Docs or WorkDocs between others, that allow you to gain flexibility and price. If, on the other hand, it is understood that it will be greater (SMEs or large companies that do not consume a lot of technology), it is advisable to also resort to cloud-based platforms and online management systems that are a little more complex than the previous ones. In this case there are multiple options such as Direct Invoice (online billing program designed for small businesses) or ContaPlus. Finally, those SMEs or large companies that consume a large volume of technology must, before directly migrating a large part of their applications to the cloud, evaluate their strategy to make the best decisions based on the specific business needs of each one.
Better to start progressively
For Fernando Negro, CEO of CloudMas, a Spanish startup that offers consulting services in the cloud and the only Premier Consulting Partner of Amazon Web Services in Spain, "the first steps in the cloud can become a daunting experience if you do not Therefore, before carrying out any migration, it is necessary to plan a strategy, have clear objectives, what is the degree of criticality or risks other than computer science and see which apps you want to move to the cloud ". In this sense, Black believes that "it is necessary to remember that there are three large sets of applications: those that you can not migrate because they are from a previous technology and it is not safe to transfer them, which is convenient because they offer a great return but require a lot work, and those that due to their technical characteristics or the company's strategy, it is necessary to do it, an example of which we have in the majority that involve massive storage of information or high levels of data processing such as big data ". In any case and always according to the CEO of CloudMas, it is best to start progressively. Performing pilot tests, with partial migrations with little or no impact on the operations in progress, in small groups of users and in the simplest applications. "Many large clients start betting on the cloud for a specific case, such as when they have to do a big data project, in which case a return on investment study, a small test and finally the migration is carried out. when they verify that in this way they save time and money, they decide to put together a massive migration strategy, "adds Fernando Negro.
What type of cloud do I choose?
The next step is to choose the type of cloud: public, private or hybrid. The public cloud is one that is available to the general public and is managed by a third party. In Spain, Gigas and Arsys stand out, among others, aimed at SMEs. Among the largest are Amazon Web Services, Azure, SoftLayer or 1 & 1. The private cloud on the other hand is in an infrastructure under demand, managed for a single client. There are many differences between public and private cloud, such as the capacity of the infrastructure that is counted. In the public cloud the resources are flexible and practically unlimited, while the private one depends solely on the organization and the investment that has been made, so it is not usually useful to scale large amounts of data. By having more servers the public is also more reliable, since it is more unlikely to suffer falls. On the other hand, the costs are also different. The public cloud does not require initial investment and is usually more economical since the services are shared by many users, while in the private the costs are derived from the capacity and execution of each company. The third option is the hybrid cloud, recommended when you want to keep a part of your data in a private environment (such as personal data of your customers), and another in a public one. According to Faustino Jiménez, "the hybrid cloud is the first logical step of any large organization towards a cloud model, with the transition from easily migrated environments to the cloud, companies gain immediate flexibility, productivity and cost savings. cloud is also useful for those cases in which you can not use the public either for security reasons, because your programs are not prepared to run on that type of network or because you are prevented by the Data Protection Law. "
The safest option
According to the latest IDC report, although security remains a priority for organizations, as data increasingly comes out of their environment, most companies appreciate that the resources dedicated to security by their suppliers are greater than those that can be assigned internally. As a result, 68% of organizations consider that Cloud IT providers are more secure than their own IT department. Despite the large security measures used by most companies that offer these services, the truth is that the cloud is not a free technology of malicious entities. Rather the complete opposite. The storage of files and data is one of the main objectives of cybercriminals. Control of cloud security is not under our domain, but we can take a series of precautions. According to Josep Albors, director of Education of the technology Eset Spain, "the most advisable thing is to find out if they encrypt the data from the origin and from there they send them to the cloud, or if instead they send them in plain text and encrypt them once It is also recommended that they have some kind of certificate, although it is not foolproof, at least you know that a certified third party has taken some security measures.Finally, it is also convenient to check how access to the cloud occurs. If it is with username and password, it is insufficient, and it is advisable to use double authentication factor or even triple depending on the data ".
Nice blog... Thanks for sharing information on cloud migration. It is important to understand how to do cloud to cloud migration.
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