Cloud Computing — Been There, Done That!

Cloud Computing—
Been There,
Done That!
Harvesting its benefits
will still require the
guidance and direction
of smart integration.
Raj G. Asava,
Leader, Services Strategy Office &
Best Value Solutions (BVS)
Cloud Computing — Been There, Done That!
The Information Technology (IT) Industry and publications have lately been abuzz with Cloud Cloud Computing is a
Computing. While some claim it is the next disruptive technology, others suggest it to be the highly automated, readily
harbinger of the diminishing role of the Systems Integrator. A closer examination reveals that it is scalable, on-demand
neither. But whatever descriptor is finalized for Cloud Computing, harvesting its benefits will still computing platform
require the guidance and direction of smart integration. of virtually unlimited
Cloud Computing De-mystified processing, storage and
While there are many definitions for Cloud Computing from credible sources…
ubiquitous connectivity,
always available to carry
• Gartner defines cloud computing as a style of computing in which massively scalable out a task of any size and
IT-related capabilities are provided “as a service” using Internet technologies to multiple charged based on usage!
external customers.
• Forrester defines cloud computing as a pool of abstracted, highly scalable, and managed
computing infrastructure capable of hosting end-customer applications and billed by
consumption.
…another way to look at Cloud Computing is that it is a highly automated, readily scalable,
on-demand computing platform of virtually unlimited processing, storage and ubiquitous
connectivity, always available to carry out a task of any size and charged based on usage!
Audacious — though possible today in a limited manner — it is certainly poised to be as pervasive
a platform as the internet in the very near future.
The Origin of Cloud Computing
As a matter of historical fact, Cloud Computing has been around since the beginning of the IT
Outsourcing industry. At its core, Cloud Computing is about utilizing idle/excess compute power
(processing, storage, and connectivity) of one entity to carry out the work of another. This is the
value proposition based on which Mr. Ross Perot started the IT Outsourcing industry in 1962,
when he rented idle computing power from one company (Southwestern Life) to carry out
the processing needs of another (Collins Radio). Mr. Perot recalls that the staff consisted of just
two individuals who worked diligently in leveraging the compute capacity that was idle, mostly
during the night, to process Collins Radio’s data, and turning it into a win-win situation for all. The
organization that owned the computers monetized its down time; the organization that needed
the compute power did not have to out lay capital; and Mr. Perot’s team, in the role of a Systems
Integrator, ensured seamless delivery for a fee. This was the first instance of Cloud Computing.
The Evolution of Cloud Computing
Advancements in technology, coupled with declining costs, have disrupted traditional
business models and a new category of companies has emerged: one that operates mostly
over the internet based on “clicks” (e.g., Amazon, eBay, Google, etc.). The established
businesses suddenly found that the development of this channel was critical for their survival
against the new breed of companies, and started to offer a combination of “bricks and clicks”
for the convenience of their customers.
The disruption of business models created a higher demand and dependence on IT. Also
contributing to this dependence are “peaks-and-valleys” of IT capacity needs, tied directly to
the nature of an organization’s business activity (seasonal, one time, quarter/year-end, day/
night, etc.). To ensure consistent and stable operations and to virtually eliminate risks, businesses
built their computing platforms at or above the highest peak points of their IT requirements, no
matter how infrequent that need might be. As a result, many businesses today are stuck with
overengineered computing platforms that are underutilized for the majority of the time, taking up
real estate, depreciating in value, and consuming significant amounts of energy and resources.
In response to this operational predicament, companies such as Amazon have started to
commoditize their own idle capacity and monetize it under their EC2 and S3 labels. EC2, Elastic
Compute Cloud, is a web-based service that allows any entity to buy and use compute capacity
on an as-needed basis. On the other hand, S3, Simple Storage Services provides for web-based
storage and access to data. The fact that both these services operate out of a standard browser
and do not require any proprietary/licensed software, make them extremely usable. While early
adopters of EC2 and S3 were individuals and small businesses, innovative CIOs are giving them
the attention they are due and have started to test out the feasibility of this emerging Cloud
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Cloud Computing — Been There, Done That!
Computing platform. Starting with architecting a cloud-based processing environment for one
time transactions that were non-mission critical, they have experienced performance results and
Capex/Opex savings significant enough to warrant the inclusion of Cloud Computing into their
extended IT infrastructure.
Recognizing this phenomenon to be a viable business opportunity, hardware, software and
internet-based companies with deep pockets are rushing to establish Cloud Computing
environments to make available to businesses out of a utility-type, on-demand model. For
hardware companies like IBM & HP, this is an opportunity to sell tons of hardware; for software
companies like VMware & Microsoft, it is an opportunity to sell sophisticated software that allows
efficient load balancing of computing resources between tasks; and for businesses like Google &
Amazon saddled with the need to have extensive IT infrastructure, this has become an economic
engine that can be used to convert their unused compute capacity into revenue.
The Expanding Role of Systems Integrator
In order to understand the role of Systems Integrators, like Mr. Perot’s team, in today’s
The role of a Systems Cloud Computing world, we need to first review how their roles and responsibilities
Integrator clearly is have evolved over time.
integral to configuring The primary focus of Systems Integrators continues to be planning, optimizing, integrating, and
the optimum computing managing customers’ heterogeneous compute environments. However, at times, they take on
environment such that the responsibility of filling the gaps between the customers’ IT needs and the available compute
it is dependable/reliable infrastructure. At one point, Systems Integrators used to manufacture hardware as needed to run
and operating at expected their customers’ systems efficiently, and even wrote system utilities and applications down to the
quality of performance for operating system level to fill in the gaps left by the software vendors. Gradually, as the hardware,
a particular customer. software and networking companies matured, stabilized and more importantly innovated, the
Systems Integrators were able to get back to their core business of integrating disparate systems.
The emerging Cloud Computing companies are proving to be yet another participant joining
the hardware, software and network vendors in a typical Systems Integrator business model. The
availability of a public domain computing platform (aka Cloud Computing) allows the Systems
Integrators to extend their compute platform as needed, through lease type agreements as
opposed to capital outlay or long term fixed costs.
While organizations may be lured to the affordability and scalability that Cloud Computing
offers, it is imperative that their environment is architected such that it provides these advantages
without compromising on security and interoperability.
The role of a Systems Integrator clearly is integral to configuring the optimum (extended)
computing environment such that it is dependable/reliable and operating at expected quality of
performance for a particular customer.
The Future of Cloud Computing
The adoption of Cloud Computing is not without resistance or confusion. Torn between the
appeal for cost savings and fear of loss of control, customers are struggling with how to take
advantage of the cloud. How confidential will their data be? How will they handle issues around
data privacy, intellectual property, regulatory requirements, and protection of “secret sauce”
formulas? It is critical to understand that for most businesses the cloud is not a panacea. Unlike
the “electricity grid” where individual power generation units ceased to exist, not everything in IT
will or should end up in the cloud — at least not just yet. The strategy defining usage of the cloud
should be on the CIO’s agenda. A trusted Systems Integrator should be involved in the strategic
design of the architecture for how a particular company may optimally exploit the cloud.
The cloud trend today closely resembles the offshoring phenomenon. Just as the initial concerns
and resistance to offshoring gave way to intelligently architected and governed models to protect
the integrity of customer data while taking advantage of the lower cost options, a similar trend
will emerge on the cloud front. It will start with resistance to the cloud, followed by the offering
of a choice of cloud environments, finally leading to Cloud Computing becoming mainstream
and an integral part of the compute environment for most businesses.

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Cloud Computing — Been There, Done That!

The Emerging Conceptual Architecture

At the onset, the low cost and ready access to on-demand computing offered through a cloud
environment will cause businesses to rethink what is truly core (mission critical, highly sensitive/
secretive) to their business, and shift an increasing amount of non-core processing to a shared or
cloud environment. Organizations will be well served to revisit the classification of each piece of
processing and storage that was earlier assumed to be sensitive and mission critical — in light of
the high cost associated with running it in-house through a dedicated infrastructure.
As CIOs develop reference architectures of their functions, processes and data based on
the strategy of their business, seasoned Systems Integrators will help them configure their IT
environment based on the following conceptual architecture made up of the interconnected
four tiers.
Dedicated: The dedicated layer suggests a highly secure computing environment, where mission
critical tasks will be processed and highly sensitive information will be stored. This represents the
true core competency of an organization, leakage of which would give away the competitive
advantage, or degradation of performance & reliability of its processing could prove to be
catastrophic to the business.
This layer would typically require investment in a dedicated computing platform.

Private Cloud: This layer addresses similar needs as the “Dedicated” layer, and is used for
developing, enhancing and testing out mission critical systems as well as carrying out critical
research & development work. As such, it needs an environment that is highly secure like the
dedicated layer.
Built on the principles of Cloud Computing, this layer will be designed to be readily scalable and
sharable between IT systems and applications across the organization.
Shared Environment: A shared environment can be used to address the predictable compute
need required to run regularly scheduled applications from inventory management to payroll
processing. These systems typically represent a significant portion of the computing needs of an
organization.
Important to the operations of a business, these systems can be carried out of an outsourcer’s
facility where the computing platform is dedicated for the business but the ancillary processes
and resources may be leveraged across multiple customers. Managed through well defined
Service Level Agreements, this arrangement proves to be predictable, cost effective, and has in-
built innovation from the Systems Integrator.

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Cloud Computing — Been There, Done That!
Emerging Architecture Public Cloud: Public cloud is an external cloud (like the EC2 and S3) that would be configured to
operate as an extension to the computing platform of an organization to handle the spikes in its
computing needs.
Due to the open nature of the public cloud, an organization must be able to disaggregate
its system and parse out its computing needs into transactions that can be carried out in the
external cloud without fear of exposing or losing its critical information.
As governance models and processes make Cloud Computing increasingly secure and user
friendly, organizations may feel comfortable moving more and more of their data and processing
to it, much like commerce has gradually shifted and become acceptable over the internet. It
is envisioned, with time, that some of the sensitive tasks processed in the private cloud will
gradually be transferred to the public cloud as organizations become more comfortable with the
security and governance models of this new computing platform.
In today’s cost sensitive environment, Cloud Computing certainly holds the promise of reducing
a company’s total cost of IT ownership. For organizations to be successful, in the emerging on-
demand computing environment, they are best served to visualize and architect their compute
The advent of Cloud
environment based on this 4-tier structure.
Computing makes the
already level playing Cloud Computing, How Real Is IT?
field even flatter. Skeptics who believe Cloud Computing to be just another buzz-word or the “flavor of the
month” should remember that just a decade ago, the concept of offshoring IT work also faced
strong head winds from political, business and social fronts. However, in a global economy, the
benefits of offshoring in the form of reduced cost, high availability of quality resources, and faster
response time due to around-the-clock operations caused most, if not all, businesses to cut over
to some derivation of an offshore-based model.
The advent of Cloud Computing makes the already level playing field even flatter. While its early
benefactors may have been small-to-medium sized businesses, Cloud Computing is poised to
benefit businesses of all sizes giving them access to affordable, on-demand computing capacity.
In conclusion, as the IT Outsourcing industry goes through another transformation driven
by Cloud Computing, businesses will continue to depend upon the services of a skilled and
trusted Systems Integrator provider to help them configure the right combination of computing
environment that addresses their unique business needs.

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