How To Increase Your Cloud Footprint

The sometimes exciting leap to the cloud can also be a very intimidating proposition. For an enterprise that has all their systems deeply entrenched in the usual infrastructures like the old back office and computer rooms and large data centers, this move to the cloud and cloud applications can be very frightening.

IT Administrations and The Cloud Footprint

The notion of having all your data in someone else’s hands could make some IT administrations tremble with worry. Nevertheless, once you begin looking into the cloud technology you will start seeing some of the great advantages, like Amazon Web Services (AWS).

The cloud can be profitable, elastic, scalable, flexible, and more secure. The same IT administrations that were cringing at the idea of your data in someone else’s hands may in the end realize that the cloud will be more secure than on a computer rack that is just stacked under an employee’s desk in a remote office. Once your decision is made to try using the cloud, the planning phase will begin.

A lot of the time some of the biggest questions everyone hears are, “How do we start using the cloud?” The answer is to question is to use the phased approach. By choosing the applications and workloads that are lower on the critical mission list, you can try some of the newer cloud technologies with a lot less risk.

Going With The Cloud Applications

When you decide which workloads to move to the cloud, you should always ask yourself the following questions; Is there a need for business reasons to move my workload to the cloud? Is my technology going to be a perfect fit for the cloud applications? What type of impact will this have on my business? If all those questions are easily answered, your data will most likely be successful in the cloud.

Another great place to begin using the cloud is with archiving and backups. This type of workload is important, but the data IT administrations are going to deal with will likely be a copy of data you already have, so it is somewhat less risky. One of the easiest ways to start with archives and backups is to try out S3 and Glacier.

This will allow you to use start using the cloud without having to change much of your embedded backup processes. By moving some of the workloads that are less critical, you are beginning to take the first steps into the cloud and increasing your cloud footprint.

To learn more about the cloud, visit the Cloud Applications.

To read more about the cloud, visit Cloud Applications.