Cloud Source

The Hidden Challenges of Cloud Storage

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Enterprises often make a shift in how they handle data storage, selecting a cloud provider that promises cost savings and greater accessibility to data for analysis and reporting. Cloud storage does offer some benefits, but there are common challenges — particularly related to unexpected costs. 

While cost tends to be the most notable pitfall with a cloud storage service, there are also gradual increases in complexity, difficulty moving data, and the formidable area of cloud security. Here are five common challenges of utilizing storage in the cloud:

Cost: Unexpected costs can come in a variety of forms, from charges that extend beyond the date of deletion to automatic storage growth that is both unplanned and uncontrolled. There are also egress costs, which can be difficult for enterprises to budget for, since they rarely can predict how much data they will need to pull. 

In some situations, it is necessary to utilize another cloud service in order to get the full benefit of a cloud storage solution, or there are charges for moving data between services, which may eliminate any anticipated cost savings.   

Complexity: The supposed simplicity of a cloud storage solution often leads to one of the more common challenges that come with it. While storage can be simple in terms of consumption and provisioning is quick, many enterprises don’t properly plan or test cloud storage access. 

In order to adequately design a cloud storage solution, there’s a need for expertise in areas like networking, availability, access, and performance. 

Data Movement: Moving data is a challenge across every industry, with movement depending on the size of the pathways, the distance to the cloud provider and the amount of data being transmitted. It’s common to underestimate the time and cost of data movement. Enterprises need to create a strategy for exiting the cloud as part of the initial design. 

Integration: Convincing your cloud storage solution to work at an integrated level with your systems and infrastructure may require a complex strategy involving gateways, virtual private networks (VPNs), and routing. The integration steps will also likely come with a delay, so it’s important to determine how much you can afford that delay. You may also give up a lot of control over your data, so how you manage it in relation to your other solutions will be impacted. 

Security: When you utilize a shared cloud storage solution, the provider should separate your data from that of other customers as part of your tenancy. Enterprises should prioritize access control and be sure that the provider has a similar culture and set of policies around security. A lax approach, resulting in a leaked account, can cause a tenant to lose the data and related infrastructure with no options for recovery. 

Compliance may come into play as well, with regulations causing you to consider the geographic location of your data, and paying attention to whether you are permitted to use the cloud for storage. You also need to have a plan so that if your data is deleted you can recover it quickly. Don’t assume it’s the provider’s responsibility to have a backup. Even if they promise one, remember that the data belongs to you, and you have the most to lose in a cyber security event. 

When contemplating cloud storage solutions, contact us at Cloud Source. We can help you anticipate the signs that you’ll face these challenges and address them with strategic planning in the early stages of your migration process.

Why Enterprises Embrace the Cloud for Data

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For more than a decade, enterprises have been grappling with both the benefits and challenges of Big Data. While data provides meaningful insights into business processes and customer behavior, there’s just so much of it. Enterprises are turning to the cloud to achieve a scalable, manageable data solution.

As machine learning and artificial intelligence spur the increase of data both in terms of volume and variety, enterprises struggle to innovate their infrastructure and data storage and analysis solutions fast enough or with enough capacity. Even as they recognize the value that can be pulled from structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data, most of the data gathered by the typical enterprise goes unused.

Enterprises are interested in capitalizing on the investment they’ve made in data collection through the development of new revenue streams, and many are finding that the solution to Big Data is the cloud.

The cloud presents a way to process workloads in a scalable model that accommodates rapidly changing compute and storage needs. Flexible cloud data solutions allow for this kind of elasticity, which guarantees that the levels of computing and data storage necessary under different types of scenarios are available.

Scalability for Varying Data Access Requirements: For instance, some types of businesses require data workflows to process high levels of volume at certain times, such as a social media site during evening hours. These businesses need a scalable environment that allows flexibility in usage but doesn’t require them to pay for the servers and compute when they are not at these peak usage times.

E-commerce retailers are also accessing high-volume data processing and analytics in order to present customers with targeted shopping experiences that occur in real-time with personalized recommendations. A spike in website traffic always occurs on Cyber Monday, and rather than deploying a host of physical servers to support this activity on a single day, cloud data solutions allow for the necessary elasticity to accommodate the demand. After Cyber Monday, the retailer goes back to its normal usage and only pays for what it uses.

For enterprises that work in a highly regulated industry or that have a core value that celebrates consumer privacy, embracing a hybrid cloud model may be ideal. Rather than worry about data protection in the cloud, these enterprises move some workloads to the cloud while retaining sensitive workloads on-premises for heightened protection. In some cases, enterprises initially plan a full shift to the cloud but eventually recognize that a hybrid solution is the right mix of security, innovation, and cost savings.

For more information about the benefits of shifting your data storage, processing, and analysis to the cloud, contact us at Cloud Source. We can help you leverage the best solution to meet your specific business goals.

Simplifying Multi-Cloud Strategies With SDN

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Software-defined networking (SDN) allows companies pursuing a multi-cloud strategy to gain better control over network traffic and optimize performance. It’s a way to virtualize the network, separating the control plane from the data plane and address the differing performance requirements of various cloud environments.

Rather than a simple shift of all workloads to a single cloud, most enterprises find that a multi-cloud environment serves their needs best. They get the robust security and customization that comes with investing in private cloud solutions, while benefitting from the speed and agility that public cloud is known to deliver.

In many cases, the multi-cloud environment represents a perfect blend of cost savings and innovation that allows enterprises to maintain a competitive edge in their industry. The approach is not without challenges:

  • Managing the various contracts, performance requirements, and billing of each cloud provider adds a layer of complexity to the management of the IT environment.
  • Security may be disjointed, with different providers offering varying levels of protection and no overarching strategy for protecting the myriad access points.
  • Network engineers are challenged to ensure that mission-critical transmissions are prioritized over more recreational transmissions, such as streaming video, or those that don’t require real-time connectivity.
  • Creating a comprehensive strategy for managing how cloud solutions are added to the environment can be difficult when different business units or branches are utilizing different platforms and software.

Simplifying Through SDN: Enterprises are turning to SDN to solve these challenges, virtualizing the network for added visibility and control. There are several benefits that come with SDN that are ideal for multi-cloud environments:

  • Traffic Prioritization: Through a single network management dashboard, network administrators are able to direct traffic according to priority and performance requirements. Critical workloads can be directed to a link that delivers the speed, performance, and reliability they need, all automated according to business policy.
  • Security: The best SDN solutions offer comprehensive security features, including end-to-end encryption, next generation firewalls, and granular visibility into network activity. The traffic segmentation available through SDN offers an added level of protection, allowing any threat to be isolated until it can be addressed.
  • Application Onboarding: SDN allows IT teams to create a process for implementing new solutions, with accessibility across the enterprise for a consistent approach to technology adoption. A high level of visibility removes the threat of shadow IT and helps create a systematic approach to approval. SDN can handle the varying performance requirements of each solution and ensure a streamlined approach to innovation.

If you’re managing a multi-cloud environment and debating whether SDN may solve some of your network challenges, contact us at Cloud Source. We can help you optimize your network with the best SDN solution for your infrastructure requirements.

Terms to Know for Cloud-Aided Disaster Recovery

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Even the smallest businesses recognize the potential impact that a natural event such as a fire or flooding, or a cyber attack can have on their business, but many are intimidated by the necessary investment in disaster recovery. No matter the size of the enterprise, the cloud provides a variety of resources to make a recovery plan more affordable and effective.

If you’ve examined the cloud options available for disaster recovery, you may have quickly found yourself swallowed up by the wealth of terms that seem somewhat interchangeable, due to their overlapping vocabulary. Is cloud back-up different than cloud recovery, for instance?

The following list includes a few terms you’ll need to know to navigate including cloud tools in your disaster recovery plan:

Cloud Disaster Recovery: When you store copies of your data in the cloud, you can add a safety net to your on-site disaster recovery plan. You may want to rely entirely on the cloud or you may use it as a back-up plan to your other data security planning.

Cloud Backup: This term is often used synonymously with cloud disaster recovery, but it is more effectively described as an element of the above term. Cloud backup stores data off-site, so that a local disaster won’t prevent you from accessing recent data backups.

Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS): A third-party provider offers a relatively comprehensive approach to disaster recovery and is a good choice for both small businesses that may not have the in-house talent to support such efforts and for larger enterprises needing extensive support. It’s important to note that while this type of service may cover your technology needs, a full disaster recovery plan will also address physical workspaces, inventory and other aspects of the physical business.

Disaster Recovery Plan: As noted above, your plan should not only include addressing the potential impact on your technology, but also the physical elements of your business. Your disaster recovery plan also introduces new risks and considerations simply by utilizing cloud solutions in your methods. When you include cloud solutions in your impact analysis, you will see how the tools affect your continuity and recovery times. You’ll also need responses planned for situations in which your cloud provider experiences a breach or goes out of business unexpectedly.

Cloud Service Provider: You’ll need to choose a provider that aligns well with your needs and your business culture. Find out the detailed terms of the service level agreement (SLA) and what the consequences are of any unfulfilled terms. Talk with any potential providers about their cloud insurance and the benefits you receive if your provider is impacted by an event. Discuss how and in what time period you’ll be notified if they will no longer offer disaster recovery services.

There’s really no need to memorize a bunch of terms when you’re working with a technology partner ready to walk you through your disaster recovery plan. Contact us at Cloud Source to begin assessing your needs for cloud-based tools and to leverage those that best support your business continuity.

Five Enterprise Digital Transformation Challenges

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Digital transformation is foundationally based on a moving target, with almost countless moving pieces, including people, technology, business processes and a host of objectives. While organizations generally understand the critical nature of improving processes for the purpose of improving the customer experience and boosting productivity, they often don’t anticipate enterprise digital transformation challenges that can throw the vision off course.

These challenges come in a variety of forms, and, depending on their severity, can cause digital transformation initiatives to grind to a halt. Consider these five common enterprise digital transformation challenges:

Starting Blind: Line-of-business managers, executives or even IT professionals might begin to champion digital transformation for the organization, excited to gain the benefits that come with shifting a legacy application to the cloud or introducing a cutting-edge customer interface. In many cases, the enthusiasm to begin digital transformation makes the enterprise vulnerable to a critical mistake: starting blind.

It’s important that business leaders and key stakeholders have a clear vision for what the enterprise is currently doing and what opportunities are presented through a digital transformation objective. Beginning with detailed information on business needs helps shape the decisions about which solutions will deliver the necessary improvements. Companies that skip this step often regret their attempted migration, or they lose sight of the reasons behind it when they encounter difficulties.

Short-Term Mindset: Digital transformations can span several years and involve many teams in the organization. Those leading the initiative must proactively anticipate project fatigue. When staff exhaustion, time exhaustion and budget exhaustion set in, the organization can risk losing a lot of effort that’s already been invested.

It’s important to balance this effect by planning for some quick wins with initial transformation goals. Continue to break the process into steps that can be achieved in a shorter time span, taking time to evaluate the success of that phase and celebrating when it goes well.

Culture Changes: One aspect of digital transformation opens up opportunities while forcing some unprecedented collaboration. Cloud solutions offer enhanced communication tools and other features that serve to soften the divisions between departments and encourage the evaluation of business processes in a disruptive fashion.

Particularly across enterprises with far-flung locations or heavy concentrations of remote workers, achieving a cohesive, collaborative culture can be challenging.

Business and IT Alignment: Many enterprise digital transformation challenges can be summed up in this way: IT professionals are increasingly in the role of driving business objectives through technology investments, offering a new perspective that must align well with other executives’ visions for the company. Enterprises have no choice but to embrace digital transformation, but it’s also necessary for chief information officers to take the step of becoming champions for the cause.

If you’re facing digital transformation challenges you never anticipated, contact usat Cloud Source. We can assist with insiders’ tips to help you move forward to the next phase of your transformation and proactively prevent challenges that may emerge in the future.

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328 S. Jefferson St. Suite 603
Chicago, IL 60661
Ph: 312.753.7880
E: info@CloudSourceServices.com

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