10 Reasons to look at Cloud Computing

10 Reasons to look at Cloud Computing

Reason 1: Performance

Performance of critical systems is a key concern for any IT manager or director and perceived performance can be affected by actual system performance and also by connectivity. We can guarantee server performance levels through reservations of compute resources (or even through provision of dedicated physical servers where necessary) and we can guarantee high speed network connectivity but it is a simple fact that some applications in their native form perform better when running in your local network where there is almost no network latency and no bandwidth restriction. To help alleviate this potential problem, we have several solutions; Digital Planet can provide your company with an MPLS link to our cloud environment which can result in very high bandwidth, low latency connectivity from your offices to your cloud servers (this can also be used to provide you with high-speed internet access from your office). Another option that we can offer is to use an application presentation technology such as XenApp to securely present access to your applications back to your users in a manner that will not be impacted by any latency or bandwidth issues along the way.

Reason 2: Physical Security and location of data

This is a very understandable concern. When you move you data to a cloud environment, you often have no way of knowing where it is physically located or how well it is secured. Digital Planet operates from a private cage within two Tier-3 datacentres in the greater Dublin area and we welcome any potential customers to come and view our facilities. We are happy to show you exactly where your data is being stored and the security measures in place to protect it.

Reason 3: Logical Security

Data is extremely valuable to any company. At Digital Planet we believe that the best way to reassure customers as to the security of their data and systems is through transparency. During the design phase of any engagement we go through the security of the solution in detail, showing you network design, firewall configuration and all of the other elements that combine to ensure that your systems are secure. We can provide a high security service whereby your data remains encrypted in transport and at rest through disk encryption and secure VPN technologies.

Reason 4: Availability

We guarantee the availability of our infrastructure through our Service Level Agreements and this is only possible due to the fact that we have built redundancy into every element of our design, ensuring that there are no elements that can cause our infrastructure to go down. We have a private AS (Autonomous System) where we run full BGP (Border Gateway Protocol) peering with multiple tier-1 providers and from this throughout our network, compute platform and on to storage and backups, everything is redundant and clustered with multiple paths and no single points of failure.

Reason 5: Exit Strategy

Digital Planet virtual servers run on VMware vSphere which adheres to the Open Virtualisation Format (OVF), allowing for easy conversion of VMs to other standards to run on other VMware and non-VMware based platforms. Digital Planet also provides the ability to (a) download your virtual servers over the internet or (b) return them to you on external USB media that you provide. In these and in all other areas, we believe in proving our quality through transparency. We know we have developed a very high quality solution so we have no reason to hide this from our customers. We prefer to discuss the design through a workshop with our customers and address any specific concerns in this way.

Reason 6: Reducing TCO

The industry analysts say that you can save on average 30% on investing in Cloud Computing. At Digital Planet, we refute this statement. The mean saving may be 30%, but there is no average. Some companies can save 50% or more on their current spending on IT. Other companies may find the Cloud as much as 20% more expensive than their current IT spend. In these cases it is usually that they are upgrading to a far superior solution to the one they currently have invested in. The key when looking at the Cloud is in completely understanding the total costs of your current IT spend. In many cases the total costs are not allocated to the IT budget. Items such as power, space and administration can often be allocated to a central budget. At Digital Planet we will work with the client to understand the savings of moving to a Cloud solution. This is a key offering in our solution.

Reason 7: Reducing the Cash Flow impact of Capital Investment

In any economy, company cash reserves should be directed at investments that will generate further growth for the company. In the current economic climate, cash reserves are scarce and making substantial investments in depreciating assets can be difficult. The Cloud will allow you to protect scarce reserves by diverting the spend over a 3 to 5 year period and hopefully deliver a positive IRR.

Reason 8: Flexibility Regarding Computing Resources Required

In any economy, company cash reserves should be directed at investments that will generate further growth for the company. In the current economic climate, cash reserves are scarce and making substantial investments in depreciating assets can be difficult. The Cloud will allow you to protect scarce reserves by diverting the spend over a 3 to 5 year period and hopefully deliver a positive IRR.

Reason 9: Scalability of IT Environment

As your IT requirements move up and down over a period of time, your Cloud costs can move in unison. And if you are heading into a large expansion, the Cloud solution can be geared up within a matter of minutes to meet those requirements. Again, if you are looking to downscale operations, the Cloud can be downscaled as appropriate.

Reason 10: Resilience of the Cloud

Most Cloud environments should deliver 99.99% uptime. Resilience is key where system uptime is critical to your organisation. Examples of this type of company would be where your trade is done On Line via your website or where your website is critical to the day to day operation of your business. Most companies don’t need that level of uptime and if yours is one of them, then the Cloud can be an expensive solution for limited return.