Moving the House that IT Built to Cloud Computing
Back in Chicago after a snowy start in Montreal the day after. The HP Master the Cloud road show takes me to Toronto next where I can’t wait to see the HP Performance Optimized Data Center (POD) - a data center being stood up to meet your requirements in weeks! Wish houses were built that way.
Moving your IT environment to cloud computing is like moving houses. Take a look at your House that IT built and you see accumulated assets – furniture and appliances - and the current infrastructure – plumbing and wiring. You evaluate your current needs, get a gut feel, seek validation and decide to move. What you move, how you move, when you move and where you move to is your decision.
Moving to the Cloud is no different: Here are my top 5 similarities between moving to cloud computing and moving to a new house:
- Assessment. Life-changing events and life style changes trigger a clear need to make The Move. Moving to the Cloud involves an assessment based on the key drivers that determine if the move is to a cloud model within the data center (private) or to an external environment (public) or both (hybrid). Do we go with an extreme makeover (private) instead of actually moving out (public)?
- Clutter removal. In either case, you take an inventory and choose what is needed. Gone are the boxes gathering dust over decades: e.g. financial records that are decades old. You assess your portfolio of applications forcing you to rationalize.
- Neighborhood. You scout potential neighborhoods. In the event of an extension (private), you re-assess the evolution of the current neighborhood from various perspectives -- crime rate, the efficiency of public services etc. Just like you would assess the new mix of cloud service providers based on their security standards, track record, service levels and references.
- Upgrading. When moving houses, you typically upgrade your appliances. Moving to the Cloud provides an excellent opportunity for applications modernization. Some of the existing applications may have to be re-architected to take better advantage of the distributed cloud resources. You stop using a lawn mower and adopt a service provider model instead (re: high-school kid in your neighborhood).
- Cost. Home owners analyze the benefits of moving houses factoring in the costs involved in light of the financing plans available. CIOs must work in concert with the CFOs to make the right call from varied perspectives including the total cost of ownership after the move.
Have you moved to the Cloud? Have you moved houses? Do you see other parallels? If you are interested in an Applications Realtor, Take the cloud computing assessment and check out Cloud Computing. Wonder what moving to a Mobile Home would be like? That is why you should come to Toronto to see the HP POD at HP Master the Cloud on Tuesday, January 31 !!
Watch HP Fellow, Charlie Bess demonstrating a mini-version of the HP POD at the Master the Cloud event in Montreal.
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