15 June 2011| Article by Jens Maagøe

June 2011 | Article by Jens Maagøe, Senior Architect, NNIT

IT is continually growing and changing, and with it our perception of how to use the technology. Over a span of just a few years IT has moved away from being predominantly tailor-made solutions to being of-the shelf solutions in many cases. First, the need for lower costs and greater flexibility has been driving the virtualisation and sourcing wave. And now this same drive to reduce costs and increase agility is creating a new awareness that, in many cases, the standard solution is "good enough" and meets the actual needs of the business. This growing acceptance of standard solutions has shifted the baseline for the delivery and operation of IT products. And this is where cloud computing comes into the picture.

Transformation from physical to virtual components
During the last ten years there has been a strong focus on "virtualisation", and many businesses have made the change from physical to virtual components. One of the major benefits of virtualisation lay in the more efficient use of resources. Also this new mode of production is more flexible as we can move the virtual components around as required, without any major concern with physical constraints.

However, virtualisation has not produced a smaller number of components or a simpler IT infrastructure. The process typically occurs as a 1-for-1 transformation, i.e. from a physical server to a virtual server. In most cases the management of the virtual platform, OS or application operation isn’t process-optimised. One of reasons for this is that the virtual component content typically varies between applications and between customers. And unique, individualised applications still need manual handling and time for maintenance purposes.

From individual to standard
The virtualisation trend is now well established, and continues to evolve. The next logical step was a major trend towards IT standardisation and commercialisation. Customer attitudes and market requirements are now along the lines of "well, if it's good enough for others, it's good enough for me", which represents a radical shift from the situation five years ago. This suddenly opens the gates to the comprehensive optimisation and automation of production and service-delivery processes, since the end product is now defined and standardised. And this form of process optimisation and automation is one of the key ingredients of the cloud computing concept.

Automation and process optimisation
A predefined and standardised end product makes it possible to deliver and host solutions in a completely new way. Cloud computing offers enormous potential for scaling, flexible payment models, rapid deployment, easy access and standardisation.

NNIT's "Enterprise Cloud" offers flexibility and security in a single package, combining the benefits of public cloud with enterprise-level quality and security. Everything in Enterprise Cloud is automated: the allocation of networks, servers and storage, and the installation of defined OS, middleware and applications all happen automatically. We can deliver a defined application with a single key stroke. Automation also speeds up the process in terms of executing and implementing the customer's requirement for e.g. capacity.

Competitive advantage from cloud computing
The cloud trend may well have been helped along by the global recession, as businesses look to make further cost savings. But cloud is about much more than just reducing expenses. It also provides ongoing access to the latest computer technology, which can boost efficiency and, when properly used, create a real competitive advantage. Any in-house IT set-up would find it difficult to replicate this performance in the long term.

A multi-facetted IT environment
Cloud is here to stay, and will increasingly become an integral part of an organisation's multi-facetted IT environment. For many businesses, the question is not so much whether to make cloud part of their solution landscape, as where and how to incorporate it. Some areas are ideal for public cloud, others for private cloud, while other aspects are best left in a non-cloud environment. So how can you set about creating an appropriate cloud strategy and orchestrating your overall IT environment to perform as a well-tuned, harmonious ensemble?

All it takes is a phone call to NNIT - we will be happy to help you find a foothold in the cloud. Meanwhile, the IT world will keep growing and changing, and as Darwin said, evolution is all about being "responsive to change".