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An efficient option Why cloud is the smart choice for your business
No. 1 / Febr. 10
CLOUD COMPUTING
security matters get better data protection for your business trade secrets Industry leaders give their advice your questions answered
2 februAry 2010
Challenges
The cloud is an evolution in computing technology which offers companies an opportunity to run applications beyond their own server rooms but businesses still need to take responsibility for their data.
We recommend
Put to work how developments in cloud computing are helping the rnli to save lives.
pAge 10
lthough cloud computing is relatively new, the concept of sharing computer services has been around for decades, and the technologies that enable the cloud such as virtualisation, hosting and software as a service (SaaS) have been available for some time. Cloud computing refers to the delivery of computer services over the Internet, as an alternative to running software on your own computer or data centre. Within the IT industry this topic is complicated by too much jargon and too many vendors with differing definitions to help categorise their particular implementation as cloud. The BASDA trade group is trying to look beyond terminology to focus on examples of how our members are helping real businesses transform the way they work with this technology.
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What is cloud?
The cloud gives users the flexibility of mixing and matching the most appropriate services from their service providers. They can be accessed 24/7 from any Internet connected PC or mobile device, making collaboration with customers and business partners that much easier. Cloud providers share capacity and support resources across a community of users, and economies of scale result in lower cost of ownership compared to traditional systems. Services are usually provided on a monthly subscription basis, and can be easily scaled up or down as necessary. The IT headaches of managing the infrastructure or keeping software versions up to date are all handled for you. Cloud providers gear themselves up for continuous operation and will offer a comprehensive service level agreement,with guaranteed levels of availability in advance of the typical in house IT set-up.
Taking responsibility
While the cloud offers significant advantages over onpremise it does carry potential risks to be considered. You must carry out due diligence to ensure steps are taken to safeguard your data in terms of availability, security, privacy as well as legislation like the data protection act. Customers need to consider data ownership, and access rights for migration if anything goes wrong at the supplier. It is important to realise that cloud computing is a natural evolution of technology, rather than some new thing to be avoided out of hand. Although some organisations will embrace the cloud, others will adopt a hybrid approach using these services to extend rather than replace existing systems. The shared data centres of the cloud can also offer a greener approach to IT.
we make our readers succeed! cloud computing, february 2010 Country Manager: Willem de geer Business Developer: darren clarke Sub-editor: danielle Stagg responsible for this issue Project Manager: christopher emberson Phone: 0207 6654410 E-mail: christopher.emberson@ mediaplanet.com Distributed with: the daily telegraph february 2010 Print: the telegrah media group Mediaplanet contact information: Phone: 02076654400 E-mail: info.uk@mediaplanet.com With special thanks to:
my beSt tipS
Define a strategy
Organisations should consider working through industry bodies and trade associations to influence the agenda on a sector basis rather than as individuals - demystify the cloud topic to avoid some of the current market confusion.
4 February 2010
news
elastic and expand as theyre needed with people just paying for extra capacity automatically as it happens.
Standards needed
The main hurdle which cloud operators will need to overcome, though, Taylor believes, is opening up rival operators systems so the cloud runs along the same principles and business models no matter who is managing the hosting. Its very early days but there needs to be a lot of work done on standardisation, Taylor points out. There are not only different offerings out there around pricing but also people are going to wonder what happens if they want to move their data. There are different cloud services and you cant just pick up your application or data and just move it around between them. I think this area of standardisation and portability is a huge issue where the service providers have to improve and its also an area of opportunity for third parties to provide platforms which allow the same application to work with more than one cloud service.
sean hargrave info.uk@mediaplanet.com
Flexible scale
This is one of major advantages which Mark Taylor, Director of Microsofts Developer and Platform Group, believes is of most appeal to
february 2010 5
TOP TIPs
sub news
It is not only businesses that are being attracted to the flexibility and cost savings of cloud computing, the Government has given the new approach a major role in its new ICT strategy it believes will save more than 3.2bn. Trials of a Government Application Store started early this month which, it is hoped, will lead to a common platform for civil servants to access applications that could eventually be hosted, alongside other software tools, in the cloud. The apps store, it is believed, could save the Government 500m by 2020. The proposed cloud service, or G Cloud as it is being referred to, is expected to account for around half of the proposed 3.2bn total savings. The massive cost reduction should come mainly through drastically reducing the number of servers and supporting infrastructure the GovIan Osborne director of the digital systems Knowledge transfer network at intellect
ernment requires. Ian Osborne, Director of the Digital Systems Knowledge Transfer Network at Intellect UK, is one of a large team of volunteer experts who are advising the Cabinet Office on the G Cloud. He believes the next five years or so will see some very interesting initiatives as officials decide what the final service should look like. Ordinance Survey has already shown how it uses cloud to service a peak of 9m users, he says. So its going to be a very useful tool for departments to manage peaks in traffic, such as HMRC at the end of January. A lot of sensitive data may not be suitable for the cloud, because of security concerns and different departments would have to still keep their records separate to comply with data protection and privacy laws. Nevertheless, the G Cloud is a very exciting opportunity to save the Government a huge amount of budget. For citizens, Osborne believes, one of the biggest advantages of the G Cloud could be allowing different departments to share non-sensitive data so paper work is reduced and processes sped up rather like an existing service which allows stored passport photos to be used for driving licences.
Read more on the web: www.intellectuk.org/saas2009
nO bOunds Cloud computing allows for great flexibilty and offers businesses a truly global presence.
Photo: istock Photo
6 february 2010
news
conSider Security
Secure your dAtA 1 & 2. By ensuring the right people are getting in or staying out, your business is more secure. 3. cloud provides great opportunities for improving productivity.
The benefits are numerous but arguably the biggest barrier to adoption is security concerns, so unfortunately, it would seem that businesses dont trust the cloud. Theres no reason for this if organisations have the correct security solutions in place.And by security solutions, I dont mean lockdown; I mean a security solution which is flexible and tailored to the specific demands of each business, something which gives organisations the confidence to embrace the benefits of cloud-based solutions. The key issue is not security of the cloud itself but ensuring the exit and entry points between your business and cloud-based services are watertight.
news
If there is one concern that all businesses should be fully aware of before they consider taking advantage of the cloud, it is security. Corporate server rooms are normally encased by a strong firewall to ensure that only the people who are supposed to have access to data and let in and the remainder are locked out. This is the mainstay of business computing and so the suggestion that the corporate server room should be slimmed down, or even replaced, by a move in to cloud servers raises serious security issues.
velopment new applications in the cloud without the delay of commissioning their own server or who want to host public information, such as a website.Here there is a clear trade off between low cost, instant access to server space and the level of security on offer At the other extreme, however, there are IT specialists who can ad-
vise on bespoke security measures as well as cloud providers who can offer varying levels of security on servers in the cloud but, of course, this will increase the cost of a project.
Standard metric
As ever with the cloud, though, there is little standardisation and so a group of consultancies, regulators,
Facts
94% of more than 1000 security professional recently told trade show Infosecurity europe that the one reason they or their clients were not committing to the cloud are concerns over levels of security 3 in 4 companies also revealed in a survey run by Infosecurity europe that they intend to spend more budget in the year ahead securing cloud services as well as applications run through a software as a service model the nHs certainly believes cloud services can be secured. It has just signed a five year cloud security deal thought to be worth around 6m Hence the latest advice given out at the recent westminster eForum on the cloud by the Information security Professionals Organisation is to switch from labelling the cloud as not safe to making it secure because the technology is being adopted regardless of individual members concerns
Pick a level
As with any computing infrastructure there are several options available to companies and security is central to the eventual decision an organisation opts for. At the simplest extreme, the speed of renting space on a server within just a few minutes and a few clicks of a mouse is normally the most prone route to the cloud. It is typically taken by companies that want to do de-
cloud providers and security businesses have came together at the start of the month to work on a global Common Assurance Metric (CAM). This resulting system of security scores is hoping to get around the problem that most measures of security protection are normally linked to particular bespoke products and so can make rating applications time consuming and offer a result which cannot be easily compared to other products. The group of experts is expected to have the outline of the CAM ready by the end of the year. When it is complete it will allow security vendors and cloud operators to have their services rated so potential clients can make informed decisions based on an industry-wide standard. According to Giles Hogben, Networks Security Policy Expert at the EUs information security agency, ENISA, the global standard is a welcome move. The CAM work is essential, he says.The number one barrier to adoption of cloud computing is assurance how can I know if its safe to trust the cloud provider? This is a problem for providers too - answering a different security questionnaire for every customer is a huge drain on resources.
sean HarGrave info.uk@mediaplanet.com
Without a doubt, I would say that data security and regulation is a key focus for private cloud providers. Perhaps what has made the cloud security debate rage so fiercely is the fact that potential issues or breaches could be potentially catastrophic. Plus relying on highly centralised cloud solutions, with data being stored in a different country, creates significant challenges for business as they struggle to comply with additional legislation. Local solutions can help businesses overcome these challenges, along with private clouds.
What comeback does a business have if there is a security breach in the cloud?
The protection businesses can call upon in case of a breach is all down to the contracts it has in place with their cloud provider. The service level agreements,the course of action they will take, the level of information about breaches and ability to investigate varies greatly on the provider. I would strongly encourage businesses to obtain the service level agreements they require before committing to a cloud provider.
8 februAry 2010
februAry 2010 9
inspiration
Question: How can companies encourage their IT departments to be more flexible at the same time as offering budgetary savings? Answer: Talk of the cloud has moved beyond rousing conferences speeches and is now a major issue in the board room.
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uSE iT To youR AdvAnTAgE
STEp
do your research
Be careful who you deal with. Id suggest that companies should work with people with a track record and when theyre looking for an operator to host their services and applications in the cloud they go for somebody thats put a billion in to it rather than a couple of million. The big operators are likely to have a better service and offer greater scale.
they can see the attraction of having a large, flexible infrastructure which can expand or contract with their needs.
Emma Taylor The Cloud Circle
they can instantly see the attraction of having a large, flexible infrastructure which can expand or contract with their needs, she says. At the same time, large enterprises are using it, not across the entire company but on a department by department basis for specific projects. One of the big attractions for them is that its so much quicker and more flexible. It can take months within a large enterprise to requisition a development server but with the cloud you can be up and running in minutes. Also companies that need to expand for a particular event, or which have seasonal peaks - such as the travel or insurance industries - theyre starting to experiment with the cloud because they want to scale up and down in response to market demand.
Security key
Of course there are still legitimate concerns over regulation and security in the cloud, although Taylor believes some of these will start to be addressed as more companies, of all sizes, take to the cloud.
Security is an obvious concern for companies but were finding that businesses are looking in to setting up private clouds for sensitive material, she says Many are also looking into a public or even hybrid offering so they can pick what information is public and which is protected better. When youve got huge companies like Glaxo Smith Kline and, of course, the Government looking into and starting to use the cloud, it should make companies realise that security concerns can be addressed. Hence, with a strong push from the board room for IT to make savings wherever possible, the drive to move more projects into the cloud is going to build up considerable momentum in the year ahead,Taylor believes. Companies are looking to IT to become more agile and cost effective and this is exactly what the cloud offers and delivers.
SEAN HARGRAVE info.uk@mediaplanet.com
Be prepared
Be sure you know what you are getting. Many companies may buy a cloud service without realising that they have very little in the way of security or a guarantee of service. These can be provided with the right partners.
plan ahead
For new projects, give the cloud serious consideration because it is so much simpler and quicker to set up than the formal process inside large companies of requesting a server. This usually means nothing can happen on new projects for a couple of months or more.
Real experience
As more businesses take to the cloud and take advantage of its speed,flexibility and
CApTuRE hEAdLinE A leading advisor for the Cloud Circle, Richard belives in researching the cloud before you jump.
Photo: the cloud circle
10 februAry 2010
steP
InspIratIon
Are there any data concerns with rescue information in the cloud?
to tHe rescue cloud-based technology is helping the rNLI react to emergencies even faster
One of the potential problems with the cloud is that fishermen might not want their rivals to know where they are via a public cloud system, so we ensure they are identified as a number that only our system can identify them by.
Photo: RNLI
how we made it
Many people can talk with authority on how the cloud can transform a business but very few can tell you have they are using it to save lives. However, at the RNLI the cloud is currently being used to run a system that warns when a person has fallen off a small fishing boat or has an emergency situation. The Man Over Board Guardian (MOB Guardian) is being trialed in the cloud, on Microsofts Azure service, in addition to being hosted in a conventional data centre. The ultimate aim, when it has proven resolute enough, is to switch the data centre to act as a back up to the cloud service and then potentially switch off the data centre service altogether. and contact with the sensor is lost,an alarm is raised via satellite and the stricken sailors position is tracked via the on board GPS (satnav).This offers crucial protection for lone fishermen. Longer fishing vessels are already monitored and have safety systems installed by law, explains Peter Bradley, Operations Manager at the RNLI.
This technology is already a proven life saver because it not only alerts us to an incident, it tells the rescue crews where to find the person, so they can go straight to them. Bradley explains that the purpose of mirroring the service in the cloud, before hopefully migrating it fully, is to reduce the cost of on premise servers and offer greater scale for
How it works
The MOB Guardian system works through a fisherman wearing a pendant that is in Bluetooth, wireless contact with a sensor on the boat. As soon as the person goes underwater,
less money. At the moment its run traditionally on servers in a data centre and has a capacity of 10,000 boats, he says. The problem is to add an extra one boat above that, wed need to add the same infrastructure again and double up, with capacity for another 10,000 boats. Thats very expensive, so by putting this service in the cloud were going to be able to save a lot of money at the outset but then also well be able to scale up without huge upfront costs. Cost is very important for the RNLI because of its charitable status. The MOB Guardian service is currently heavily subsidised and the emergency service needs to be able to offer it to fishermen (and perhaps other small boats in the future) at an affordable price as possible. The recession has hit fishermen hard and, as Bradley surmises, if a fishermans going to put their hand in their pocket for anything at the moment, its going to be to mend their nets. Hence,to save lives,it is imperative the service can be run as efficiently as possible so the final cost can be brought down.
sean hargrave info.uk@mediaplanet.com
Actually, it does. As the system hopefully rolls out to new countries there is the potential for problems over where data is hosted. A lot of authorities require data about their citizens, companies or authorities to be kept within their country.With the cloud we can set up the services with servers in specific countries or continents so we do not have any regulatory issues. It was the ability of Azure to offer a choice of tying where data is stored and the application hosted to geographic regions that attracted us to the platform.
By using the cloud, were far more flexible.We can take extra capacity as and when we need it and we can make sure that extra capacity is in the right part of the world. If we were going down the traditional route wed need to keep on putting in place a series of infrastructures, in each territory, that could take 10,000 users. With the cloud we can do this a bit at a time as we need to. Its a lot more efficient and affordable..
Were testing the service now to show that it can be as robust and reliable any alternative because this is obviously a huge concern for an emergency safety device such as the MOB Guardian, you cant have it failing. In fact, we think, if anything, the cloud could be more robust because it could be set up so if one server goes down another cloud server could take over. This kind of back up would be far cheaper in the cloud than locating the service in more than one traditional data centre.
february 2010 11
InspIratIon
Tips
Making waves
Following developments in cloud, the Man Over Board Guardian (MOB Guardian) system not only notifies the RNLI of an incident, but allows them to pinpoint someones location. The GPS-based technology is saving lives as well as cutting costs, a vital aid to the charitybased organisation.
a leap forward 1. a boat is launched after the alarm is raised. 2. fishermen wearing pendants can rest easy knowing their locations are being logged. 3. The rNlI team can remotely monitor GpS signals with off-site servers.
Photos RNLI/Istock Photo
12 februAry 2010
news
uk
Question: is the cloud going mobile or are there obstacles? answer: there is lots of interest in the mobile cloud but competing standards and security concerns are an issue.
Modern business is mobile and so it is inevitable that the major next advance for the cloud is to tailor services for mobile phones, or more particularly, smartphones. With computing giants Microsoft, Apple and Google all vying to make further inroads on Blackberrys dominance in smartphones, it is unthinkable that cloud applications will remain mainly limited to PCs and laptops. However, first, two major obstacles have to be overcome; proprietary platforms and security. The former is arguably the one giving IT teams the biggest headache. Specific applications can be written for each of the various platforms, but which one should an IT team chose? David Akka, Managing Director of Magic Software believes the question will lead companies to consider publishing applications on platforms which can then publish to multiple standards, rather than write a different application for each standard. It is difficult enough already for IT teams to chose which cloud provider they go for because there are several large operators with different
Secure, at a price
In the field,the feedback from mobile application specialists is that there is increased interest in hosting applications in the cloud, so long as security concerns can be overcome. JeanPhilippe Bechade, CEO of Mobile Distillery, claims this is now possible, although it will impact the cost of the service. In fact, as if to prove the point, the company has just helped a client launch a cloud service through which people can send money to relatives abroad through a mobile phone. The cloud is indispensable for companies who want to launch a service and then grow their capacity as the service takes off, he says. So as business and consumer activity is moving to the mobile phone were getting a lot of interest which we think will start to be turned in to commercial activity this year, like the money transfer service. Obviously security is a big concern, particularly if youre dealing with something like money transfers. We can add security to services but clients need to be aware that it accounts for around a third to even nearly a half of a projects cost.
get up and go. Cloud allows for business to be conducted on the move, but its an Photo: thomas maier option which should be carefully considered.
platforms, he says. Then, if you add the complication of several different smartphone platforms, you can see its going to give them a real headache. Thats why I believe mobile is really going to en-
courage businesses to develop applications first of all on a single platform which can then publish that application on the competing cloud standards as well as the smartphone handsets they want it to run on.
Facts
the mobile market is complicated by various vying platforms from rival operators, meaning that although a single application can work on all computers it will need to be rewritten for every type of smartphone. this leaves companies wondering which platform is the best choice for their employees or for the consumer market they are intending to reach. Latest figures from comscore show that Googles android mobile platform is gaining users, doubling its market share in the last quarter of 2009. the dominant platform, at 42% of the market, is still RIM (Blackberry handsets), followed by apple on 25%, Microsoft Windows for Mobile 19%, Palm 6% and android 5%. the figures suggest the Blackberrys dominance could soon be overcome by the iPhone and that Palm will very soon be overtaken by Googles android platform.
Calling for Change: Isnt it time you put your Telephony in the Cloud as well as your IT Applications?
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Visit www.newvoicemedia.com or call 0800 280 2888 to discover how your business can bene t from our Cloud Based Telephony.
february 2010 13
InspIratIon
Tips
business transfer
data process 1. thanks to a growing cloud presence, data is now easier to share- and to intercept. 2. every-day appliances, such as mobile phones, now pose as a potential risk to your business data.
Photos: istock Photo
14 februAry 2010
panel of experts
Ron Brown Director Cloud Computing, EMEA, CSC Hugh Scantlebury Director, Aqilla Jon Dakin Director, Boxwood
Better pricing control - pay per click provides predictability of IT costs which are synced with business growth and allow a CAPEX to OPEX transition Freedom -establishing environments to support initiatives can now be done in relatively short times with flexibility around sizing, up or down. This provides agility to the business Enhanced collaboration - between the business and its employees, partners and suppliers. Fear of the unknown - uncertainty around security, service level agreements, new commercial and engagement models and unclear risk profiles. Readiness - inability to be a good cloud-buyer. Existing operating models are tuned for managed services/product procurement. New IT skills, evaluation techniques and architectures are needed. Confusion - from hardware and software vendors with their current revenue models under threat .
The cost benefits of cloud-based applications are well documented but I believe that flexibility is one of the most compelling reasons for their adoption. Downtime through travel can be reduced and teams can work with colleagues even when theyre away from the office, transforming business. Accountants,for example, can work more efficiently, collaborating with clients and working through data without even having to leave their office. Caution about cloud solutions mirrors that of other technologies that are now mainstream, including the web, email and even Microsoft Word. This is often driven by fear of lost control and security so, when considering the options, particularly if youre outsourcing core systems and data, it pays to be prudent. You must always ask potential partners detailed questions about security and the guarantees they offer for things like availability.
The conventional model of all IT services being delivered by an in-house function is shifting. The cloud allows users to buy all forms of IT services from around the globe, real-time, offering low costs as well as the best-in-class innovation and capability. For those entrepreneurial executives keen to exploit modern technology they are no longer constrained to the legacy architecture, skills and processes of their in house capability.
Question 2: What are the main factors holding back cloud adoption?
Effective IT delivery is essential to survival so sourcing that delivery from 3rd parties requires a great deal of trust. Managing multiple complex supply chains and extended relationships where the real risks cant be fully outsourced will require new legislation, business models and management skills. Building in redundancy and fail safes will help but most businesses will feel it is far better to be a fast adopter than an early adopter.
Formulation of cloud strategies within enterprises as case studies emerge from early adopters and the response of hardware and software vendors becomes clearer. The invention of new business operating models to take advantage of the increased agility, leading into new collaborative models as community clouds are deployed. Data management is likely to become a focus area with accurate data segregation being necessary to fully leverage cloud.
I think we will see the takeup of the cloud grow dramatically throughout 2010,partly driven by mobile devices that have larger screens, such as the iPad.Our recent research shows that 82 per cent of UK finance professionals already use some sort of web-based applications in the workplace,and from April 2011 it will be compulsory for all businesses to file both company accounts and tax returns in an electronic format, which can only deepen the trend.
Cloud services will be fuelled through continual demands to reduce costs. This will drive greater risk taking. Already we are seeing some FTSE100 companies experimenting with services such as Google desktop managed services. However, old lessons will be relearned, specifically that a well thought-out enterprise architecture is a must have if you are to fully exploit the range of technologies available and that includes the cloud.
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