Cloud Myths 102

Picking up from where we left in our last piece of content, here’s another set of the cloud myths that are most commonly fed by the hypes and mistaken by the enterprises doing cloud and seeking cloud management.

1.   “The CEO Said So” Is a Cloud Strategy

When asked about their cloud strategy, many companies come up with “We’re doing what our CEO asks us to do.” This is clearly not a cloud strategy. What it takes to delineate a cloud strategy is identifying business goals, listing out potential benefits as well as drawbacks and so on. In order to use the cloud successfully, the final targets should be made specific.

2.   Cloud Is Equated With a Data Center

While the strategies for both are distinct, Cloud is often mistaken for a Data Center. Data center outsourcing and data center modernization too are not synonymous with that of the cloud. Although Data Centers should be available for things not in the cloud, it does not imply that these two are the same.

3.   Hybrid cloud is just a network connection between public and private clouds

Hybrid cloud is a reality for most of the organizations and it’s digging in for the long haul versus simply being a temporary state. Understanding that hybrid is a steady stable state and not a transitional one, is the reason hybrid can’t simply be a network connection between public and private clouds. Hybrid consistency goes past network connectivity and the ability to “lift and shift” virtual machines, where it truly provides the IT expert, developer, and end-user with experiences that don’t change on the basis of the application or resource. A consistent hybrid cloud environment enables uniform development, unified dev-ops & management, IT management & security, and seamless extension of existing applications & infrastructure to the cloud. Hybrid cloud provides an additional consistency without which it will simply mean balancing among two different cloud environments.

4.   Migrating to the Cloud Means You Automatically Get All Cloud Characteristics

Switching your entire workload to the cloud does not make you the heir of all its characteristics. Cloud attributes are not transitive and so is cloud management which is an important aftermath in the migration process. The services provided by the cloud are distinct from the applications hosted in the cloud.

5.   Virtualization = Private Cloud

Highly virtualized and automated cloud environments, which are most common in private clouds, are often confused with the same. However, this conclusion comes out to be flawed. Virtualization is the most commonly used technology to bring cloud computing to life, but saying that it is the only technology in order to achieve cloud computing would be wrong.

6.   If Something Is Good, It Has To Be Cloud

Hype feeds the myth that something cannot be “good” unless it is a cloud. This manifestation leads to nebulous cloud demands and strategies with IT organizations calling many things cloud which is not. IT companies allegedly try to market their product in the name of cloud. This vehement “cloud washing” accidental or deliberate, tends to create a hype that everything good is cloud.

7.   We Need Only One Cloud Strategy

A cloud strategy should be in alignment with business goals and expected benefits, which are different for different use cases. Cloud services are vast and go across various levels, models, scope, and applications. Therefore, unlike what is supposed very commonly, it is not necessary to have one cloud strategy.

It is said that “Myths are a waste of time, they prevent progression and rightfully so, it is extremely important to get all the facts straight in order to build a strong foundation before you build on the cloud.