Google apps cloud computing

Google apps cloud computing

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  E-Guide How to identifywhich applications are right for public cloud computing The benefits of server virtualization are proven by now, but the fact is, many small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) haven’t been able to realize the benefits due to cost restraints. But the emergence of public cloud computing has helped SMBs take advantage of virtualization’s efficiencies. In this e-guide from SearchCloudComputing.com, gain expert insight into how public cloud computing benefits businesses of all sizes. Discover how to identify which applications are good candidates for cloud computing and which are not. And find out about alternatives to adopting a full public or private cloud computing strategy. Sponsored By:
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  SearchCloudComputing.com E-Guide How toidentify which applications are right for public cloud computing Sponsored By: Page 2 of 8 E-Guide How to identify which applications are right for public cloud computing Table of Contents Public cloud computing levels the playing field Identifying applications for public and private clouds Resources from Google Apps
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  SearchCloudComputing.com E-Guide How toidentify which applications are right for public cloud computing Sponsored By: Page 3 of 8 Public cloud computing levels the playing field By Mark Vaughn New technology terms and marketing lingo are always popping up, and the cloud computing market is one of the biggest offenders. The onslaught of such terms as IT as a Service, Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service and Software as a Service has led to a rush on buzzword bingo cards. As much as I hate to add to the chaos, I am proposing my own new term: Cloud as an Equalizer. CaaE, as I like to call it, is not a technology, but rather a statement about technology. Leveling the playing field We always talk about the proven benefits of server virtualization, but the fact is, many small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) haven't been able to realize these benefits because of cost restraints, the complexity of the technology or a lack of staff to support the virtual infrastructure. The emergence of cloud computing (particularly public cloud) has helped SMBs take advantage of virtualization's efficiencies. And these efficiencies have created new opportunities previously afforded to only the largest and most complex organizations -- hence, Cloud as an Equalizer. One of the equalizing features of public cloud computing is agility. Cloud computing allows more organizations to respond to real-time market conditions and bring services to market in record time. This agility can allow even the smallest of companies to be the catalyst for a tipping point in their markets, putting them in the right place at the right time. A word of caution, however: Being in the right place at the right time is good only if you can take advantage of the opportunity. Growing too fast can be even more damaging than growing too slow. If you hit the right niche at the right time, you can quickly outgrow your capacity to deliver and destroy your business before it ever gets off the ground.
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  SearchCloudComputing.com E-Guide How toidentify which applications are right for public cloud computing Sponsored By: Page 4 of 8 Luckily, another equalizing attribute of public cloud computing is elasticity. The ability to quickly scale your services to meet fluctuations in demand can help you ride the wave of being first to market, then allow you to scale back and control costs as that initial demands levels out. In the old days of virtualization, before public cloud computing, agility was an expensive luxury that few could afford, and elasticity simply did not exist. If you wanted to handle a high volume, you signed a three-year commitment to that capacity. Matching capacity to demand was a difficult balancing act. It led to the downfall of many SMBs and gave an advantage to larger shops that could more easily adjust to changing capacity requirements. Now public cloud computing has presented SMBs with the chance to level the playing field and compete in the major leagues. SMBs can use the cloud to respond quickly, grow on demand and shed resources when they are no longer needed. Enterprises had better take notice. Tomorrow's competition may just as easily come from the startup on Main Street as from the corporate competitors they are accustomed to battling.
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  SearchCloudComputing.com E-Guide How toidentify which applications are right for public cloud computing Sponsored By: Page 5 of 8 Identifying applications for public and private clouds By Tom Nolle, Contributor Enterprises are unanimous in agreeing that they are not likely to outsource all, or even a majority, of their applications to public cloud computing. They are also largely in agreement that not every application or every enterprise would be a fit for private cloud computing. Cloud computing is all about efficient use of resources, principally, managing capital and technology support costs. Finding where resource efficiency could be low is the key to finding cloud computing applications. Good candidates for the cloud: • Applications that are used by a group of mobile workers to manage their time and activity, and that contribute only limited information to the company's broad management information databases. Sales support and field service support applications are good examples of this. • Applications that require system hardware or software not normally used by your company's IT operations. An example would be a Linux application in a Windows shop. • Applications that are run infrequently but require significant computing resources when run. The cost of sustaining the excess internal IT capacity for these applications can be significant. This is particularly true if the applications must be run ad hoc, and thus could collide with normal IT schedules. • Applications that are run in a time zone different from that where your company's IT personnel are located, depending on how much usage is offset with your support staff. Here, cloud-sourcing may be a better alternative than starting your own multi- shift support operations.
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  SearchCloudComputing.com E-Guide How toidentify which applications are right for public cloud computing Sponsored By: Page 6 of 8 • Major changes in company IT use, created by M&A, business changes, etc. can benefit from public cloud computing during the period of IT transition. The cloud is a good framework for testing and prototyping application changes, even if the final applications will be run on your own infrastructure. • If your company is planning on outsourcing web hosting and Internet-hosted customer or employee services, the back-end server portion of these applications are good candidates for public cloud computing implementation. • Companies who have distributed server locations and data centers to support a set of applications used throughout the company. By creating a larger resource pool, you may be able to make more efficient use of servers and storage, lowering equipment costs, and also support your IT investment more efficiently. The more server complexes your company uses, the more it stands to gain from private cloud computing. • Companies who want to have backup for critical applications are good candidates for both public and private cloud computing. By creating a cloud-friendly internal IT structure, you'll find it easier and more efficient to outsource applications to the cloud if internal systems fail or are overloaded. Obviously, the more of the above factors apply to a given application, the more likely it is that the application is a candidate for the cloud. There are other factors that can make cloud computing use more problematic, though. Bad candidates for the cloud: • Applications that involve extremely sensitive data, particularly where there is a regulatory or legal risk involved in any disclosure, will require special treatment if they are to be run on a public cloud. It is smart to get a legal opinion before committing any applications of this type to public cloud computing. • Applications now being run on the company's private network and that are very performance-sensitive may create user experience issues if they're run on a public cloud. It is normally more difficult to control network performance for public cloud services.
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  SearchCloudComputing.com E-Guide How toidentify which applications are right for public cloud computing Sponsored By: Page 7 of 8 • Applications that require access to a very large database may be difficult to run on a public cloud. Loading the database onto the cloud may be costly and also create data harmonization problems with internal uses of the data, and accessing the data from the cloud is very likely to create performance problems. Even where cloud computing is a viable choice, there may be better ones available. In many cases, it will be possible to use software-as-a-service (SaaS) instead of public cloud computing services. Sales and support applications (CRM, in particular) are popular in SaaS form, and SaaS eliminates application management and support costs that are almost always a part of even public cloud computing services. Personal productivity tools like "office suites" can also be obtained online from many sources, and even unified communications and collaboration tools are available as hosted services. Experienced enterprise planners know that cloud computing, like most trends and new concepts in the industry, has tended to be over-publicized. That can create unrealistic expectations and disappointing results from early implementations. The best way to prevent this is to have a realistic plan for cloud computing adoption, one that assures the applications being targeted are the ones with the best potential for generating benefits.
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  SearchCloudComputing.com E-Guide How toidentify which applications are right for public cloud computing Sponsored By: Page 8 of 8 Resources from Google Apps Should Your Email Live In The Cloud? A Comparative Cost Analysis Cloud Computing - Latest Buzzword or a Glimpse of the Future? Cloud Computing - What is its Potential Value for Your Company? About Google Apps Google email security and archiving services, powered by Postini, enable organizations to make their existing email infrastructure more secure, compliant, and productive. The services protect against spam and messaging threats as well as provide content filtering and encryption for email. The archiving service stores email messages in a central archive with search capabilities to locate messages quickly. As a service, there is nothing to install or maintain, so organizations can simplify their IT architecture and lower costs.