We continue our discussion of Cloud Computing by taking a look at one of its more universally accepted benefits—scale on demand architecture. Much of the conversation about this aspect of cloud computing focuses on the advantages for application development and hosted applications (if this seems like a theme, that’s because it is). The following article offers a great contrast between application development in a cloud environment and building a traditional on-premises environment for developers to use.

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The True Cost of Cloud Computing – a Comparison of Two Development Teams

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As the article points out, the ability to size the cloud environment dynamically based on increased or decreased demand (sometimes referred to as auto-scaling) is a huge win in terms of capital and operational cost.

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In the first 4 parts of this series, we defined the Cloud and discussed some of its many advantages. Which brings up an interesting question—“Are there any potential pitfalls of migrating your business to a Cloud Computing environment?” We’ll explore that issue in this post.

One issue that has to be addressed when planning a Cloud migration is the connection to the Internet. Most businesses only have a single Internet circuit. If the Internet circuit goes out, most employees can still do a limited amount of work on their personal computers (PCs). As long as the Internet outage doesn’t last too long, it isn’t a debilitating problem (some would argue that due to the proliferation of cloud-based applications like email and Google Docs, this statement is debatable).

But in a Cloud Computing environment based on desktop virtualization, an Internet outage means that employees do not have access to their desktops until Internet service is restored. Obviously, that is not a good situation. So how can this risk be mitigated?

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I suppose if we are going to talk about Cloud Computing, then we need to define the term “Cloud”. The following animation provides a simple and somewhat amusing explanation of the Cloud.

However, after watching this video, you might get the impression that the Cloud is simply a good place to store your data. While this is true, it is only one component of the Cloud.

The next video gives a broader and slightly more historical perspective of the Cloud. If you are a little “geeky”, this will definitely appeal to you.

Okay, if you are still awake, let’s finish with something a little more “peppy”.

Aha! Now we’re getting somewhere. Besides the fact that any presentation involving Legos is super cool, the message conveyed in this short video is that the Cloud has evolved to mean multiple things which are especially important to businesses! The most important components of the cloud include:

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Can your business survive a natural disaster?

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), almost 40 percent of small businesses never reopen their doors after a disaster.

The biggest problem when a natural disaster hits is the absence of a disaster recovery plan. If you are interested in what goes in to developing a disaster recovery plan, check out this FEMA site (your tax dollars at work).

If you read closely, the only suggestion for IT preparedness is that, “recovery strategies for information technology should be developed so technology can be restored in time to meet the needs of the business. Manual workarounds should be part of the IT plan so business can continue while computer systems are being restored.”

The reality is that most SMBs simply don’t have the resources to create a viable disaster recovery and business continuity plan even if they have the foresight to make the attempt. A “true” business continuity plan requires the ability to deploy replacement hardware and software in a short enough time to prevent clients and customers from canceling contracts and services. It means that all company and personal data (e.g., email and personal files) are restored quickly and efficiently. It means that all workstations have to be re-imaged so that employees don’t experience productivity disruptions.

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If you perform an internet search for Desktop Virtualization, you might find an article similar to one of the following:

Windows Virtual Desktop, Techopedia Desktop Virtualization Definition, or What is Desktop Virtualization?

Okay, these go from pretty simple to pretty confusing! Rather than repeat the same trite definition you can get elsewhere, I’m going to introduce a new (and hopefully simpler) concept. Desktop Virtualization makes your personal computer (PC) irrelevant by storing your Desktop in the cloud.

Whoa! Wait a minute. That is a short sentence but packs two BIG “punches”.

 First, what exactly is a “Desktop”? Well, when the majority of users log into their PCs, they are typically presented with a screen which contains icons for frequently used applications and frequently accessed folders and files. This is the “starting point” for each user session and is referred to as the “Desktop” by operating system (OS) vendors. The concept of a desktop can be extended to include things like local email files, a My Documents folder (for Windows users), available printers, and mapped network drives. So far, so good?

Also implied is that your Desktop would somehow be stored in the cloud rather than on your local PC. I have taken some liberties with the use of the term “cloud”. Cloud can mean a lot of different things. It could be:

• A locally attached appliance on server that stores “desktops” on your Intranet; or
• A physical server hosted by a service provider that is used to create a “virtual desktop environment” for each user; or
• A group of “virtual” servers offered as a service by a “Cloud Provider” and used for the same purpose.

At Red One NS, we generally mean Amazon Web Services (AWS) when we refer to the “Cloud”.

No matter how the virtual desktop environment is created, once it is deployed, users are no longer tied to a specific device from which to access their Desktop; all that is needed is a network connection to the location where the desktop environment is stored. As a result, personal computers, with their myriad challenges (difficult to secure, hard to manage, and high rebuild/replacement cost), are no longer needed! Instead, an OS agnostic device, with limited memory, storage and CPU resources, can be used to access the virtual desktop environment. Even more exciting, the virtual desktop environment can be accessed from more than one device and in more than one location.

Is that a big deal?

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The following USA Today article takes a shot at defining Cloud computing:

This article primarily focuses on applications in the cloud. The author notes that in 2018 Oracle purchased Netsuite for a rather hefty sum of $9.3 billion.  NetSuite is an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software package that runs in the Cloud. I’d rather not comment on what ERP software does because that is a pretty broad subject and that isn’t my bailiwick. Suffice it to say that Oracle bought Netsuite because it is a “cloud-based” application, which means that you connect to the Internet and run the program in a web-browser-like interface.  The article seems to imply that Oracle made the acquisition as part of their strategy to bolster their Cloud computing portfolio. I certainly wouldn’t argue the point.

But then the article tries to “define” cloud computing for the “uninitiated” reader. And this is where things get a little “wonky”. The author states,

“…cloud computing is the ability to do tasks over the Internet as opposed to having all the hardware and software on the machine that you or your colleagues are working on.”

Huh? Does this mean that you only need some of the hardware and software on the machine that you and your colleagues are working on? If so, which parts are required locally? If not, then how do you access the Cloud?

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What is cloud computing? If you perform an Internet search, you will get a multitude of results, many from large companies like Microsoft, IBM and Amazon. Those companies offer tutorials and whitepapers that generally associate cloud computing with concepts like data storage, application hosting and server virtualization. With respect to applications and servers, the suggestion is that the cloud can be used for all of a user’s “compute” needs. These descriptions are entirely appropriate and, for large companies with specific needs, the cloud offers all of these capabilities and more. But what about small and medium sized businesses (SMBs)—companies with 10 to 500 employees? What does cloud computing offer those organizations? Over the next several months, I will create a series of posts in which I will explore this question and, hopefully, clarify the true power of cloud computing for SMBs. I will cover topics like data backup, fault tolerance, high-availability and disaster recovery—all of which become ubiquitously available when a cloud computing solution incorporating Desktop Virtualization is deployed.

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