Is Cloud the End of Infrastructure SB

8/2/2019 Is Cloud the End of Infrastructure SB

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/is-cloud-the-end-of-infrastructure-sb 1/23

Info-Tech Research Group ‹#›

Is the Cloud the End of Infrastructure?Meet the challenges head-on to maintain infrastructure’s value to the organization.




Executive Summary

• It’s not about a competing technology or platform but a competing value proposition – the prevailing sense is that when itcomes to deploying internal infrastructure, the cloud is fast and cheap versus slow and expensive.

• The specter of all infrastructure services being outsourced to the cloud is insomnia-inducing for infrastructureprofessionals. Will infrastructure roles even be required in future IT?

• There is a future for internal infrastructure even as external clouds mature and become hosts for key applications andprocesses. Infrastructure management and infrastructure roles will need to adapt to everything as a service to survive.

• Measure and articulate total costs. The speed and low barriers to access are certainly strong positives for cloud

services, however the business needs to take into account total costs over time. In this comparison, internal infrastructureownership fairs better against long term cloud rental.

• Focus on leveling the playing field to make sound decisions about internal/external hosting. The majority ofenterprise cloud strategies are focusing on the internal cloud first. This means they are building infrastructure as a servicecapability leveraging virtualization of a consolidated infrastructure.

• Manage the impact on infrastructure roles including skills requirements, recruitment, and eliminating redundancy.The need for some infrastructure roles will diminish while others will change their focus. Determine how responsibilities willchange, where gaps have been created, and what roles should be downsized.

The Challenge: The cloud calls into question the cost and very existence of infrastructure.

Info-Tech Advises: Track total cost, build the internal cloud, realign roles for a cloudy future.

Does cloud computing mean the end for internal IT infrastructure professionals? The

answer is no , but cloud computing will significantly disrupt internal IT roles and processes.Failure to take ownership of cloud services will lead to increasing irrelevance for managersof traditional infrastructure silos.




The biggest appeal of the cloud is that the business can eliminate the time andexpense of deploying and managing infrastructure. This is hardly good news ifdeploying and managing infrastructure is your role in IT. But there is hope for thosewho embrace development of federated internal/external Infrastructure-as-a-Service.

Introduction

Infrastructure managers.

Infrastructure professionals.

This Research is For: This Research will Help You:

Understand that it’s not about a competing technology or platform but a

competing value proposition – fast and cheap versus slow andexpensive.

Measure total costs for more meaningful comparisons – the cloud isattractive but long term savings are not always there.

Develop internal Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) to more effectivelymanage future hybrid environments with a mix of internal and external(cloud) IaaS.

Plan for reduced internal infrastructure and certain infrastructureroles, and mitigate impact through retraining and repurposing professionals.

In some cases they will attempt to go straight to the cloud, and then they’ll call us to fix it. The key is not to be seen as a blocker, but as someone who can help people take advantage of opportunities. It is betterto say, “How can we help you accomplish your goals?”

- Kelli Trosvig, University of WashingtonInterim Vice President & Vice Provost, UW Information Technology




Be engaged or be gone; external cloud computing will have asignificant impact on internal IT infrastructure roles

• Am I out of a job?If it all goes to the cloud therewill be no more need forinternal infrastructure and nomore need for infrastructure

professionals.• Is the infrastructure I manage

just too expensive comparedto the cloud?Justifying infrastructure costs isnot new but now these costsare being increasinglycompared against seeminglylower-cost cloud alternatives.

• Are my skills no longerrelevant?The shift from assetmanagement to IaaSmanagement will significantlyrevise the roles of infrastructureprofessionals.

The challenges What should you do?

Become stewards and brokers ofInfrastructure-as-a-Service, and theauthority on the best IaaS cloud host forsoftware and services: internal (private),external (public), or both (hybrid).

Process, people,technology impacted

2. Focus on building andmanaging the internal cloud(internal IaaS) first.

1. Clearly measure and articulatetotal costs for both internal andexternally hosted infrastructure.

3. Manage the impact oninfrastructure roles includingchanging skills requirements,recruitment, and eliminatingredundant roles.

Capacity Management

Infrastructure Consolidation

Recruitment and Training

There is a place for infrastructure and infrastructure management in a cloudy

future. Take ownership of the cloud. Be a critical part of the process.

Total Cost of Service

Role Redundancy (downsizing)

Asset Lifecycle Management




Few see all infrastructure moving to the cloud; however, the cloud will

become a significant part of the IT landscape. Everything will be a service.

This is not the end of internal infrastructure; however,infrastructure management and roles will have to change

• All IT infrastructure assets are owned andoperated by the business. The cost ofprovisioning an application is the cost of aserver plus network ports and storage.

• Infrastructure professionals are focusedon acquiring, configuring, deploying, andmanaging these assets (servers, storage,switches, facilities).

• Infrastructure service and availability isbased on maintenance of physical assetsand redundancy of those physical assets.

Before the Cloud

• Some IT infrastructure is owned by the businesswith the rest rented from multi-tenant externalclouds. Infrastructure is an abstraction measuredby units of capacity.

• Demand for hard asset management will shrink,however there will be strong demand formanaging services across internal and externalclouds.

• Service and availability will still be managed byinfrastructure professionals, but execution willinvolve management of both internal assets and

external services (through service levelagreements).

After the Cloud

IT departments have their share of “server huggers” - people who equate their role with the maintenanceof physical assets - but “huggers” may also be wedded to storage or the network. Adoption of external

cloud services means less internal infrastructure to manage, but more infrastructure services to broker.Huggers have the most to lose in this transition, while service managers will gain.




What’s at stake: Why the cloud is a challenge toinfrastructure professionals

What’s in this section:

• See how infrastructure costs are critical to the valueproposition of the cloud.

• Cloud computing is a well-established trend. You need torespond with a plan for making the cloud work for you.

• Internal physical infrastructure will not be completelyeliminated, but its value will be determined by how itcontributes to overall Infrastructure-as-a-Service.

• Shadow IT is a real threat. If you are not part of the clouddiscussion, the business may just go ahead without you.

What’s at stake: Why the cloud is a

challenge to infrastructure

professionals

Take Action: Take ownership of the

cloud in a broader Infrastructure-as-a-

Service strategy

Sections:


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/is-cloud-the-end-of-infrastructure-sb 7/23Info-Tech Research Group ‹#›

There are many flavors of cloud computing but only one valueproposition – it’s fast and it’s cheap. What’s not to love?

Discussion of the cloud can get lost in the weeds of technical definitions of Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS). However, from the business value point of view it always comes around tothe same attractive proposition: I can rapidly implement business value (in the form of an application or service) withouthaving to invest significant time and treasure in the acquisition, configuration, deployment, and management of ITinfrastructure. Capital costs are reduced and time to value is shortened.

Source: Info-Tech Research GroupN = 123

Lower up-front infrastructure costs and rapid deployment of applications and

services are the main reasons enterprises are interested in cloud computing.

Cloud services are seen to have significantly lower capital cost barriers to deployment than deployment scenarios involvingin-house infrastructure (it can be done cheaply and quickly ). Note that in many cases the rest of the business is as positiveabout the infrastructure cost-savings potential of the cloud. As a result, the business does not have to be sold on the conceptbut rather, may be telling IT to explore options as a means of reducing cost and improving service.



What’s not to love? If my role is an infrastructure professional,I have to wonder if I have any future in the organization

Critical questions raised when the organization exploresexternal cloud computing options include:

• Am I out of a job? The business embracing the value ofnot having to invest time and treasure in acquisition,configuration, deployment, and management of IT

infrastructure can’t be good news for those whose rolesrevolve around that very activity.

• Why does infrastructure cost so much? The pennies perhour economics of cloud services will only intensify longstanding pressure on IT to justify the cost of infrastructureinvestment. This is not a new challenge but it is heightenedby what, at first, seems to be a cheaper alternative.

• Does the organization need my skills? Skills in hands-onmanagement of physical assets are going to become lessvalued as the base of physical assets shrinks. However,requirements for managing infrastructure services willremain. Will infrastructure professionals be able to handlethe transition in roles to remain relevant or will these rolesbe better handled by other professionals?

The cloud is no longer hype! Adoption has seen incredible growth in the last year, and the impact of adoption will be experienced throughout IT.

No doubt about it. The cloud is a threat to infrastructure professionals. It

threatens their relevance and heightens cost questions of what they manage.

19%

28%

10%

15%

41%

0

No Interest

Deployed

Currently Deploying

20% 50%30% 40%

Planning

43% have movedkey applications

into the cloud

Source: Info-Tech Research GroupN = 101



Few see all infrastructure moving to the cloud; however, cloud will become asignificant part of the IT landscape. Infrastructure management must adapt.

The cloud is not the end of internal infrastructure, but internalinfrastructure will only be part of infrastructure services

Source: Info-Tech Research Group N = 123

What role do you see cloud computing playingin IT three to five years out?

• Hardly any IT decision makers think the cloud isan over-hyped flash in the pan, but very few alsohave the opposite view – that it is the futurehome of all IT infrastructure.

• The dominant view is that the future will see ahybrid IaaS model with selected applications andprocesses hosted in clouds while others willremain on internal IT infrastructure.

• Evaluating which workloads are best suited to behosted internally or externally will be a criticalmanagement contribution.

• For infrastructure professionals, infrastructuremanagement will be less about the care andfeeding of hardware and more about managingcomplete systems that may have both internaland external components.



Ignore the cloud and the organization will be tempted to bypass IT and go

straight to attractive cloud service offerings. You will become irrelevant.

Infrastructure professionals, ignore the change implications of the cloud at your peril – the business could leave you behind

Cloud solutions, can beimplemented directly byend-user departmentswith very little technical

knowledge. Senior execsalso see the cloud as an

economic model (fastand cheap) and not atechnical issue.

Bypassing IT reducesthe infrastructure

manager’s ability to

control standards, cancause future integrationand support challenges,

and limits IT’s influenceon future decisions.

IT must facilitate end-user requests for cloud

services, and if theproposed solution is

inappropriate, suggestalternatives. This will

build credibility and trust.

If IT ignores or rejectscloud solutions withoutdiscussion , it will beseen as a reactionary

defense of infrastructuremanagement turf. The

business will likely moveforward without IT’s

participation.

We’ve been here before. The cloud enables shadow IT today just as distributed processing did 20 yearsago. Then, cheap standard servers were seen as a way around expensive and slow moving central IT.Today, cloud options offer even cheaper and easier options. The concern continues to be long term costs,security, scalability, and future integration of the shadow options.



Take Action: Take ownership of the cloud in a broader Infrastructure-as-a-Service strategy

What’s in this section:

• Measure and articulate total cost comparisons betweeninternal infrastructure and cloud services.

• Lead in the creation of the internal IaaS to lay thefoundations of a hybridized internal/external cloud future.

• Manage the impact on infrastructure roles includingchanging skills requirements, recruitment, and eliminatingredundant roles.

What’s at stake: Why the cloud is a

challenge to infrastructure

professionals.

Take Action: Take ownership of the

cloud in a broader Infrastructure-as-

a-Service strategy

Sections:



1. Make real cost comparisons between internal infrastructureand external cloud that account for long term (five year) costs

Speed and lower up-front costs are indeed attractive but the business needs

to make long term total costs part of the investment decision

•The cumulative total cost of cloud services (green line)

might even exceed the total cost of internal

infrastructure at some point.

• Low up-front infrastructure costs do not equal low total costs, whichinclude the ongoing “rental” of the cloud service over time.

• Info-Tech has found that while cloud adopters typically agree withthe statement that cloud services are fast and cost effective todeploy, the majority (61% in one study on Software-as-a-Service)

disagree with the statement that the cloud has lower overall TCOthan solutions hosted on internal infrastructure.

• Typically the gap between cloud costs and internal infrastructurestarts wide (pennies versus thousands of dollars). But over time thethose pennies add up, particularly if the service has 24/7requirements. The gap in total cumulative costs narrows.

• Total cumulative cost for internal infrastructure also grows over timedue to ongoing maintenance and facilities costs, but at a much

shallower rate than internal costs.• The upfront benefits still matter – speed and lower upfront costs

may still weigh in favor of the solution, even if long term savingsare not there – but the long term total costs must be considered.

A clear win for external cloud use is a project that has a limited duration. The infrastructure capacity canbe rapidly built up and later torn down with no capital acquisition or disposal costs. As the project lastsonly a short time (days, months, or a year), cumulative “rental” costs for infrastructure stay well below

total costs of internal infrastructure that would likely have a three- to five-year lifespan.



Use Info-Tech’s tools to make clear and meaningful comparisons between

the total cumulative costs of internally owned infrastructure and cloud IaaS.

Tools for calculating internal and cloud total costs

Two types of TCO comparisons can be conductedusing this tool: TCO of a cloud service vs. TCO ofproviding a service internally, and TCO of multiplecloud services.

This tool will help analyze factors such as:

• Hardware costs

• Integration and installation costs

• Related facilities costs

• Cost per user

This tool offers an example tab that provides areal-world TCO calculation comparing OracleCRM on rack-mounted servers to salesforce.comcloud-based SaaS.

Based on your organization’s current storage needs, and

projected growth, this tool will provide you with a TCO andcost per terabyte comparison between moving to cloudstorage or purchasing new NAS or SAN-based storagecapacity. The tool accounts for:

• Storage usage

• Data transfer

• Requests

Use this calculator, pre-populated with a real life scenario,to help you determine whether cloud storage can trulyreduce your costs over a six year period.

Cloud Service TCO Comparison Tool Cloud Storage TCO Calculator

http://www.infotech.com/research/it-cloud-service-tco-comparison-tool

http://www.infotech.com/research/it-cloud-storage-tco-calculator

http://www.infotech.com/research/it-cloud-storage-tco-calculator

http://www.infotech.com/research/it-cloud-service-tco-comparison-tool



Think like a service provider rather than an asset manager if you are going to

offer IaaS from a utility infrastructure or internal cloud.

2. Build internal IaaS for meaningful comparisons andconnections with external IaaS clouds

• Internal Infrastructure-as-a-Service, also called internal or private cloud, leverages infrastructureconvergence, standardization, and virtualization, as well as efficient capacity management and planning.

• In a future internal/external hybrid cloud environment, all infrastructure will be managed as IaaS. SomeIaaS will be internally based, and some externally hosted. By building an internal cloud, organizations willbe in better positioned to take full advantage of the external cloud in the future.

• Internal and external IaaS need to be on the same playing field in order to determine the appropriateplace to host applications and services. To function efficiently in this environment, internal infrastructureneeds to seen as an internally managed service with metrics and processes similar to externallymanaged services. Understand which services are best served by the cloud and which are not. Integratethe new cloud services with existing internal services seamlessly for an optimal hybrid environment.

43%

33%

12%

12%Focus on the internal cloudbefore external

Implementing only internalcloud solutions

Focus on the external cloudbefore internal

Implementing only externalcloud solutions

76%focusing

oninternalcloud

Most enterprises are currently focusedon developing internal IaaS (oftencalled an internal cloud) as a shortterm goal on the road to the longerterm goal of external cloud solutions.

Are you focusing on internal

cloud or external cloud?



Economies of scale and multi-tenancy reduce the unit costs of the external cloud; however the

external cloud must also address four key cautions to be a viable consideration for hosting yourapps.

Both promise agility and cost effectiveness, but the internaland external clouds each have their strengths and weaknesses

KeyDifferences• Infrastructure is owned by an external third

party. They are responsible for managingcapacity and mitigating risk.

• Application workloads are provisioned by theseabstracted resources which are elastic (theyscale up with need).

• Customers share access to these resources(typically via the Internet) in a multi-tenantenvironment and pay only for what they use.

Public IaaS Cloud

• Infrastructure is entirely owned by theenterprise and managed by IT.

• Application workloads are provisioned byresources that can also be elastic, but scalingis limited by available capacity.

• The business – the sole customer of internal IT

infrastructure –pays for the whole cloudregardless of how much is used.

Private IaaS Cloud

Security and accountability. Data is a critical resource. In the cloud, data is entrusted to a third party andshares tenancy with other people’s data (including competitors). Legal and regulatory compliance may also

require visibility into where data is stored and who has access – difficult in an abstracted cloud environment.

Data and application mobility. There is no one cloud but rather multiple cloud services. In an ideal world,workloads and data would move to the cloud with the best cost/service. This is not currently the case.

Availability and reliability are typically best effort. But best effort may not be good enough for critical applicationloads. Also, the enterprise needs to have continuity plans in place if the service were to cease permanently.

Location of processing and data remain important considerations. Latency is an issue if data is located asignificant distance from the user. If the data is located in a different country, there may be jurisdictional issues.

1

2

3

4

Key Cautions



These Info-Tech Solution sets provide valuable tools and directions for

developing the internal Infrastructure-as-a-Service (internal cloud).

Tools and resources for building the internal cloud

It's not about just buying a

server any more. It's aboutacquiring capacity for theinternal cloud.

This solution set provides astrategy for building aconsolidated serverinfrastructure that will balancemaximum capacity and

increase efficiency whilelimiting costs.

Take virtualization to the next

level (internal cloud). Bring themanagement and resiliency ofserver virtualization to 80 to100% of server workloads bybuilding and managingappropriate compute, network,and storage capacity.

Focus on the total cost of the

infrastructure and on building areserve capacity model in orderto show accurate cost/benefit.

You cannot afford to assume

that the data center hasunlimited capacity; this is evenmore true for the internal cloud.Efficient and effectivemanagement of the developinginternal cloud begins here with:

• Development of a tieredcapacity model.

• Accounting of the total costof capacity for each tier.

• Establishing a capacity planthat tracks current capacityusage and forecastsexpected growth.

Build a Server AcquisitionStrategy for the InternalCloud

Build an OptimizedInfrastructure-as-a-ServiceInternal Cloud

Manage & Plan Capacity forthe Internal Cloud

http://www.infotech.com/research/ss/build-a-server-acquisition-strategy-for-the-internal-cloud



http://www.infotech.com/research/ss/beyond-consolidation-build-an-optimized-infrastructure-as-a-service-internal-cloud



http://www.infotech.com/research/ss/it-manage-consolidated-infrastructure-for-cost-service-transparency


















Determine how responsibilities will change, where gaps have been created,

and what roles should be downsized.

3. Manage the impact on infrastructure roles including skillsrequirements, recruitment, and eliminating redundancy

• Internal infrastructure is not going to disappear post cloud adoption, but the shift from asset managementto IaaS management will significantly change the Infrastructure Manager’s role.

• The Infrastructure Manager (IM) must transition into the role of service provider, keeping capacity up andrunning while communicating its cost to the business. IMs will need to restructure their role to includeproficiencies such as business analysis, vendor management, service management, and securitymanagement. Successful IMs will focus on these aspects of their role to keep from becoming obsolete.

The circles represent the importance of each role pre and post cloud adoption.The larger the circle, the more important the role.



Get your department organized – before you think about who you need in

each role, figure out which roles you need, and how many.

Alter existing infrastructure roles to reflect the changing focusfrom asset management to service provider

Among others, the most popular reason for adoptingcloud solutions is to reduce costs. Unfortunately oneof those costs is staff who are in jobs that you nolonger require at all, or no longer require so many of.The chart below shows roles that can be reduced foreach type of cloud solution.

Three options for what to do with redundant staff:

1. Use them for the new roles created. If you canslot current employees into new roles it’s a win-winsituation. However, if the employees’ skills don’t

match, don’t force it.

2. Move them into existing vacant roles. If there

are existing roles that are vacant due to other staffchanges (i.e. resignations) and the employees’

skills fit, move them over.

3. Terminate. There is often no alternative toreducing staff, and after all, reducing costs is amain benefit of going to the cloud. Use this slideand the next one to help you with implementation.

Role to beReduced

Type of Cloud Solution

PaaS IaaS SaaS

Network

Technician

Data CentreTechnician

Programmer

Developer

The whole point of going to the cloud is it outsourceshardware and data center administration to the provider. So, yes, headcount can be reduced. If I had fiveadministrators, I now need two...I can afford to invest inexpert administrators instead of having an army of people.

- Blane Warrene, CEO

BMRW & Associates Inc.




Sub-role impact: In an increasingly cloudy future an “admin”administers services more than just physical infrastructure

Case• A company with 500 servers completes a major

consolidation and virtualization project using aconsolidated HP blade server infrastructure and VMwarefor virtualization.

• The company contracts an external IaaS from acompany that also uses VMware as part of its computecloud. vCloud Director, orchestration software fromVMware, will be used to manage both the internal and

external resources.

Role Impact

• Consolidation has drastically reduced the number ofphysical servers that need to be maintained to as few asa dozen blade servers. In addition, the blades requireless physical hands-on maintenance.

• However, there are still as many as 500 virtual serverinstances that need to be managed on both the internal

consolidated infrastructure and the external cloud.• Required skills include the ability to use the software toeffectively manage the virtual and physical environmentand ensure service and availability are maintained.

Example: Server Administration

Case• Overwhelmed with the cost of maintaining large backup

sets on disk or tape (or both) a company seeks toleverage external IaaS storage to save capital costs ofstorage for backup.

• The company acquires a nearline storage appliance thatcaches onsite copies of backups for quick restore, thenreplicates backups to a public cloud, like Amazon S3, forlonger term retention and deep backup (step back

capability for multiple point-in-time restores).

Role Impact

• There is no longer backup media (e.g. tapes from atape library or disks in a backup array, such as a VTL)to configure and maintain. The need to transport mediaoff-site is eliminated.

• However, the storage admin must still provision thebackup process, establishing parameters for restore

time and point objectives.• Data management and advanced features like de-

duplication remain important in the metered pay-by-GBcloud environment.

Example: Storage Administration

In both examples, the business may achieve significant savings on capital expense by moving someportion of infrastructure to an IaaS cloud. The infrastructure professional role shifts emphasis from assetmanagement to service management. These infrastructure services are provisioned by both internal andexternal resources. “Maintenance” is less about break/fix and more about service levels.




If you’ve always looked for a certain type of talent using the same recruiting

practices, it is time to think differently about your strategy.

Adjust recruiting practices to leverage the right talent goingforward

Pre-Cloud Post-Cloud

Who are youlooking tohire?

Individuals who have recently graduateduniversity with a technical degree.

Individuals with good relationship-building skills, thosewho are tech savvy and have some business training.

What are youhiring themfor?

Junior technical roles such as NetworkTechnicians, Security Administrators,Programmers.

Some technical roles (i.e. able to communicate withvendors and keep them honest) and some Vendor andService Management roles (i.e. take on newresponsibilities/focus on vendor relationships).

Where areyou hiringthem from?

Computer science programs Business programs

An IT organization shifts most of its major services to the cloud. However, they continue recruiting in the sameway and continue to fill the more junior roles with technical computer science graduates. As their environmentswitches from less technical to more service-oriented they find they don’t have the right people in the right

seats. They don’t want to let people go, but don’t know that they can’t train their current employees on the

relationship-building skills they will require. The organization is left with a difficult decision, which will invariablyresult in some of the newer employees looking for a new job.




If a movement to the cloud reduced the need for a large portion of an existing

infrastructure, that hardware needs to be dealt with.

As more applications and data move to the cloud there may beopportunities to downsize un-needed infrastructure

Infrastructure Options: Hold Sell Dispose

Description of the option: Retain the equipment thatis no longer needed andshift its role.

Offload the hardware to anorganization in the marketfor it, which will usually begrowing cloud providers.

Send the unusedinfrastructure hardware to arecycling depot to bedisposed of.

When you should usethis option:

When the equipment is nolonger needed for primaryapplications or services butmay be used for secondaryfunctions, such as disasterrecovery.

When there has been arecent hardware refresh,and the equipment stillholds value and has amaintainable service andsupport contract.

When the equipment hasreached end of life (5-6years old) and no longerhas any market value, orwhen the cost to continuesupport is higher than thecost to replace it.

How to go about doing it: Evaluate the performanceneeds of internal servicesthat require additionalcapacity.

Engage with contractedcloud providers about theirinterest in purchasingequipment.

Research local recyclingdepots and use one thathas policies inline with yourdepartment’s green

initiatives.




Use Info-Tech’s tools to make clear and meaningful comparisons between the

total cumulative costs of internally owned infrastructure and cloud IaaS.

Tools and resources for building infrastructure role realignment

Before efficient and effective role shifts aremade in IT, it is essential to evaluate

department staffing requirements. This toolhelps to:

• Itemize required roles and expertiselevels by project and task.

• Map a full-time equivalent value to eachrole based on business demand andrequired service level.

• Link individuals to roles to ensureappropriate coverage.

• Expose areas of staff redundancy andlow need.

• Determine the best reduction candidatesbased on the changed environment.

After moving a significant number of appsto the cloud, the organization needs to

assess its current performance on cloudadoption. This tool divides organizationalperformance into six categories:

• Planning & Strategy

• IT Performance Management

• Vendor Management

• IT Asset Management & Deployment• Staff Management

• Financial Management

Cloud Staffing Requirement &Allocation Assessment

Performance Improvement on CloudAdoption Assessment

http://www.infotech.com/research/ss/it-understand-the-cloud-to-make-informed-adoption-decisions/cloud-staffing-requirement--allocation-assessment?nav_id=2639


http://www.infotech.com/research/ss/it-understand-the-cloud-to-make-informed-adoption-decisions/it-performance-improvement-on-cloud-adoption-assessment?nav_id=2639








I f T h R h G #

Cloud computing significantly impacts the roles of infrastructure

professionals and internal infrastructure processes. How you manage theprocess will determine how relevant your role will be.

In conclusion

Meet the challenges head-on to maintain infrastructure’s value to the business/organization:

• Popular opinion is that the cloud is a fast and cheap alternative to the slow and expensive deploymentof internal infrastructure. Infrastructure managers need to measure and compare total cost ofownership between internal infrastructure and cloud services and account for long-term costs over

time to determine what applications and services are best served by cloud computing.

• If all applications and services are outsourced to the cloud ,will there even be a need for internalinfrastructure in the future? Think like a service provider and take ownership of the cloud. Focus onbuilding and managing the internal cloud first. This enables seamless integration of cloud services withexisting internal infrastructure services for an optimal hybrid environment.

• Cloud adoption requires a shift in infrastructure roles, from asset management to Infrastructure-as-a-

Service management. Manage that role impact by getting your department in order and ready for thechange. Revise skills requirements, review recruiting practices, and deal with redundant roles.

Is Cloud the End of Infrastructure SB

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