Cloud Computing For Dummies®

Chapter 3. Getting Inside the Cloud

In This Chapter

• Meeting organizational challenges

• Taking on administrative challenges

• Examining the technical interface

• Getting a handle on cloud resources

• Creating manageable services

At first glance, you might think that the cloud is a totally self-service environment. The reality is more complicated than that. The cloud, like every other computing platform, has to be managed. In this chapter, we discuss the overall cloud environment and the issues you need to consider, from organizational and administrative challenges to managing cloud resources.

Feeling Sensational about Organization

Note

Cloud services impact your organization in subtle ways. The cloud impacts the whole company, not just the IT department:

• How do cloud services fit into your overall corporate and IT strategy? How will you manage cloud service providers along with your internal services? How will you make sure that your customers are well supported by services that are moving to a cloud?

• Does the cloud support your corporate and IT governance requirements?

• What are the important issues of emerging corporate and governmental standards, business process management, and the overall issues of managing costs?

Deciding on a strategy

Like any other technology strategy, a cloud strategy is considered in relationship to the following:

• Your IT organization's overall strategy

• Your company's overall strategy

You must make a complex evaluation of costs, benefits, business cultural issues, risks, and corporate ...