Digital Transformation

CHAPTER 15Cloud Computing

This chapter provides an overview of cloud deployment models, cloud computing attributes and benefits, the cloud transformation and migration framework, the enterprise's roadmap and strategy to move to cloud‐based applications, and some of the typical use cases that trigger an enterprise to take the transformation journey to the cloud and make the enterprise intelligent.

Cloud Overview

The C‐suite executive of an enterprise purchases solutions to a complex problem faced by the organization and not the technology itself. While traditionally organizations have managed all their IT infrastructure internally, cloud computing allows the IT and business users to access data, applications, and services over the internet, where the infrastructure is managed by cloud service providers such as Amazon, Microsoft, Google, etc.

Thus, enterprises can deploy cloud computing as a business model to access a shared pool of IT resources such as networks, servers, storage, applications, etc., by paying for the services they need when they need them without the hassle of acquiring and investing in these fixed assets, as shown in Figure 15.1.

Figure 15.1 Cloud overview.

Some of the other applications for moving to cloud include a platform for testing and development, big data and analytics, backup of enterprise‐wide data, and a means to disaster recovery.

Historical ...