Before we can begin to explore the cloud, including strategies for migrating to the cloud and

cloud tools, we should really understand what the cloud is. So let's begin with a quick overview
of the cloud and what cloud computing means. The label cloud computing really is a metaphor
for the Internet. If you've ever looked at a network diagram, the Internet portion of that network
is typically represented by a cloud graphic. Also important to consider, the cloud in a diagram
like this will typically represent the part of the solution that is someone else's concern. And this
is what cloud computing is all about.
By leaving a good chunk of the networking solution in someone else's hands, a business can cut
operational costs dramatically while allowing your IT departments to concentrate on strategy as
opposed to maintaining the data center. But these days it would be overly simplistic to equate
cloud computing to the Internet. A business might choose to access applications that reside at a
location other than their own computers or servers. This would eliminate the need to install
applications, like an Office Suite for example, locally on every computer in the company.
And when any update or even upgrade becomes available, there's no work to be done at your
end, because someone else is hosting those applications and the updates are completed by them
and not you. They handle it all including the costs of the servers that host those applications. Of
course data storage has become a big piece in the cloud computing puzzle as well. With some or
all of your data stored in the cloud we can cut capital expenditures since you won't need to buy
the equipment needed to store everything.
And one of the biggest advantages to the cloud is the ability to access your applications and data
from anywhere on any device that connects to the Internet. Users simply log in from wherever
they are to use their applications and access their data. No more copying files and transferring
them to multiple devices. Of course with anything IT related there are going to be some pros and
some cons, and that goes for cloud computing as well. And Internet outage can be an issue in
cloud computing, cutting off access to your applications and data and preventing you from
getting your work done.
Sometimes a problem can be with the site you're accessing. If they are having issues, and it does
happen, you are once again out of luck trying to get at your applications and data. It might be
rare, but it's a real possibility to consider. And in some scenarios, if your company deals with
sensitive or proprietary data, it may be necessary to store that data or run that application locally
and not on someone else's machines. Healthcare organizations come to mind in the sensitive
patient data they deal with. So that's a high-level look at cloud computing including some of the
pros and cons. In most business scenarios you will see cloud computing as an important piece of
an overall networking strategy and not the only solution.

To better understand cloud computing we need to explore the elements of a cloud computing …
solution. There are three main parts, each with its own role and purpose, and first up are the
clients. …Now clients are simply the devices end users interact with to access the cloud to
manage …their information. These can include desktop PCs, laptops, tablets and mobile phones.
There …are three main categories of clients as well. …There are mobile clients like
Blackberries, iPhones and Smart phones. There are thin clients …which are simply computers
that don't have their own internal hard drives and are used …to display information you access.
…
And of course there are thick clients as well, which are your typical computers using a web …
browser to access the Internet and connect to the cloud. Next comes the data center which …is a
server or a collection of servers housing the applications you subscribe to. …Now these could be
housed locally where you would access them directly, or they might reside …
Important to understanding how the cloud works is the topic of infrastructure, more specifically
…full virtualization and something called paravirtualization. …Cloud computing is not the same
for everyone and there are many different ways the infrastructure …can be deployed. The actual
infrastructure will depend on the application and how the …provider of that application has
decided to build that particular cloud solution. …So there are big advantages to using the cloud
from our perspective, maybe our business …needs massive processing power, but we don't have
the budget, nor the desire to run it in house.…
And on the other side of the coin, if we require very little processing power it might not …make
sense to purchase and run our own dedicated server. The cloud is ideal for both scenarios. …
Let's begin with something called full virtualization. …In this setup, a complete installation of
software is run on a server, but is displayed on the …clients. Now with this type of deployment
you can be running all sorts of unique applications, …

If you've ever heard the term as a service tacked onto the end of another word like software, …
storage or hardware, then you're already familiar with some of the cloud service types that …are
available out there. …When we see as a service at the end of an offering, it usually equates to
traits like …the ability to share resources among many, many users. It also represents large
scalability …and low barriers to entry, meaning services that are easily available and affordable
to …small businesses. …There's also device independence allowing users to access the services
on different …types of hardware, computers, laptops, tablets, smart phones. And let's begin with
a look …at a type of service that's very popular, it's known as a SaaS or Software as a Service.…
In this model, the application is hosted by a provider as a service so customers access …the
application via the Internet using their own web browsers like Internet Explorer, Firefox …or
Safari, and because it is a service, the customer does not need to purchase the software, …

Well now it's the time when we begin to delve into what the cloud actually does. In a nutshell …
cloud computing brings you applications so you can view, manipulate and share data. …Many of
the applications you may be familiar with on your desktop computer also exist in …cloud
computing; think about Office 365 for example. The only real difference in cloud …computing
is how you interact with these applications and the most common interactions will be with …
storage and database functionality. …We'll begin with database storage, and these are typically
repositories for your information …with links built in to make your information more searchable.
The information will typically …be spread out over physically dispersed hardware, think about
Amazon Simple DB for example, …which does present a number of pros and cons.…
One pro is what happens when there's an issue with one database system, because information …
is dispersed, only a fragment of your information is affected, not the entire database. …
When deciding whether cloud computing is right for your organization, it helps to understand …
your needs and the solutions available to meet those needs. Let's begin by examining …three
main scenarios for cloud computing implementation. Although different organizations may use
cloud …computing differently, the users will typically fall into one of these three solutions,
beginning …with Compute clouds. …Now Compute clouds allow organizations access to on-
demand computer resources that are highly …scalable and inexpensive. These resources will run
the code they're given, so it really …depends on the application the user wants to access.…
Now this scenario works well for any size organization, although some larger organizations …
may not see the advantage to this scenario. They depend on standards management, monitoring
…and governance capabilities, for example. The number of service providers to choose from his
diminished. …The next scenario is cloud storage. If your organization needs to maintain

Let's take a look at how a move to the cloud can help your organization operationally. …First of
all, technology is paid for in increments, so money can be saved in the long run. You …can store
more data on the cloud than you can on a private network, and if you need …more, no problem,
just get some extra. …Your IT staff no longer need be concerned about having the most recent
updates to your …application since that's all handled by the service provider. And if providers
want to …keep their customers, you know they'll keep their applications up-to-date.…
It's easy to test out the applications you need and deploy them to the organization. …If they're
not working for you, it's easy to switch to another application that does meet …your needs. And
the cloud is out there and always available, which means of course your …users can access the
cloud after hours and from anywhere, so long as they have an Internet connection. …So that
covers many of the operational benefits to moving to the cloud, but there are many …

You know, big decisions about anything are often made based on the economic benefit, and …
cloud computing is really no different. Cost is a big factor and the economic benefit to …cloud
computing goes beyond equipment savings. …First of all, by moving to the cloud, it's inevitable
that you're going to rely on fewer …staff, fewer staff means savings in salaries and benefits and
allows an organization to …analyze their needs and find the best people to remain on staff. …
Cloud service providers are going to pay less for hardware, networking equipment and
bandwidth …than the average business. So if your organization is not a government agency or a
very large …enterprise, you can save on the cost of hardware by simply not needing any. And
then bump up …your subscription to the cloud if or when you need more storage capacity or
bandwidth.…
With cloud computing, you pay for what you use. It's kind of like leasing a vehicle, …in that,
your monthly payments stay nice and low and you're always going to be driving …
It only takes a few minutes to spin up a new server with cloud computing versus the months …it
might take to plan, prepare, test and deploy your own servers. …By using the cloud, your users
can access data and applications from anywhere in the …world with a simple Internet
connection. If you signed up with a cloud service provider …and you have a service level
agreement, you're guaranteed that level of service and the best …part is if you report any bugs,
it's the vendor who fixes them. So you don't have to deal …with the patch yourself, in fact, it will
most likely be done in a way that is transparent …to you and your organization.…
With cloud computing, your service provider will want to keep you satisfied and keep you …as a
customer, so it's in their best interest to ensure the application is always being …improved. In the
realm of software as a service, small changes can be happening constantly, …adding up over
time instead of a huge patch that can cost you time and money to implement.

Cloud computing is indeed gaining traction with businesses all over the world and the …benefits
seem overwhelming, but before you dive right in, you should be aware of the risks. …When
searching for the right cloud vendor for you, be sure to raise the following security …issues if
they apply to your organization. Number one, sensitive data that is processed …outside of your
organization comes with an inherent level of risk because outsource services …bypass the
typical, physical, logical and personal controls that IT departments exert …over in-house
programs.…
So you should get as much information as you can about the people who manage your data …
and ask providers to supply specific information on the hiring and oversight of privileged …
administrators and the controls over their access. …Next, you the customer are ultimately
responsible for the security and the integrity of your …own data, even when it's held by a service
provider. So use a cloud computing provider …who's willing to undergo the scrutiny of the
external audits and security certifications …

Let's begin with a look at cloud storage as opposed to traditional storage techniques. …First of
all, you can easily get at your data from anywhere as long as you have an Internet …connection.
Now this is going to be very appealing to road warriors who can use any computer …or mobile
device. There is no need to carry around physical storage devices when they …need to be
mobile. …And if your business has multiple branch offices, they can all get access to the same
data stored …on the cloud. Now there is a wide variety of storage service providers and a wide
range …of services they provide. Some will allow storage of many types of data while others …
are more specific allowing you to store one type of data, like email or photos. Just think …of
Flickr or Photobucket, for example, where you can store your photos and share them with …
anyone you want, or check out mail.com if you're interested in safely storing or archiving …your
email messages, that can pile up very quickly by the way.…
Now some storage providers are small while others can be quite huge. Google for example …
There is really no shortage of cloud storage providers out there, there are hundreds to …choose
from and the list continues to grow at a steady pace. With cloud storage, you …have your
general purpose providers and you have providers that are more specialized in what they store.
…We'll be taking a closer look at some of the most popular tools and providers in the next …
chapter, but for now, let's look at some examples of specialized cloud providers. We'll begin …
with Google Docs which allows subscribers to upload documents, spreadsheets and presentations
…to Google's data servers where they can be shared and edited using one of the Google apps.…
Specializing in web email messages are players like Hotmail, Yahoo Mail and Google's Gmail.
…Email messages are stored on their servers and users can access their email from computers …
and mobile devices, like smartphones and tablets, that are connected to the Internet. …You can
upload your photos and create your own photo albums with providers like Flickr

No matter what type of data you're going to be storing in the cloud, you're going to want …it to
be secure. So let's look at what cloud storage providers do to keep your data secure. …Keep in
mind that most systems will use a combination of the following techniques beginning with …
encryption, which is a complex algorithm. It's used to encode your information. …So encrypted
data looks like garbage until it's decoded, and users need the encryption …key to decode
encrypted data and without it, cracking the encrypted data is extremely difficult.…
It's not impossible, but most hackers simply don't have the necessary computer processing …
power required to crack the code. …Then there's authentication processes which are used to
protect data, which is simply the …requirement for a user to create a username and a password to
access their data. Lastly, …are authorization practices where clients list people who are
authorized to access the …data stored on the cloud system and with authorization practices, you
can have multiple levels of …

Cloud storage continues to increase in popularity as an attractive solution for many

organizations. Now while there are many advantages, there are also potential pitfalls, so let's
explore both. Aside from the cost savings we have discussed in previous lessons, it's important to
understand how cloud storage offers a great way to protect your data. Having your data stored
off-site beats backing up your data and storing it on- site in the event of a physical catastrophe.
Keeping your data stored safely off-site can mean the difference between shutting down your
business for a few days to recover and shutting down your business for good.
Now with cloud storage, you are not looking at an all or nothing proposition, in fact it might be
smart to take a mixed approach to cloud storage in the beginning, using it for a few non-critical
purposes. Until you find a cloud storage vendor that meshes well with your current IT systems,
why not take the appetizer approach of testing one or two systems before going all in, when
you'll find that provider who can give you exactly what you need. Of course, when your data is
stored in the cloud, there are potential hazards to consider.
It's rare and data is almost never lost outright, but it is a reason to take caution when considering
a move to the cloud. Now cloud storage providers will do everything in their power to keep your
data secure, but there's always the chance that your data could be stolen or viewed by
unauthorized parties. If you decide to use the cloud for storing your data, it's a good idea to
encrypt that data and use secure data transmission with technologies like SSL, short for Secure
Sockets Layer. Ultimately, the decision to use cloud storage comes down to your organization
and what you want to store on the cloud.

Google Apps is a suite of cloud-based Google applications that brings together essential …
services to help businesses. It is a hosted service that allows businesses, schools, institutions, …
access to a variety of Google products on a unique domain. …If you own the rouxacademy.org
for example, and you sign up for Google Apps services, …everyone at your organization will get
things like a custom email address with their own …username. You also get a shared calendaring
system. Here you can create your own events …and you can share and allow others to view your
calendar and likewise with them.…
Also, you'll find tools for creating web pages and sites for your businesses. Again you can …
share these sites, it's a great way to share data and other types of content. And with …Google
Drive on your Mac, or on your PC, or on your mobile device, even in a web browser, …you get a
single place for up-to-date versions of your files from anywhere. In addition to …any file type
you choose to upload here, Google Docs are also stored here in the Google Drive automatically.
…
If you happen to have a free Hotmail account, you're probably already acquainted with Windows
…Live. Now Windows Live is not really a product, but more of a brand. It probably won't be …
called Windows Live once Windows 8 is released, but we'll call it Windows Live for now. …
There's for example Hotmail, which we're looking at right now. It's a free online email system.
…You have some other apps like Messenger for example, SkyDrive which gives you a whole list
…of tools and features and functions which we'll talk about in more detail in the next lesson.…
Now all of these tools are free and they're on the cloud. Of course, you're not storing …your
emails locally on your own computer, your messenger conversations are saved on …the cloud as
well, and you need to be connected to the Internet to access all of this. …Now a free Windows
Live account will also give you access to something called Windows …Live Essentials.
Windows Live Essentials is a little bit different, it's even more free …tools and services that you
can download to your computer. …
Let's take a quick look now at Microsoft SkyDrive which falls under the category of cloud
storage. …It's a file hosting service that allows users to upload and sync files and then access
them …from a web browser or even a mobile device. …Now it is part of the Windows Live
group of online services and it allows you to keep …your files private, you can share them with
contacts, you can pick and choose who's allowed …to see those files or make the files available
to the public, and in that case, everyone will …automatically have access to them. Also with
publicly shared files, you don't require someone …to have a Microsoft Windows Live ID to
access them.…
Now SkyDrive does offer 7 gigabytes of storage for free to new users and additional storage …is
available for purchase through a variety of membership plans. Files up to 300 megabytes …can
be uploaded just using drag and drop right into a folder in your web browser, or you can …
upload up to 2 gigabyte files via the SkyDrive Desktop Application if you choose to install …
iCloud is very popular in the Mac community and it's simply part of any new Apple device …
you might own. Have a new Mac with OS X Lion? You're iCloud ready. …How about a new
iPod touch or iPhone with iOS 5? Yup, you have iCloud too which is a …feature that
automatically stores or pushes your content securely to the cloud so you …have access to it from
any of your devices at any time. It's just a matter of enabling …it and choosing what content you
want to be able to access via the cloud. …Go to your System Preferences on your Mac, you will
find the iCloud icon in the Internet …& Wireless section, give that a click. And you may be
prompted to sign in to your account.…
You can use your iTunes member login for example. Once logged in, it's a simple matter of
checking …the boxes for the features you want enabled in iCloud. In this case if we select
Calendars …for example, anything we add to our calendars will be accessible from any of our
devices. …Now you may notice at the bottom as well, you do get 5 gigabytes of free storage
space …
iCloud is very popular in the Mac community and it's simply part of any new Apple device …
you might own. Have a new Mac with OS X Lion? You're iCloud ready. …How about a new
iPod touch or iPhone with iOS 5? Yup, you have iCloud too which is a …feature that
automatically stores or pushes your content securely to the cloud so you …have access to it from
any of your devices at any time. It's just a matter of enabling …it and choosing what content you
want to be able to access via the cloud. …Go to your System Preferences on your Mac, you will
find the iCloud icon in the Internet …& Wireless section, give that a click. And you may be
prompted to sign in to your account.…
You can use your iTunes member login for example. Once logged in, it's a simple matter of
checking …the boxes for the features you want enabled in iCloud. In this case if we select
Calendars …for example, anything we add to our calendars will be accessible from any of our
devices. …Now you may notice at the bottom as well, you do get 5 gigabytes of free storage
space …
If you've ever carried a paper notebook and filled it with notes, sketched out ideas, …wrote down
phone numbers, to-do lists, or track your spending, you know this method has its …limitations.
For one, it's not all that useful if you don't have your papers with you to …add new content or
find existing content. And eventually, you will run out of pages. …And searching through
dozens of pages for that important phone number you jotted down …last month, could take
longer than you'd like. …Enter Evernote. Evernote is a cloud-based service, designed for note-
taking and archiving.…
A note can simply be formatted text, it could also be a full web page or a portion of a …web
page. It could be a photograph, it could be a voice memo for example, and it could even …be
handwritten or what we call an ink note. …Notes can even have file attachments. Notes can be
sorted into folders, they can also …be tagged, edited, given comments, searched and exported as
part of a notebook. Of course …the beauty of Evernote is that it supports a number of operating
systems, so it can run …
Asana is fast becoming one of those cloud tools that business people can't live without. …It's the
ultimate task management tool that allows teams to share, plan, organize and …track progress of
the tasks that each member is working on. …Now with the focus on speed collaboration and
ease-of-use, Asana radically improves the …way groups of people actually work together. It is
free and you can sign up with your name …and email address, or if you already have a Gmail
email address, you can sign up and sign …in using your Gmail account credentials as well.…
Now once you're logged in, you can start setting up different workspaces for different groups …
or different projects, and it's all done over here on the left-hand side. You will want …to start
with your company's name, and let's say I work for a company named Two Trees Olive Oil. …
Next, you'll choose what this workspace is for, is it business, is it a nonprofit, may …be it's
household or other. I am going to leave it at Business and I am going to update …
Another cloud storage type of service that's gaining popularity, especially in the business …
world, is Highrise from 37signals. With Highrise, you can store and share contact info for leads,
…clients, vendors and others right in the cloud. …You can also enter and review notes from
calls, meetings, emails, conversations and it also …lets you set up email and mobile phone
reminders to get things done. That's all done on the …web, so you'll always have the information
you need at your fingertips on a Mac, PC or …a tablet, for example.…
Now you can create a free account like I have here, or pay for different membership levels …if
you have more users or need to track more contacts or track more deals. Now here in …Highrise,
you can see there are various panes, down the left-hand side we can view our latest …activity
also known as the Dashboard. We can add contacts from the Contacts section or …edit existing
contacts by selecting them and making changes like Notes, Deals and even …use LinkedIn to
stay in contact.…
Another cloud storage type of service that's gaining popularity, especially in the business …
world, is Highrise from 37signals. With Highrise, you can store and share contact info for leads,
…clients, vendors and others right in the cloud. …You can also enter and review notes from
calls, meetings, emails, conversations and it also …lets you set up email and mobile phone
reminders to get things done. That's all done on the …web, so you'll always have the information
you need at your fingertips on a Mac, PC or …a tablet, for example.…
Now you can create a free account like I have here, or pay for different membership levels …if
you have more users or need to track more contacts or track more deals. Now here in …Highrise,
you can see there are various panes, down the left-hand side we can view our latest …activity
also known as the Dashboard. We can add contacts from the Contacts section or …edit existing
contacts by selecting them and making changes like Notes, Deals and even …use LinkedIn to
stay in contact.…
If you're into making presentations, sometimes nicknamed prezis, you may have used your
computer …in a program like PowerPoint or Keynote to create cool slides with cool effects to
keep …your prezi interesting. …Well now there is a cloud-based presentation software called
Prezi, and it offers a new …way of presenting using a zoomable canvas. Now pricing, if we look
at their website, …is free of course, but you only get the core features and a 100 megabytes of
storage. For …an affordable price, you can upgrade, for example at $59 a year, you get those
core …features, you get five times the storage space, and then you get to do things like make
your …prezis private, use your own logo, and you get premium support. With the Pro, you can
…see there are even more options and more power.…
So all you need to do is sign up and then log in to get started. Once logged in, you're …ready to
start creating your new presentation. It's like creating a slide presentation, but …you're not
creating separate slides, instead you work on a zoomable canvas or a white board …
When it comes to social networking, Facebook and Twitter are two very famous cloud apps …
for staying connected, but they are also very public. Yammer which we are going to explore …
now, brings the power of social networking to the enterprise in a private and secure …
environment. Businesses can be more productive through short frequent answers to a single
question. …Now there is a free desktop application that you can download and install. Or if you
prefer …you can access Yammer via your web browser. It allows you to do a number of
different …things like connect with people to share ideas instantly, ask questions and hold
discussions.…
For example, we can click in the field What are you working on? Type in something quickly …
like cloud computing and click Update, and it will be updated or posted to all of your …
colleagues, they know exactly what you're doing. If they wanted to they can respond …to those
things as well. …You can also connect to content and collaborate with others in a dedicated
workspace. For …
Migrating to the cloud requires some careful planning, if you want to get it done right …and with
as little hassle as possible. So let's explore a good roadmap for moving into …the cloud. Number
one, get educated. You can start by getting a rough picture of your current …infrastructure and
calculate equivalent cost in the cloud. …You can get a very good general estimate of your cost
savings by simply getting the CPU …and memory footprint of your current machines, as well as
your current bandwidth usage, and …then look up prices at Rackspace Cloud or Amazon EC2.
Once you've verified the savings, …it could provide you with the ammunition you need to get
that green light.…
Next, access which parts of your application, typically database, must either reside in-house …or
at a managed host. If your apps have any HIPAA or PCI requirements for example, learn …the
impacts of moving them to the cloud as well. And why not hire some pros? Bring in …
professionals and leverage all their successes and failures. Lots of other people have made …
When considering a move to the cloud, it's important to understand the services and service …
providers available to people and organizations of different levels. In this lesson we'll …identify
the three levels and some of the cloud services and service providers tailored to each. …Let's
begin with those three levels. Firstly, there are a number of cloud services that …are targeted at
individuals or even small businesses, and you're probably already familiar …with many of them
like Gmail and Acrobat. …Then comes the mid-market or medium-sized businesses, cloud
services and providers in …this range will be less familiar, but there are specific tools and
services that can benefit …organizations that fall into this category.…
Lastly is the enterprise class or larger organizations who have their own set of cloud offerings …
and their own set of challenges when considering a move to the cloud. …Now the easiest way to
move to the cloud is at an individual or a small business level. …There are plenty of services out
there that can help individuals and small businesses. …
A wave approach is often used by organizations when moving to a new operating system for …
example, IT departments will migrate groups in waves until everyone is upgraded. …With the
wave approach to migrating to the cloud, you'll be releasing your data to the …cloud in waves or
phases. And this gives you the opportunity to test the waters where you'll …learn if the solution
you signed up for is what you were expecting and is the vendor …the right one for you. …So
you'll begin by releasing your smallest and least important data to the cloud. Now …you might
not see a real jump in performance right away here because this is the data you …likely don't
access as often as your more important data.…
If you're not satisfied with the end result you can now take corrective action. So this …might
mean changing up services or even changing up your service provider altogether. …Now once
things start working the way you need them to, you can start to add more important …data. Now
you'll begin to see improved performance and you can continue to release the rest of …
Before migration to the cloud you need to learn about the options that are out there. …Since
software as a service applications are so easy to purchase with a credit card, many …IT
organizations don't even have a clear picture of how many seats of various cloud applications …
are actually being used within their enterprises. So that's the first issue that needs to be rectified.
…The next step is to determine what information is being stored and processed in these clouds,
…and put the right data protection model in place to ensure sensitive and private information …
is being properly safeguarded.…
For newer areas where cloud-based solutions are being considered, like CRM or Customer …
Relationship Management or Human Capital Management, CIOs should work closely with their
security …and legal teams to identify what legal and sector-specific compliance guidelines they
…need to follow in order to protect sensitive information. …In organizations that need to create
their own set of guidelines and best practices for …
Before migration to the cloud you need to learn about the options that are out there. …Since
software as a service applications are so easy to purchase with a credit card, many …IT
organizations don't even have a clear picture of how many seats of various cloud applications …
are actually being used within their enterprises. So that's the first issue that needs to be rectified.
…The next step is to determine what information is being stored and processed in these clouds,
…and put the right data protection model in place to ensure sensitive and private information …
is being properly safeguarded.…
For newer areas where cloud-based solutions are being considered, like CRM or Customer …
Relationship Management or Human Capital Management, CIOs should work closely with their
security …and legal teams to identify what legal and sector-specific compliance guidelines they
…need to follow in order to protect sensitive information. …In organizations that need to create
their own set of guidelines and best practices for …

One important piece of the cloud migration puzzle is staff training. A sudden switch …to cloud
computing is not something you simply want to spring on your people and let them …fend for
themselves. …To help ensure a successful migration, you need to have a plan of attack for
getting …the people in your organization up to speed and ready for the switch. This should
happen …during the execution phase of your migration. …Number one, communication is a key
requirement when making a change of any kind in any organization.…
If you're planning on a migration to the cloud, your people need to know what's coming. …
Communication also needs to come back from them, so you know who is going to require …
what kind of training. At this stage, you're assessing the needs of your people with respect to
training. …Information sessions and materials should be considered every step of the way. With
…cloud computing a change in process and procedure at the very least is forthcoming, so you'll
…need to inform your people of the new policies and procedures. …
In reality, cloud computing is still somewhat in its infancy, much like the Internet was …back in
the mid 90s. So there's no doubt that cloud is going to evolve over time and will …be something
different to what we call the cloud at this very moment. …Gartner is a well-known research
company that has some interesting thoughts on the future …of cloud computing. They've broken
it down into three phases. Phase 1 which we are right …now dates back at 2007 according to
Gartner, and is considered a time of pioneers and trailblazers, …or a development phase. It's
exciting, it's catching on, but it's going to need more time …and many more changes in the
market before it becomes a mainstream IT effort.…
Phase 2 which Gartner is predicting will run through 2013 at least will be a time of market …
consolidation. Now we're already starting to see some overcrowding of providers big …and
small offering a wide range of services. And this usually results in acquisition activity, …I just
think of Google and all their acquisitions like YouTube Android and Picasa. …

Once you've made your move to the cloud, your work isn't done. It will be important to ensure
…a continued good experience. Monitoring the performance of your cloud systems will help …
to make this happen and there are a number of tools out there to help make sure you continue …
to get what you're paying for from your service provider. …Let's begin with establishing a
baseline and metrics. You researched your vendors before …signing on with them and there is
some research you should be doing afterwards as well. Here …is some variables you should be
checking regularly for fluctuations.…
Number one; connection speed, which is the speed at which you connect to the cloud. This …is
actually an analysis of your Internet Service Provider not your cloud vendor, but you do …want
to see a consistent number here as opposed to fluctuating connection speeds with high and low
spikes. …Another variable is the datastore delete time, or how long it takes to delete the
datastore. …You'll want to be checking datastore read times as well, or how long it takes to read
data. …
Once you've made your migration to the cloud and you're monitoring performance, opportunities
to fine tune or improve performance may present themselves. Let's look at some tips for fine-
tuning your cloud computing performance beginning with cloud storage for data storage. If your
cloud system makes use of infrastructure as a service, here are some tips that can help to
optimize your cloud performance. First, segment data by performance requirements. Some data
is needed immediately while other data does not need to be recalled as quickly.
For example, there's a difference between data associated with critical business processes and
historical or archive data. More critical process data should be stored on high-quality machines
that are made for the fastest storage. Whereas, that historical archived or backup data, it can be
placed on slower machines. Now this can reduce unnecessary data from clogging critical storage
system, so ask your provider if data can be segmented according to performance needs. Next,
provision data with proximity to users. The closer the data is housed to the end-user, the faster it
can be received and processed.
So when you're evaluating providers, understand where data centers are physically located in
respect to your organizations and users. Using detailed management tools and controls, allocate
cloud request to be handled by the network closest to the users. Data proximity speeds delivery
by reducing the number of jumps from source to destination. And employ data backup and
disaster recovery. Data backup and disaster recovery solutions are necessary to ensure that data
is continuously available even if disaster strikes. Disaster can range from power outages and
natural disasters to threat detection securities, cyber attacks and more.
So let's talk about optimizing your cloud backups. When you start performing your cloud
backups you might be surprised at how slow the whole process can be. Here are some tips now
for optimizing the process. Back up the most important files first. With cloud services, an initial
backup has to happen before incremental backups can happen on a regular basis. The initial
backup can take weeks and months depending on your data and the connection speed, so
prioritize your content.
For example, you might want to choose important office files to be backed up before image files
and then executables. Use bandwidth throttling. You may never have heard of this. The initial
backup with cloud services can really eat up your resources thus having a negative impact on
your other cloud services, grinding them to a virtual halt. Bandwidth throttling might slow down
your backup, but it will have less of an adverse affect on your other services allowing you to
work efficiently while your backup process runs.
Back up newer files first as well. In the event of a catastrophe users will most likely need access
to their newer files first. So another option when performing the initial backup, on top of backing
up important files first, is to have your newer most important files backed up first. And use de-
duplication. Most cloud service providers include de-duplication options during backup
operations. So make sure to use them, so you're not backing up copies of the same files. It cuts
down the amount of data being backed up and the time to perform the backup.
And lastly, keep local backups as well. Now this one is a bit of a pain and extra work, but it can
come in handy one day in the event of a non-catastrophic disaster, like losing a single server. By
continuing to create and store backups on premise, you'll spend a lot less time restoring from a
local backup then you would downloading from the cloud.
Resume Transcript Auto-Scroll
Once you've made your migration to the cloud and you're monitoring performance, opportunities
to fine tune or improve performance may present themselves. Let's look at some tips for fine-
tuning your cloud computing performance beginning with cloud storage for data storage. If your
cloud system makes use of infrastructure as a service, here are some tips that can help to
optimize your cloud performance. First, segment data by performance requirements. Some data
is needed immediately while other data does not need to be recalled as quickly.
For example, there's a difference between data associated with critical business processes and
historical or archive data. More critical process data should be stored on high-quality machines
that are made for the fastest storage. Whereas, that historical archived or backup data, it can be
placed on slower machines. Now this can reduce unnecessary data from clogging critical storage
system, so ask your provider if data can be segmented according to performance needs. Next,
provision data with proximity to users. The closer the data is housed to the end-user, the faster it
can be received and processed.
So when you're evaluating providers, understand where data centers are physically located in
respect to your organizations and users. Using detailed management tools and controls, allocate
cloud request to be handled by the network closest to the users. Data proximity speeds delivery
by reducing the number of jumps from source to destination. And employ data backup and
disaster recovery. Data backup and disaster recovery solutions are necessary to ensure that data
is continuously available even if disaster strikes. Disaster can range from power outages and
natural disasters to threat detection securities, cyber attacks and more.
So let's talk about optimizing your cloud backups. When you start performing your cloud
backups you might be surprised at how slow the whole process can be. Here are some tips now
for optimizing the process. Back up the most important files first. With cloud services, an initial
backup has to happen before incremental backups can happen on a regular basis. The initial
backup can take weeks and months depending on your data and the connection speed, so
prioritize your content.
For example, you might want to choose important office files to be backed up before image files
and then executables. Use bandwidth throttling. You may never have heard of this. The initial
backup with cloud services can really eat up your resources thus having a negative impact on
your other cloud services, grinding them to a virtual halt. Bandwidth throttling might slow down
your backup, but it will have less of an adverse affect on your other services allowing you to
work efficiently while your backup process runs.
Back up newer files first as well. In the event of a catastrophe users will most likely need access
to their newer files first. So another option when performing the initial backup, on top of backing
up important files first, is to have your newer most important files backed up first. And use de-
duplication. Most cloud service providers include de-duplication options during backup
operations. So make sure to use them, so you're not backing up copies of the same files. It cuts
down the amount of data being backed up and the time to perform the backup.
And lastly, keep local backups as well. Now this one is a bit of a pain and extra work, but it can
come in handy one day in the event of a non-catastrophic disaster, like losing a single server. By
continuing to create and store backups on premise, you'll spend a lot less time restoring from a
local backup then you would downloading from the cloud.
Resume Transcript Auto-Scroll
One of the easiest ways to ensure you're working efficiently and at the highest possible
performance …level is to know exactly what you're doing. So ensuring users fully understand
the cloud …tools they're working with and using them properly will make for an efficiently run
…business and optimal cloud computing experience. …Well lynda.com can be an excellent
resource; for one, evaluating cloud tools, and two, …learning how to use the cloud tools you
decide to incorporate into your business. Here are …some courses available to lynda.com
subscribers right now with many more on the way.…
Number one, Google Docs Essential Training with Susan Cline can get you familiar with …
Google's set of cloud-based office applications for creating, storing, and sharing documents, …
spreadsheets, and forms online. …Gmail Essential Training and Gmail for Power Users, also
from Susan, will teach you everything …you need to know about Google's email service. Up and
Running with Evernote, from me, David …Rivers, will get you started with this cool cloud tool
for capturing content from anywhere …