Issue link: https://cp.revolio.com/i/661564
24 | THE DATA CENTER JOURNAL www.datacenterjournal.com provision workloads using comprehensive performance-manage- ment tools that provide visibility and enable availability across the application stack. myth 2: moving to a hybrid environment is too expensive. In some respects, the cloud may seem cost prohibitive, but in most cases the opposite is true. e flexibility of hybrid IT gives IT organizations the ability to consider each workload's resource, security and performance needs, among other things, before deciding whether it is a better fit for the cloud or should remain on premises. Moreover, the public cloud also delivers cost efficiency through scale, meaning organizations can purchase cloud services or infrastructure on demand, rather than expend capital on physical hardware that may provide more resources than an organization will actually use. If cost is a significant concern, the organization should not only conduct a thorough review of pricing structures in cloud-provider SLAs but also employ monitoring and manage- ment tools to track workload allocation and usage metrics for existing on-premises hardware. As much as 50 percent of an IT department's infrastructure spending can be wasted as a result of inaccurate capacity planning, overprovisioning, zombie resources and resource hogs. Ultimately, by strategically placing data in the cloud and working in partnership with cloud-service providers while simultaneously keeping some data on-premises, the result is a more cost-effective and efficient IT strategy that better aligns with business needs. myth 3: the cloud eliminates governance and compromises security. is myth certainly had legs in the early days of cloud computing, when offerings were less customizable and IT depart- ments had little control over management and visibility. Although moving applications and workloads to the cloud does relinquish some control, particularly day-to-day maintenance, organizations today have more freedom to construct the solutions they need as cloud providers continue to reduce barriers to consuming cloud services. at's not to say IT professionals shouldn't do their due diligence before shiing specific tasks or data to a cloud provider. In addition to avoiding surprise supplemental fees, this exercise helps increase understanding of the chosen provider inside and out, including staying on top of new services and capabilities, understanding SLAs, reviewing their recommended architecture, and being aware of scheduled maintenance that may have an impact. From there, organizations can begin to enjoy the benefits of a public-cloud solution, such as ease of use; a wide array of engineer-tested, quality-assured services; and cost efficiency. Of course, when data governance is mentioned, security and compliance concerns are never far behind. It's true that they should always be priorities (data can never be too safe), but it's also important to realize that infrastructure and/or data location matters much less than accessibility. In fact, anything that can be accessed externally—whether it's servers in the server room or the cloud—is equally likely to come under attack. Not only do the numbers show that the cloud offers a lower breach rate, so do the headlines: very few high-profile security breaches have occurred in the public cloud, whereas breaches involving on-premises data are steadily growing. It's also worth noting that many of the larger providers already implement compliance programs for some of the most stringent policies, including HIPAA, PCI DSS, FE- DRAMP, SOX and many others. To ensure data is appropriately protected in the cloud, IT organizations must be clear about the risks they most want to mitigate, the corporate security regulations that they must follow and the compliance certifications that they must achieve, all on a workload-by-workload basis. From there, they can work with their cloud provider to create a plan that meets all workload requirements and keeps data as safe as, if not safer than, if it were tucked away down the hall. ConCLusion Although hybrid IT is considered the future of IT—and the reality for most businesses soon if not already—the decision to move a portion of existing infrastructure to the cloud should not be taken lightly. IT professionals must think carefully about which systems, databases and applications are best suited to keeping on premises and which ones can be moved outside the data center to best realize the benefits of hybrid IT. But at the very least, considering the maturity of today's cloud marketplace and the tools available from both providers and third-party vendors to better manage and monitor systems and applications, the cloud's ability to keep up with performance, cost, governance and security concerns should not be underestimated on the basis of outdated assumptions. n about the author: Kong Yang is a Head Geek and senior technical product marketing manager at SolarWinds, an IT-management vendor based in Austin, Texas. Having over 20 years of IT experience, he is passionate about the entire IT ecosystem, with a particular focus on virtualization and cloud management as well as qualifying and quantifying results to support organizations' bottom lines. He is a VMware vExpert and Cisco Champion.