Ten things NOT to do in the cloud

There is a disproportionate amount of 'industry chatter' at the moment centred on what we should do with the new powers afforded to us by the cloud computing model of IT delivery. With vendors keen to talk up the public cloud’s suitability to what appears to be every possible deployment scenario; the reality of exactly what, where and when public cloud works well demands a somewhat more considered analysis.

A quick refresher course in high-school logic theory and advanced mathematics does not throw up a suitable theorem or formula for proving truths via the definition of untruths. So whether this is ‘contrapositive theory’ or the and simple act of dispelling myths, if we can agree on what NOT to do Let’s start with a good solid truism. Software systems such as databases that are, generally speaking, not best suited with infrastructure that you will be contesting for the same finite hardware

1 – HEAVYWEIGHT INPUT/OUTPUT APPLICATIONS
Let’s start with a good solid truism. Software systems such as databases that 
require high I/O physical performance are, generally speaking, not best 
suited infrastructure that you will be contesting for the same finite hardware 
performance. 
 
2 – COMPLEX, SENSITIVE MISSION-CRITICAL DATA
Sensitive data is, in simple terms, not best suited to shared multi-tenancy cloud computing. Yes the cloud is safe; there are security controls and firewalls that will provide customers with adequate levels of protection, but fundamentally it will be mitigated simply by keeping the data in question on a private server.
 
3 – CONSISTENT 24x7 WORKLOAD
If an application workload is flat and unchanging - then public cloud computing is hardly a best practice route towards maximised financial benefits.

According to Nigel Beighton, chief technology office at Rackspace. "Public cloud computing, with utility PAYG (pay as you go) charging offers immense flexibility; but if your workload is constant and unvarying then the ‘usage charge’ model is unlikely to be advantageous."

“A flat and unchanging IT requirement logically means that you can buy the appropriate amount of on-premise hardware to fit the bill. Using the cloud in this instance is not necessarily a problem, but it is really not prudent or efficient. For example, if you know you need a car seven days a week, you don’t go out and hire one every morning now do you? It is the same concept. The cloud is there to help cope with unpredictability and changeability, not computing scenarios characterised by stability,” added Beighton.