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How to Optimize Your Hybrid Cloud Deployment

According to research firm Gartner, 50% of enterprises will have a hybrid cloud deployment by 2017. Hybrid cloud is currently the most popular type of cloud right now, offering a mix of public and private cloud services while serving as a transition for enterprises who are warming up to the benefits of cloud computing.

For technology-savvy enterprises, cloud computing is a safe bet given market forces, but the execution of cloud migration is a challenge. With questions around data migration, application architecture, workload assessment, and solution choice being some of the top challenges, leadership can find itself frustrated and confused. Just how does one migrate to the cloud and maintain their sanity?

Debunking Hybrid Cloud Challenges

The key to solving any technology challenge is to first gain clarity. IBM simplifies the hybrid cloud migration challenge in the graphic shown here to cloud deploymentthe right in four steps:

  1. Assessing your workloads
  2. Comparing cloud providers
  3. Design patterning
  4. Bill estimation

Each of these strategies is important. Let’s explore:

Assessing workloads: Before moving to the cloud, enterprises must understand if their applications are ready to migrate. Factors that impact migration may include cloud security, data integrity, and infrastructure support. If there is more security, data protection, and infrastructure needed for an application, there may be more time required in a cloud migration assessment.

Compare cloud providers: Not every cloud provider is born equal. As the price of cloud solutions have declined over time, the value has not. Enterprises must understand how the cloud technology they are considering will innovate over the life of their subscription to maximize total cost of ownership (TCO), service level agreements, provisioning time, downtime, and customer support.

Design patterns: Enterprises who provision cloud are not only doing it for today but also for tomorrow, particularly when it comes to their development team. Certainly, technology strategies can begin with the cloud, but they must also include supporting technologies like storage, security, and automation to allow for efficient and effective innovation.

Estimate your bill: Finally, enterprises must estimate their cloud billing. While billing is more flexible and accountable for usage shifts throughout the year, those responsible for purchasing cloud solutions must be cognizant of how cloud technologies touch each part of their IT ecosystem. With proper research, there should be absolutely no surprises at any point during the billing process.

Perficient’s Value Add: The Innovation Lab

We understand the challenges of cloud migration and have created a program to help forward-thinking enterprises realize what’s possible. In just 10-15 weeks, our staff helps enterprise leaders explore cloud solutions, offer actionable feedback, and create a migration plan to drive clarity around technology solutions. Much like the steps outlined in the image above, we help assess cloud platforms, their capabilities, and fit within what the organization’s needs may be in both the present and the future.

The planning however, does not stop there. Enterprises who decide to work with us through their cloud migration can also leverage our Immersion Solution, where we offer the support needed to migrate from on-premise data centers to a hybrid solution powered by IBM Bluemix for continuous delivery, migration, and validation. As you recall, This solution helped us win the 2016 IBM Beacon Award for the most innovative solution at IBM InterConnect earlier this year and has helped numerous clients transform their DevOps teams for the better.

Stoking the Flames of Hybrid Cloud

Wherever you may be in your hybrid cloud (or general cloud) journey, it’s important to understand that migration success comes down to clarity and understanding the process. We believe that assessing workloads, comparing providers, designing patterns, and bill estimation are crucial for creating a foundation that enables an organization to experience breakthrough digital transformation, evolved customer experience, and accelerated DevOps best practices. With so many benefits, shouldn’t the hybrid cloud be something you consider a bit more? Let’s talk!

Learn More

Want to hear more about cloud migration, Innovation Lab, and the Immersion Solution? Perficient and IBM are teaming up to bring a cloud event to Charlotte, North Carolina on May 24. Get the information you need about cloud migration and enjoy FREE beer brewery tour and tasting. Click here for more information.

For more on Perficient’s expertise on IBM, click here.

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Albert Qian

Albert Qian is a Marketing Manager at Perficient for our IBM PCS, DevOps, and Enterprise Solutions Partners focused on cloud computing technologies.

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