Discussions with clients have led me to document these tips for building clouds. They represent some headline good practices and try to avoid building in failure from the start They are only things to aim for, to help realize the maximum cloud benefits - and maximum return on investment

1. Tim Burns
pminthecloud.wordpress.com© Tim Burns 2015
Tim’s
Top Ten Tips for Cloud
A set of guiding principles for use in providing Cloud systems

2. © Tim Burns 2015
Introduction
● Discussions with clients have led me to document
these tips for building clouds. They represent some
headline good practices and try to avoid building in
failure from the start
● They are only things to aim for, to help realize the
maximum cloud benefits - and maximum return on
investment
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3. © Tim Burns 2015
The Rules
1. Aim for 100% automation of provisioning
2. Aim for 100% automated testing of new/revised catalogue entries
3. Reuse “Lego like” building blocks using SOA concepts to build the Cloud Catalogue
4. Design your cloud to help transform your business
5. Get Cloud Governance up and running early
6. Control the Use of External Clouds
7. Only monitor, report and manage things that matter
8. The Cloud is self documenting
9. Clouds are used by business users who should be protected from technical detail
10.Use out of the box features as much as possible
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4. © Tim Burns 2015
Aim for 100% automation
of provisioning
●
Part of the reason for installing a cloud is because you want to speed up the
provisioning of new compute power
●
Putting in manual authorization check points slows down this process, as
does manual checking of requests, IT support team running add on scripts,
configurations, etc.
●
In the non-cloud world, there will be various processes with manual steps and
authorizations required to build new compute power. All of this takes time and money
and in the Cloud, none of these real-world constraints exist. So challenge everything in
how things are done today - do not simply automate bad or inefficient practices
●
The challenge is to have at most no more than one manual authorization step, for
provisioning compute power. Make the provision of services in the cloud as fast and
as snappy as possible, thus providing a fantastic and responsive service to the
business users
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5. © Tim Burns 2015
Aim for 100% automated testing
of new/revised catalogue entries
● Cloud catalogs contain a list of types of compute power (e.g. Linux, Red
Hat, Windows) and application add-ons (e.g. accounting software,
analytics software) that users want
● The IT function will have populated that catalog after exhaustive testing
● But things change and that catalog should be kept up to date using
automated testing techniques to handle new releases
● That way the testing is consistent and less onerous, reducing the
support costs and protecting the enterprise
● Automate the deployment of patches and fixes to the deployed systems
in the cloud, too
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6. © Tim Burns 2015
Reuse “Lego like” building blocks using
SOA concepts to build the Cloud
Catalogue
● Every item in the Cloud catalogue takes time, effort - and money -
to maintain. Enforce only one copy of applications, operating
systems, etc. in the catalogue and use them to build up the
totality of systems to deploy
● E.g.: If you have more than one catalog entry that requires (say)
Windows 7 as the operating system, then try to have only one
Windows 7 image in your catalog with constructed workflows that
add the applications on top
● Keeping the smallest number of components to manage and
keep up to date, reduces your costs - and maintains system
quality
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7. © Tim Burns 2015
Design your cloud to help
transform your business
●
Cloud computing is about reducing costs and making things happen
●
So instead of waiting weeks – or months – to get new compute power installed, the
wait is minutes or hours
●
That means users have far more power and control on how the power they need is
accessed
●
Business users have another tool at their disposal and therefore the role of IT
changes
●
How this is all implemented takes thought - and if done wrong, it means you do not
the expected (or needed) benefits. In this case, cloud is just another IT project that
has limited value
●
Form the cloud vision - and the desired benefits - early and bind the outputs of the
programme tightly to it. Boldness and courage is required!
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8. © Tim Burns 2015
Get Cloud Governance up
and running early
● The cloud vision – and the benefits it can realize – need to
be owned by the organization
● So governance needs to be in place early on in the
development phase to ensure that the vision is true and
achievable, and that changes in requirements or the
solution are properly assessed and accepted
● When the cloud is live, this governance should ensure that
it is managed properly using measures in the form of Key
Performance indicators (KPIs) and change control to keep
the cloud true to a vision
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9. © Tim Burns 2015
Control the Use of
External Clouds
● Today, enterprises have employees using credit cards to access public Cloud
services. These practices represent a risk to data loss and regulatory issues -
in turn, presenting a reputational risk
● Such use can be driven by frustration that the IT department is not providing
the service needed
● So build your Cloud to meet real needs
● And get the organisation to support getting control - and potential closure - of
uncontrolled and undesirable external Cloud usage
● Consider installing integration between the Private Cloud to external Cloud
services in a controlled way to provide additional capacity and services when
needed
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10. © Tim Burns 2015
Only monitor, report and
manage things that matter
● Cloud governance processes will manage the cloud for
the benefit of the organization
● It will need information to do that, matched to the KPIs
● But only measure the minimum to enable both
governance and systems management
● Do not put huge amounts of effort into measuring
things that have no value in managing the cloud - or
producing outputs and reports that no one reads
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11. © Tim Burns 2015
The cloud is self
documenting
●
With physical things in the non-Cloud world, documentation and
records need to be kept of what is where, as well as what is
connected to what
●
Most cloud management software provides a lot of reporting
facilities which the cloud uses to effectively document itself
●
Therefore, there is little value in duplicating these features and
spending lots of effort in keeping records outside of the cloud up
to date
●
Let the cloud do it for you and use the power of the built in
features as much as possible
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12. © Tim Burns 2015
Clouds are used by business users who
should be protected from technical
detail
● Business users are good at running the business and not that
knowledgeable about IT
● IT people are good at managing IT but not at managing the business
● So set the cloud up to use common language rather than jargon
● This is so that business users do not need to understand the
technical detail of the cloud
● This is particularly true of the cloud catalog where the entries for
selection by business users need to be readily understandable. If
end users cannot understand it, they will not use it
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13. © Tim Burns 2015
Use out of the box features
as much as possible
● It is tempting to think that the cloud should provide some unique-to-your-enterprise
features you deem more desirable than anything else
● But proceed with caution
● Any add-ons or changes you make will reduce the ease of updating the cloud
software when the vendor releases updates
● Similarly a lot of effort – and expense – will be used to adapt the cloud which delays
the return of investment and pushes that point further out
● These extras mean retaining (potentially) expensive knowledge in the enterprise, at a
cost
● So use as many out of the box features as possible and resist the urge to tweak,
extend and replace
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14. © Tim Burns 2015
Conclusion
1. Aim for 100% automation of provisioning
2. Aim for 100% automated testing of new/revised
catalogue entries
3. Reuse “Lego like” building blocks using SOA
concepts to build the Cloud Catalogue
4. Design your cloud to help transform your business
5. Get Cloud Governance up and running early
6. Control the Use of External Clouds
7. Only monitor, report and manage things that
matter
8. The Cloud is self documenting
9. Clouds are used by business users who should be
protected from technical detail
10.Use out of the box features as much as possible
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• These tips are offered as things
to consider as you organisation
moves to Cloud Computing
• The real world is challenging and
following all ten maybe well nigh
impossible in your organisation
• But my experience has shown
that following as many as you
can, will maximise the
effectiveness & ROI of your
Cloud system

15. Tim Burns
pminthecloud.wordpress.com
@timbobean
© Tim Burns 2015 15