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back to article Four key mistakes to avoid when building your hybrid cloud

Whether it’s public, private, or hybrid, there is an emerging consensus that various forms of cloud computing will have a role to play in the future of IT delivery. But what if you have a data centre already, doing tasks that won't go away overnight? How do you build an operational environment without creating a completely …

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  1. Pete 2 Silver badge

    The LAST big mistake of cloud computing

    ... is to NOT have an exit strategy.

    Cloud computing is just another fad, It won't last forever - and it's highly likely that one (or more) cloud offerings will go belly up, have major infrastructure problems, get hacked to a crisp or simply get bought up by the next evil empire who will realise that all their customers are locked in and will squeeze them till the pips squeak.

    So, on the basis that at some point in the next 10 years, a lot of outfits that are currently rushing headlong ito cloud services will want out, and want out FAST, it's important that these organisations have a way of pulling out - and that they don't wait until it's too late, but design and negotiate a solution to let them say "goodbye" with the least pain, downtime and cost.

    However, this does seem to be a factor that is entirely missing from most company's IT strategy, or long term planning, I can only assume that any exit strategy that IS being planned is the exit of the decision-makers who committed all their IT to a single basket - and then ran for the door, leaving someone else to pick up the mess.

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    1. Magister
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      Windows

      Re: The LAST big mistake of cloud computing

      >>most company's IT strategy<<

      Currently working at a large organisation; I have to say that my current thoughts are "What IT strategy?".

      I may be wrong, but I get the feeling that there are a lot of businesses that really don't actually have any real "IT Strategy" as such, just a couple of thoughts based around "we need to use technology as a differentiator" without any understanding of how it might be designed and implemented, how to use it, how to measure if it does anything or how to make it all work.

      Certainly, many businesses have lots of policy documents, but these seem to be more about HR / QA ticking boxes to say "we have a policy" rather than any real intention to implement something that is practical and will work.

      As a result, some vendor salesman speaks to the senior managers and sells them on the idea of (for example) cloud offerings; they buy the idea without actually understanding more than a fraction of the consequences. Then, as you say, someone else has to clean up the mess left behind.

      Grumpy Friday

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  2. jake Silver badge

    "But what if you have a data centre already

    Then you already have what the marketards call a "private cloud".

    Keyword there is "private". As in "in house, no third party required, cheaper, easier, faster".

    Hope this helps, have a nice day.

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    1. Lusty
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      Re: "But what if you have a data centre already

      Sorry Jake but you need to do a bit more research into what "private cloud" actually is. If you think it's just infrastructure then you're probably 5 years behind the curve.

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      1. jake Silver badge
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        @Lusty (was(Re: "But what if you have a data centre already)

        Or perhaps I've been in the bizz for a third of a century, and you've bought into the marketing hype, and are spending money unnecessarily.

        That's a lower-case "j", by the way. Simple clue that you're a rookie ...

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        1. Anonymous Coward
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          Anonymous Coward

          Re: @Lusty (was("But what if you have a data centre already)

          @Jake:

          A private cloud service is not the same as having a datacentre. A private cloud is a setup which allows you to move your workload around, be that in the form of VMs or distributed workload.

          To obJect that someone puts a capital letter at the start of a name is rather much, even if it's Just some sort of "in" IT Joke that no-one else gets.

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          1. jake Silver badge
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            Re: @Lusty (was("But what if you have a data centre already)

            "A private cloud service is not the same as having a datacentre. A private cloud is a setup which allows you to move your workload around, be that in the form of VMs or distributed workload."

            Which I've been doing for a living since the early 1980s.

            "To obJect that someone puts a capital letter at the start of a name is rather much, even if it's Just some sort of "in" IT Joke that no-one else gets."

            Techies get it. Marketards and those suckling at their teat are clueless, by definition.

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        2. Lusty
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          Re: @Lusty (was("But what if you have a data centre already)

          Or perhaps you've been in the biz for a third of a century and so have stopped updating your skills. Perhaps I just do more research and reading than you do because I architect large solutions as my day job. Perhaps your private cloud does offer all of the automation and self service functionality as well as change, incident and problem management required of a fully fledged cloud solution. Perhaps your users are in charge of their own destiny rather than being dictated to by you and your "design" (users can be IT staff or end users in this instance). Perhaps not.

          Using upper case for names doesn't make me a rookie, it makes me literate. The fact that I don't know the geeky crap behind your choice of handle is more down to the fact that I don't care about your geeky crap than because I don't know what you were getting at.

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          1. jake Silver badge
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            Re: @Lusty (was("But what if you have a data centre already)

            "Using upper case for names doesn't make me a rookie, it makes me literate."

            English literate, yes. Techie literate, not so much. This is the Tech world, not English class. We have a lingua franca, and it's bloody obvious when someone's not technically inclined when they are attempting to discuss technical matters.

            "The fact that I don't know the geeky crap behind your choice of handle is more down to the fact that I don't care about your geeky crap than because I don't know what you were getting at."

            That's my point. Thank you for showing the world that marketards aren't technically inclined, and really shouldn't be involved in engineering decisions.

            And no, you are NOT an "architect", even if it does say so on your business card. I get paid to fix the mistakes made by people like you.

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            1. Lusty
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              Re: @Lusty (was("But what if you have a data centre already)

              You really are living in an isolated world. "We" don't have a lingua franca, you just like to think you're in some kind of special club and that's fine. Maybe some of the techies you work with understand your mumblings but I assure you that many people who don't know you would not.

              You're making a lot of assumptions without knowing what I do. As far as I'm aware nothing I've done has needed fixing, and all of my clients still do business with the company I work for so we'd know if it did. They have also saved considerable sums of money by implementing cloud solutions which automate not just the servers and systems but also the management side including ITIL processes. They also have more productive users through self service technologies, and reduce workload during audits by automating compliance requirements.

              I am in fact an architect whether you think I am or not. It does say so on my business card and I regularly architect large solutions involving various technologies. Current projects include AS/400, Linux and a full cloud stack from Microsoft and the customers have been more than happy with my input so far. Given your out of date attitude and knowledge I would suggest that by "fix the mistakes made by people like you" you actually mean putting things back to a level you are comfortable with and telling clients that it's the "right way" and they "don't need this new fangled marketing nonsense". Perhaps a third of a century is enough and you should consider retirement.

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              2. jake Silver badge
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                Re: @Lusty (was("But what if you have a data centre already)

                From my perspective, people like you are the data center equivalent of kids who own F30 series BMWs, have attended a track-day, and think they suddenly have the ability to manage an F1 or NASCAR team, despite the inability to use a screwdriver or lug-wrench.

                You can't run before you can crawl. Folks like you never learned to crawl. And don't even understand why it is important, in this kind of context. On the bright side ... I make money picking up the pieces. And, yes, with modern kit, where it makes sense ... I might be a neo-luddite, in some ways, but I'm no idiot.

                I'm working on the retirement thang ... 5ish years more, maybe.

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                1. Lusty
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                  Re: @Lusty (was("But what if you have a data centre already)

                  "I'm working on the retirement thang ... 5ish years more, maybe."

                  Smashing, not before time by the sound of it.

                  When you say folks like me never learned to crawl I'm interested to know how you know my experience level other than an assumption based on the fact that my knowledge is more up to date than your own. I realise you're probably jealous and maybe even annoyed that you can't keep up, but that's no reason to assume that I don't know the things you know as well as the things I know.

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                  1. jake Silver badge
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                    Re: @Lusty (was("But what if you have a data centre already)

                    I don't just "keep up", I fix your generation's mistakes. Do try to pay attention.

                    I know your experience level because of your lack of basics, such as knowledge of why cAsE is important. One wonders if you're daft enough to dismiss the tried & true COBOL and Fortran as "archaic", despite the fact that there are billions of lines of code in said languages running big business & government, world-wide ...

                    Ah, well ... 6:30AM and a pretty good storm here (for CA, anyway). Off to check the critters ...

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                    1. Lusty
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                      Re: @Lusty (was("But what if you have a data centre already)

                      I guess you were right about one thing, I do habe people like you to fix things for me.

                      On the bright side, COBOL is not relevant to me, and neither is it archaic. As an architect I use the appropriate technology or language for the situation and quite often update "older" code. The fact that those are the two you know explains a lot. If all you have is a hammer....

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                      1. jake Silver badge
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                        Re: @Lusty (was("But what if you have a data centre already)

                        "habe"? Learn to splel and/or proof read.

                        And stop shooting yourself in the foot.

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                    2. Anonymous Coward
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                      Anonymous Coward

                      Re: @Lusty (was("But what if you have a data centre already)

                      Correction - case is only important when something is case sensitive!!

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                      1. jake Silver badge
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                        @AC: 08:16 (was: Re: @Lusty (was("But what if you have a data centre already))

                        Case is always important in an enterprise setting. That's always.

                        On the other hand, do you know the difference between 4A and 6A? And why this might be important?

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                        1. Anonymous Coward
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                          Anonymous Coward

                          Re: @AC: 08:16 (was: @Lusty (was("But what if you have a data centre already))

                          "do you know the difference between 4A and 6A?"

                          One is a first floor bedsit and the other was a basement bedsit?

                          Which one are you living in now?

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  3. Parax
    Facepalm

    Four Key Mistakes

    ah yes... Key Mistake number one: don't publish your private key...

    hmm now what are 2, 3 & 4?

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  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Can we have a but more of Lusty and jake please?

    ...or have they already gone off to get a (virtual) room?

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