There are lots of options for cloud computing, but each offers specific benefits. What are the primary ones users hope to see?
Responsiveness: Cloud computing gives IT the ability to respond to demands from business units faster than ever before.
Efficiency and lower operating expenses (OPEX): By automating the provisioning of workloads and the control and management of resources, organizations see improved efficiencies and higher admin-to-server ratios (reducing OPEX). This automation allows organizations to present elements such as self-service provisioning to a line of business.
On-demand elasticity: By controlling and managing resources, cloud computing reduces the need to design infrastructure for peak use. This allows resources to be scaled up when required and then recovered when the resources are no longer needed.
So, now that we have some definitions out of the way, when does a private cloud make sense? Many enterprises are not yet ready for the public cloud due to concerns over security, service levels and co-mingled workloads. One common element that every enterprise wants, however, is the lower costs that public clouds promise.
A private cloud is a way for you to get into the cloud and at least:
1) Gain data center efficiencies through better resource utilization and automation.
2) Acquire agility with control. Self-service workload provisioning and deployment makes line-of-business users more efficient and reduces demand on IT.
3) Leverage existing infrastructure investments to get started. Through simple changes to people, processes and technology, the benefits of cloud computing can be extended to your existing data center resources and the workloads running on them.
