Cloud applications can offer business plenty of advantages, from a more cost-effective infrastructure to fewer administrative demands and a reduction in management headaches. But the cloud is not for every application or deployment. Are your enterprise applications ready for the cloud? The perception among CIOs is that enterprise applications in the cloud aren't ready for prime time but that internal applications are perfectly suitable for cloud deployment. But how do you really know whether your apps can be deployed to the cloud? Channel Insider recently spoke to Vikram Watave, vice president of sales for infrastructure management services at Patni, who offered five questions you should ask yourself to make sure that your applications and your customers’ applications are ready for the cloud. Take a look.
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Simplicity
The “keep it simple, stupid” design principle lends itself well to the cloud. Complex applications can be challenging to port to the cloud, but simpler applications can be ported much more easily and be ready to go in a shorter time span.
Independence
Applications with few integrations points are the most cloud-friendly. The fewer the number of points of integration with other applications, the easier it is to deploy the application in the cloud successfully. Applications that are completely independent are the best choices for cloud deployment.
Cost-effectiveness
It makes little sense to port an app to the cloud if it won't be more cost-effective to run in that environment. Technology refresh plays a role, because after using technology for seven to nine years, shifting it to the cloud is likely the most cost-effective solution. The underlying factor is capacity. If a CPU isn't hitting about 90 percent usage, then the cloud is probably costing more.
Secure
It's easy to build security around applications that are simple and independent because of the few integrations points and lack of complex functions. If the application is likely to be less secure by shifting it to the cloud, then why risk the migration?
Scalability
Not many applications require enterprise-level scalability, but knowing what you need the application to do now and what it may have to do in the future is important to the migration decision. Cloud computing offers great application scalability, but how that fits in with business needs plays a key role in the decision process.
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