How to modernize your IT infrastructure with the help of cloud services

1. What cost benefits can a midsize enterprise gain by utilizing the benefits of virtualization and cloud computing in the course of modernizing its IT infrastructure?

Flexibility is clearly a major advantage. Cloud computing is an opportunity to make IT costs more transparent. Cloud resources can grow organically and adapt to individual company requirements. IT costs rise or fall along with demand. Longer contract terms and static IT costs are avoided. Instead the costs develop in parallel with user behavior. Consumption-oriented IT services now offer the opportunity, especially for midsize enterprises, to flexibly respond to market changes or short-term demands. Billing models, in some cases accurate to the minute, ease the strain on IT budgets. Notwithstanding the technology's complexity, this results in a cost-optimized model that conserves the IT department's resources.  

2. What, in particular, needs to be observed in this modernization so that disadvantages in terms of security, reliability, or dependency on the service provider do not outweigh the cost advantages?

The trend is for service providers to look after IT management. Single-sourcing strategies are particularly well suited since the service provider manages the complexity of service orchestration. Choosing the service provider is therefore of crucial importance. Companies should allow sufficient time for this and question all critical points in detail: What exactly is the concept for integration into the company landscape? How will the service provider ensure that the compliance and security requirements are met? Do the stated methods fit your own business model? Corresponding references and certifications need to be reviewed as well. Once the service provider has been selected, solutions and requirement concepts need to be jointly developed. Working with short to medium-term contracts is advisable. That ensures flexibility, especially for changing service providers entirely. The users also have to be involved. Active change management is needed here to make users aware of changed working methods. If the aforementioned criteria are disregarded, more money often has to be invested than planned.

3. How can current IT systems be integrated with the cloud to enable high-performance communication between the existing applications and the new cloud services?

Today's technologies permit the transparent integration of cloud services into existing IT infrastructures. Hybrid scenarios, in particular, ensure optimum support for the core business processes. Admittedly, parts of existing connectivity solutions or classic network concepts sometimes have to be adapted, but this does not constitute an insurmountable obstacle. A strategy is needed for the goal-oriented deployment of cloud services. Without stated goals and a step-by-step transformation of IT to the cloud, the journey will be arduous. Choosing the right service provider is essential here as well. They should have an in depth understanding of both cloud and on-premise scenarios. The same applies to performance. It is advisable to work with an IT service provider that has established, trustworthy cloud manufacturer partnerships, in addition to expertise in the design of network infrastructures, and a reliable partner network.