Most enterprises are currently re-evaluating their cloud strategies due to unexpectedly high costs. A small segment, estimated at less than 10%, has successfully navigated cloud adoption without needing to adjust their strategies. This group offers valuable insights into what other organizations can learn to avoid pitfalls.
Key Recommendations for Cloud Success
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Build Applications on Basic Services: Enterprises that excel in cloud usage recommend constructing applications solely on basic services when feasible. They suggest using Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) or virtual machines (VMs) over containers, opting for containers rather than serverless solutions, and choosing dedicated facilities instead of usage-based pricing. They also recommend utilizing your middleware instead of relying on cloud provider services to avoid ongoing costs that can accumulate over time.
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Avoid Chasing New Features: Many successful enterprises warn against modifying existing applications just to adopt new cloud features, pointing out that these updates often lead to increased ongoing costs without tangible benefits. It’s crucial to recognize when an application is working well and to avoid unnecessary changes.
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Assess Workload Variability: One critical tip is to focus on applications where workload fluctuates significantly over time. Enterprises report that if the peak capacity demand is twice the average, cloud solutions can become cost-competitive. The cloud can provide an economical advantage when resources are shared effectively across applications with varying demand peaks.
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Consider User Distribution: Applications with users spread across different geographic locations tend to benefit from cloud solutions, particularly if quality of experience is compromised by transmission delays. Hosting closer to users may enhance performance, making cloud options appealing to organizations lacking localized data centers.
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Evaluate Interaction Models: It’s essential to analyze how users interact with applications. If user transactions tightly connect to core databases, it is often more efficient to keep the application on-site. However, user interactions that don’t depend heavily on immediate data access can often be migrated to the cloud with manageable costs.
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Focus on Applications Needing Change: Enterprises suggest that the best candidates for cloud migration are those applications already scheduled for updates or changes. Understanding current costs versus projected future costs is critical, as is the risk associated with altering essential systems.
The overarching theme from these successful enterprises is that while the cloud offers distinct advantages, it doesn’t suit every scenario. Establishing sound financial assumptions through pilot testing can enable companies to make informed decisions, ensuring that cloud strategies align with their unique needs rather than blindly following trends.
