A short guide to cloud enablement
Cloud computing is the bedrock of Digital Transformation; everything else is built upon it. The technology makes IT efficient, flexible, measurable and reliable. Cloud technology simplifies IT management and allows access to information from any device and from any location.
However, there is complexity around transition and cost that can prohibit organizations from embracing the technology. An unplanned or poorly executed transition to the cloud will have disastrous results and should be avoided at all cost. Only with the right expertise, tools, and processes can a transition to the cloud can be successful. If these are not available internally, they should be attracted externally. For organizations to maximize the long-term benefit from the cloud, three basic enablement stages should be followed.
Enable The Cloud: Plan, Build and Manage
Plan The Cloud. Planning the cloud must happen way ahead of time. During the planning phase, the various business requirements should be carefully determined to ensure that the final solution will not disappoint. Following this, the cloud architecture can be planned from where the technology solution can be determined. When this is done, the hardware and software can be selected and put into a High-Level Design (HLD). Once this is agreed by everyone, the Low-Level Design (LLD) can be produced which will be the blueprint for the entire solution.
Build The Cloud. The LLD represents the end-state, but there are many steps to take to get there from the current state. Each step needs to be carefully planned to avoid disruptions to the business or loss of valuable data. Cloud Enablement does not only mean implementing new technology but also migration of existing applications, configurations, data and much more. Due to the interdependencies, a careful migration plan needs to be developed that minimizes disruption. After each step, verification needs to take place and if the verification fails, then a fallback plan needs to be executed. Only with a detailed migration plan, expertise, tools, and processes will the cloud be built with success.
Manage The Cloud. The cloud introduces an extra layer of complexity (the virtualization layer) that needs to be managed, on top of the physical hardware and traditional software. Therefore managing the cloud requires additional expertise not needed in a traditional data center environment. Simultaneously, because of virtualization, many operational tasks are simplified or even automated - which actually makes managing the cloud easier than managing the original environment. Provisioning, backup and restore, as well as disaster recovery, are just some of the tasks that are greatly simplified in a cloud environment. So while cloud management will require some additional expertise, overall the operation is far easier.
Huawei cloud enablement services accelerate digital transformation
Huawei offers a cloud enablement service based on the experience of building over 400 cloud environments and over 1000 cloud migration projects. "The Huawei industry cloud enablement service covers the entire service lifecycle from the initial assessment to operation and maintenance, able to leverage the power of big data development support and big data management. With over 2900 Certified Service Partners (CSPs), in more than 170 countries, and a tool platform compatible with 260 types of hardware and 400 types of software, Huawei offers one of the most comprehensive service capabilities in the world," said Zhou Yilin, Huawei Enterprise Service Cloud Enablement Director.
Case study
With the help of Huawei's e-Government cloud solution a Southeast Asian country has successfully executed a cloud transformation. The solution includes unified management of multiple data centers, active cloud data center architecture, and comprehensive security. Cloud users pay for services based on actual requirements, reducing redundant construction costs and saving costs by 40 percent. The service roll out time is shortened from several months to several days or even hours. The IT system forms a unified resource pool, improving resource utilization by 50 percent and improving operations and maintenance automation to 80 percent. As a result, government departments can focus on their own businesses and improve the overall government service satisfaction by 50 percent.
With 25 years of experience, more than 1,000 experts, and over 2,900 partners worldwide, we can help you achieve your target business outcomes. Learn more about Huawei Service go to http://e.huawei.com/en/services.