Track C: Leveraging Cloud Computing Opportunistically & Strategically
Cloud computing has emerged as one of the hottest IT topics in the last ten years Cloud computing can help enterprises improve the creation and deliver of IT solutions by allowing them to access services more flexibly and cost -effectively. But separating the hype from the reality has been a challenge from most I&O organizations. Many I&O leaders-even progressive ones-are still nervous about proposed benefits and the value proposition of cloud computing-and whether their focus should be private, public or a hybrid model. How will issues like data ownership, security software licensing, security, process integration, vendor maturity and eventual vendor shake-out all impact an early adopter? How does the return on the investment and cost justification compare to legacy in-house approaches? This track provides advice on if, when and how to make that transition, lessons learned from early adopters, understanding vendor options and strategies and future trends.
Sessions
DevOps: The Cloud Operating Model
13 June, 2011 (10:45 AM - 11:45 AM)
Many of the large cloud services providers, in order to achieve their agility and economies of scale, have had to develop new ways of thinking about IT service delivery. DevOps is the term usually associated with what has become a cloud operating model or blueprint. We discuss what DevOps is and how it may pave the way for “creative destruction” with respect to traditional IT service management.
Is Your Network the Weak Link in Cloud Computing?
13 June, 2011 (01:45 PM - 02:45 PM)
The hype surrounding cloud computing often overlooks the realities of connecting the enterprise to cloud-based services. In any cloud scenario, whether building a private cloud or taking advantage of public cloud services, enterprises need to think about the end-to-end delivery of traffic and how the network architecture needs to adapt to these new service focused architectures. This session examines the impact on the enterprise network when considering cloud architectures.
Bring the Storage Cloud to Your Data Center
13 June, 2011 (04:15 PM - 05:15 PM)
Public cloud storage holds the promise of substantially improving agility, reducing storage costs and freeing up data center space. But integrating public cloud storage into your data center can be challenging and more expensive than cursory evaluations might indicate. This session explores the benefits and risks of deploying cloud storage within the context of the following key issues:
Choosing Colocation Services: Strategic, Tactical or Practical?
13 June, 2011 (05:30 PM - 06:30 PM)
Despite the overwhelming hype around cloud services, colocation continues to be a more mature and tactical option for those that have near to midterm requirements for additional space and compute. The key in making your decision is to align your space, power and management requirements with the models available, including datacenter leasing and whole or retail colocation. Each has their own use cases as well as risks. In this session, you’ll create decision frameworks to evaluate the varying models and pricing metrics, and for managing the associated migration issues.
Building the Private Cloud
14 June, 2011 (10:15 AM - 11:15 AM)
The majority of large enterprises are planning to build private clouds. Although technologies are immature and incomplete, dozens of vendors are hyping private cloud solutions. In the end, technology is the easiest part of building a private cloud. The hardest work involves these areas: culture, processes, customer relationships, services-orientation, and skills. This session discusses the roadmap to the private cloud, including the best and worst practices, technologies, and vendor strategies and offerings.
Technical Insights: Stuck Between Stations: From Traditional Data Center to Private Cloud
14 June, 2011 (01:15 PM - 02:15 PM)
Many enterprises have started down the path to building a private cloud, but the road to private cloud is difficult to navigate. This technology deep dive will focus on the key building blocks required to transform the traditional data center into one capable of delivering infrastructure as a service (IaaS). Low-level architecture configurations such as VM template, virtual hard disk architecture, management integration, and security best practices will be discussed. In addition, the new Gartner ITP maturity model for building an internal cloud will be described, followed by an open discussion on the technical and operational nuances associated with IaaS delivery.
Technical Insights: External Cloud Provider - Selection Criteria
14 June, 2011 (05:30 PM - 06:30 PM)
With major cloud providers like Amazon unwilling to share information about the infrastructure, selecting a cloud provider is something of a lottery. This session discusses a set of selection criteria for cloud providers that includes: • Infrastructure • Support • Availability • Billing Armed with these selection criteria, IT organizations can evaluate different cloud offerings and determine the best fit to their needs.
Bringing Cloud to Earth for I&O: Practical Advice and Implementations
15 June, 2011 (08:00 AM - 09:00 AM)
There is confusion in enterprise I&O as to the opportunities and reality of cloud computing. Why wouldn’t I&O want to increase efficiencies, drive costs down and enable business agility? But how and where should it be done? This session aims to bring cloud computing to earth by providing both practical advice and case studies that demonstrate the value propositions of private cloud and real-time infrastructure implementations.
Finding the Cheese: Navigating the Cloud Infrastructure Services Maze
15 June, 2011 (10:00 AM - 11:00 AM)
Enterprises have begun to accelerate adoption of public, private and hybrid cloud Infrastructure as a service (IaaS). We've seen a broad range of use cases as well as successes and failures. This session looks at the use cases for IaaS, how to make the most of internal and external investments, and key vendors that may be partners in your cloud ventures.
