Right and Wrong Apps for the Cloud

Only the most optimistic and misguided cloud salesperson would argue that the cloud is ready for every single app today. But let's face it, cloud vendors generally think and argue that their clouds can do more than they really can, reliably, securely and cheaply.

Instead of listening to cloud sales people, trust your instincts, research and years of experience.

Before stepping out on a cloud limb, take a close look at your environment. Pay particular attention to your network. If it's too slow, your cloud apps will be way too slow.

Factor in the costs of boosting the WAN into the overall cost of your cloud apps before deciding if that cloud is worth it.

Now here's the tough talk. Just as every app shouldn't be virtualized (do you think a Wall Street trading floor is running on a bunch of VMs?), not all software should run in the cloud. Print servers handle a lot of documents. Does it make sense for these to traverse a bunch of network hops? Nah.

More and more vendors are promoting identity management over the cloud, arguing that because it is their sole business they can do it more safely than you can. And maybe so. But at least on Windows, authentication can be pretty processor- and network-intensive. And doesn't it already take long enough for Windows to boot and users to get to work?

And lastly there is file access. File systems were built for LANs, not the cloud where the server may be a thousand miles away and be just one of many VMs on a single physical server. Want to wait an eternity every time you need a Word doc or spreadsheet? Neither do I. For now, local may be best.

Posted by Doug Barney on 08/14/2012 at 12:47 PM