Cloud management may be the next new shiny thing that comes along in life. But it may have more practical and productive uses than most of its counterparts.
This way of storing business and other data may make it easier for businesses to access data and use it in a way that is efficient as well as profitable. The good news in all of this is that there are different cloud options available.
You can customize it to fit your business needs as well as keep your data private. There is a lot to be said about cloud management and you can learn more about it if you continue reading.
What Is Cloud Management?
The definition is very straightforward. It is how administrators and other employees control all the products and services, not to mention data, stored in a cloud.
Then it is something that provides those administrators, etc., access to all the resources they need for automation and updating. The administrators also monitor the use of the stored data as well as the cost to keep it stored and have access to it.
Cloud management is very flexible and can be used for scalability and with the right cloud management tools, the administrators can operate in the different types of cloud services that are currently available.
There are a lot of duties that can be performed in a cloud management system and one of the more important ones would be allocating resources to the right departments.
Another important duty would be disaster recovery which helps a business stay in business when a catastrophe occurs. In elementary terms, cloud management allows for administrative control over all business departments, their activities, and funding.
Some of those activities include:
- Infrastructure
- Platforms
- Applications
- Cloud provider
- Cloud service provider resources
- Data that—together—create a cloud.
What Are The Types Of Cloud Environments?
There are 4 types of cloud environments currently developed and available to all businesses:
1. The Private Cloud– Just as the name says, this cloud option or environment is for your use only. Only you and those employees granted permission to access it, have access to the data stored in this cloud environment.
2. The Public Cloud– This is also as it is labelled. It is a service that is shared with other companies. Usually, you have to pay a subscription fee to be awarded a section of the cloud for your business use.
The business operation is given to an off-site expert but you do not have to pay for additional hardware to upgrade your current data management system.
3. The Hybrid Cloud– This is a combination of both the public and private clouds and a business choosing this option is getting the best from both worlds.
This option helps save money while still protecting sensitive data from prying eyes. It is a solution that rectifies the lack of security often found in public cloud services.
4. Community Cloud– This is where a company signs up to use a ‘community’ of clouds or multiple public clouds. While the clouds are public in nature, the overall community is private.
Only those businesses have access to the private community and their portion of these multiple public clouds. This may benefit those businesses that have shared interests.
Which cloud environment is best for your business? That will depend on your business situation and your preferences. All of these systems have their pros and cons and you need to weigh that information along with security needs before making your decision.
What Are The Key Components Of Cloud Management?
1. Governance And Compliance
This is where you create cloud management policies, procedures, and controls to ensure that users do not violate regulations, privacy, and security. Plus, it helps define roles and responsibilities, manages access controls, and more.
2. Resource Provisioning And Deployment
This is a task that simply manages cloud resources and allocates them to the right departments. An automation update can speed up this duty.
3. Performance Monitoring
Built-in monitoring tools help with:
- Resource utilization
- Network latency
- Application responsiveness
- Allowing proactive troubleshooting
- Building optimization
This component helps make troubleshooting quicker, more efficient, as well as easier to do.
4. Security & Risk Management
Provides security for sensitive data protecting that information along with protecting applications and infrastructure. There are always people out there trying to hack into your system and cloud security blocks those attempts. This protection includes providing:
- Strict access controls
- Encryption
- Threat detection
- Incident response protocols
Challenges And Solutions For Cloud Management
1. Managing Multi-Cloud And Hybrid Cloud Environments
These environments can become very complicated and hard to monitor. The way to overcome this challenge is to use central management and cloud management platforms, and have clear governing policies.
2. Data Governing And Compliance
Managing data across different environments can be difficult. To help achieve good management you would need strong data governing practices, encryption, and compliance frameworks.
3. Vendor Lock-In
This can be a costly application and limits your flexibility. To overcome this issue you can implement open standards, keep data portability, reduce dependence on a single vendor, and implement seamless integration across the platforms.
4. Scalability And Performance
Meeting ever-changing demands can be a tough challenge for most businesses. However, if you engage auto-scaling capabilities, load balancing, and performance monitoring tools you should be able to overcome this challenge.
5. Security
Always a challenge as nefarious people continue to upgrade their skills and tools. Continuous monitoring of security, creating strong access controls, and using encryption help lower your vulnerability.
Some Additional Words
Cloud-based data management is not for every business. You may not have a need to use this digital system to protect and use your company’s information. Plus, it can get very complicated once you move past the private environment into multiple environment systems.
But if you feel this is for your business, contact us today to get the best guidance possible. We have the experience and knowledge to make sure you acquire the best cloud management system for your business.