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Choosing a Cloud solution to eliminate IT management: beware of the potential pitfalls

Posted by Benoît Mercier 06-04-2016 10:49 AM

Making your IT infrastructure virtual and migrating it to the cloud is likely to bring you significant gains. However, the elimination of IT management isn’t a part of that! 


Many business leaders turn to the cloud thinking that they can avoid some IT related tasks. Yet, the vast majority of these tasks remain virtually identical, whether in a physical or cloud-based environment. 

Here are three things you’ll need to take care of, whether your systems are physical, virtual or in the cloud.

Surveillance and Security

It remains just as relevant to monitor everything related to networking, disk space, server health, antivirus, security patches, domain connection failures, and potential intrusions into the network. 

Management

It is true that some tasks are completely eliminated by the cloud, such as replacement of physical components.

To this effect, one must keep in mind that:

1. Human resources related to managing physical hardware represents only a small portion of total IT management costs.

2. Workstations remain physical and require the same management work, unless, of course, you decide to use virtualized desktops (VDI) in cloud computing.

Anything that is not physical requires the same management, for example, the installation and configuration of software, Active Directory management, antivirus, or new user account creation. 

Backup and business continuity

The cloud does not automatically ensure data backup. You can be assured that your file server and mail server will be available, but the data is not automatically saved. As a result, if files are deleted after use by error, malicious software or a virus attack, it may be impossible to recover them. 

Backup operations are therefore just as essential as with a physical infrastructure. Business continuity is equally important. You need a succession plan to restart services and resume your business activities. With a cloud provider, are you immune to a natural disaster or bankruptcy?

Managed services reduce IT management, whether it be physical or cloud-based

The option that more and more companies are choosing to significantly reduce stress and costs related to IT systems management is the use of managed services. You can, according to different levels of service, entrust the monitoring, management and saving of some or all of your physical and/or cloud-based services to a partner specializing in the field. 

 

Benoît Mercier. Groupe Informatique Present inc