A walk in the clouds

1. A walk in the clouds March 29, 2009 Mark Powell, Chief Architect, Zurich Financial Services Andy Caddy, Head of Enterprise Architecture, Easyjet

2. Agenda • First some myths • Some background • So what is the cloud? • Some Examples • Easyjet venture into Cloud Computing • So?

3. First some Myths Cloud computing myths are growing as the phenomenon gains popularity. These issues generally relate to vendor attempts to align cloud messaging with the historical products and services they provide. However, some of these issues are related to general misunderstandings and hype about the cloud.

4. Some Background For years scientists have mapped the internet – theresults of millions of connections looked like a ‘cloud’

5. Process as a Service Software as a Service Platform as a Service Infrastructure as a Service It is useful to think of Cloud Computing as a series of layers Orchestration Orchestration includes services such as monitoring, management, integration, security, ID, authorization, and optimization that wrap around the other layers

6. Process as a Service Software as a Service Platform as a Service Infrastructure as a Service The layers of the cloud can be accessed directly by many different clients Orchestration

7. Four pressures are driving Cloud Computing

8. So what is the Cloud?A definition to work from “Massively, scaleable IT Capabilities provided “as a Service” to multiple customers using internet technologies. More about the What (Service) rather than the How (technology)” Some attributes • Pay per use – Opex v Capex • Internet Connectivity • Scaleable, Elastic and Shareable

9. However, Is there only one kind of Cloud? There are at least three to my knowledge: • Open (The Internet Cloud) • Internal (OnDemand Compute Power) • External (Shared OnDemand Compute Powercapability)

10. Examples of Cloud Computing Software as a Service: Salesforce.com Gmail Zoho Facebook Platform as a Service: 3Tera Google Application Engine Coghead Infrastructure as a Service: Amazon AWS Joyent Mosso Nirvanix • Management as a Service: • CohesiveFT • RightScale • Appistry • Elastra • Appirio • Process as a Service: • Sales • Payroll • E-Procurement • Provisioning • Supply chain • Information service Note: overlap is common

11. John Willis’s list of the top 10 enterprisesin the Cloud – as of 13 July 2008 http://www.johnmwillis.com/other/top-10-entperises-in-the-cloud/

12. Cloud Computing at BP BP was interested in the early Amazon EC2 announcements CSC LEF helped BP gain access to the closed beta programme Initial experiments were promising, including running SAP R3 Downstream Oil decided to build a new web site The typical response from the IT was a three month wait That afternoon, they started on Amazon EC2 Their Amazon EC2 experience was so good they wanted to go production … leading to an interesting security discussion A big cycle time reduction is coming from using EC2 as a sandbox for SAP development

13. Andy CaddyHead of Enterprise Architecture, Easyjet

14. So? In the aftermath of the Economist’s 14 page insert on Cloud Computing more and more IT executives being asked by their business partners, “I hear that Cloud Computing is cheaper – are we using it – can we use it?” Some barriers exist: • Technical education, at both the architect and the implementer level • Business education. Learning how to deal with tech smart customers who want to be involved • Adoption of new standards, such as using Cloud specific tools, such as SimpleDB or BigTable, instead of reflexively using SQL • Server hugging, discomfort at not being able to physically see and touch your equipment • Risk assessment, understanding what risks are involved in Cloud Computing • Conducting a candid assessment of your current security • Risk mitigation, developing approaches that help us deal with computing in the Cloud • Need for an orchestration layer/provider to reduce implementation complexity

15. What should we move to the Cloud? • What would save us the most money? ( this implies that we know what things cost today ) • What could we turn off in the data center if it runs well in the Cloud? • What systems have the most variation and would benefit from the ability of the Cloud to turn on and off? • What systems would become much more agile if we moved them to the Cloud? • What systems would benefit from having part of the computation done in the Cloud? (so called Cloudbursting )

16. Where would we move into the Cloud stack? • Should we use Infrastructure as a Service, such as Amazon EC2, and just substitute the Cloud for our Data Center? • Do we need the granular control that IaaS provides • Should we use Platform as a Service and avoid having to worry about the details? • Could we replace our existing app with Software or Process as a Service, especially consumerized services? • As you move down the stack you gain greater control, but at the expense of having to deal with more complexity. • As you move up the stack to gain freedom from the detail, but at the expense of having to abide by decisions made by the provider.

17. So? If you need computing in a hurry, or have peak loads, you should look at Cloud Computing today The current economics of Cloud Computing revolve around turning machines off when not in use The cost advantage of Cloud storage can be significant Cloud bursting could allow us to run our DCs at higher utilization Cloud technology can be used internally for private Clouds Buy-off of their paper, but read the terms of use, especially around items such as service termination and data privacy Figuring out whether a particular Cloud is secure enough for your purpose begins with a candid assessment of your existing security Federated identity is needed to exploit the Cloud – push the vendors Get ready to collaborate in the Cloud