Smaller Cloud Service Providers: A Safer, Smarter Option
October 21, 2024
In today’s digital age, cloud computing is crucial for businesses of all sizes. While industry giants like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud dominate the market, many companies are exploring smaller cloud providers. While these large providers have advantages, opting for a smaller, more specialized cloud vendor offers several benefits, especially for businesses looking to prioritize security and customer service. Here’s why using a smaller cloud service provider could be the smarter choice for your business.
Reduced Risk of Large-Scale Cyberattacks
One of the primary benefits of choosing a smaller provider to is reduced exposure to large-scale cyberattacks. Major cloud providers, because of their size and visibility, often attract the attention of cybercriminals. These platforms are constantly in the crosshairs, meaning that businesses relying on them may inadvertently become targets of sophisticated, widespread attacks.
Smaller providers, on the other hand, present a smaller target. Their lower profile means they are less likely to attract attackers looking for mass disruption or breaches, and therefore businesses may reduce their vulnerability to large-scale cyberattacks, which can result in downtime, data loss, and significant reputational damage.
Improved Customer Service and Support
Another major advantage of using a smaller cloud computing provider is the quality of customer service and support. Large providers typically serve hundreds of thousands of customers, which can lead to impersonal or slow support. In contrast, smaller providers often offer more personalized, attentive service because they manage a smaller client base. With fewer customers to manage, these providers can offer quicker response times, more direct communication channels, and a deeper understanding of your business’s specific needs.
In many cases, smaller providers prioritize customer relationships, ensuring that businesses have access to dedicated support teams who are familiar with their operations. This personalized support, a hallmark of top cloud service providers, can make a significant difference in ensuring smooth cloud operations, particularly for businesses without large internal IT teams.
Flexibility & Customization
Smaller providers tend to offer more flexible and customizable solutions than their larger counterparts. Large providers often have set services and rigid infrastructure, making it difficult to adapt to unique business needs or specific industry requirements. Smaller providers, however, are often more willing to tailor their offerings to meet the specific needs of their clients.
Whether it’s offering custom storage solutions, scalability options, or more specific security protocols, smaller providers can offer a level of flexibility that large ones may not be able to match. This customization can be especially important for businesses in niche markets or those with highly specialized operational needs.
Competitive Pricing
Smaller cloud providers often provide more competitive pricing compared to larger ones. Major platforms tend to have complex pricing models, which can be difficult to navigate and may include hidden costs, especially as businesses scale. While larger providers offer a range of services, businesses often find themselves paying for features they don’t need or use.
In contrast, smaller providers typically offer simpler, more transparent pricing models, allowing businesses to better manage their budgets and avoid unexpected costs. Additionally, they may offer more tailored pricing plans based on specific business requirements, helping companies avoid paying for unused resources.
Stronger Relationships and Partnerships
When working with smaller vendors, businesses often develop stronger relationships with the provider. These partnerships go beyond just transactional exchanges—they evolve into more collaborative and strategic alliances. Smaller providers are invested in the success of their clients because their reputation and growth are closely tied to customer satisfaction.
As a result, smaller providers are often more proactive in helping businesses succeed, offering advice, insights, and services that are closely aligned with the company’s goals. This relationship can be valuable when navigating complex deployments with trusted providers, scaling resources, or addressing security concerns.
Enhanced Focus on Niche or Specialized Services
Some smaller service providers specialize in serving niche industries or specific sectors. Whether it’s healthcare, finance, or legal, these providers have deep expertise in the regulatory and compliance requirements of their chosen industries. This specialization allows them to offer highly relevant and compliant solutions tailored to the needs of businesses operating in those fields.
Larger cloud vendors often take a more general approach, which may not account for the specific nuances of certain industries. For businesses that need specialized solutions or face stringent regulatory requirements, smaller cloud service providers can offer expertise and services that larger providers may overlook or ignore entirely.
Localized Data Centers and Compliance
In an increasingly globalized world, data sovereignty and compliance with regional regulations have become critical considerations for many businesses. Smaller cloud service providers often operate localized data centers, ensuring that businesses meet legal and regulatory requirements specific to their country or region.
For example, European companies may prefer cloud service providers with data centers located within the European Union to ensure compliance with GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). Smaller providers can offer better assurances regarding where data is stored and how it is managed, making them a preferred option for businesses with specific regulatory obligations.
Conclusion
While large cloud computing providers offer robust infrastructure and a wide array of services, smaller cloud providers offer a unique set of advantages that shouldn’t be overlooked. From reduced security risks and personalized customer service to flexible solutions and competitive pricing, smaller cloud providers can deliver a more tailored and secure experience. For businesses looking to maximize the benefits of cloud computing while minimizing risk and enhancing customer support, a smaller provider may be the right choice.
In an era where cybersecurity and customer relationships are more important than ever, considering a smaller, and perhaps a local cloud computing service provider, could be a strategic move that leads to better outcomes for your business.
Microsoft recently revealed that it lost critical security logs from September 2 to September 19, sparking concerns about its ability to safeguard sensitive data. These logs are essential for detecting and investigating security breaches, making their absence a significant issue for Microsoft and its cloud customers.
Business Insider initially reported on the loss of log data earlier this month. The affected products include Microsoft Entra, Sentinel, Defender for Cloud, and Purview, according to the Business Insider report.
These logs are very critical for tracking and investigating security breaches, something that makes their absence a significant problem at both Microsoft and to its customers. The issue has emerged at a time when cloud service security is under increasing scrutiny as there are an increased number of high-profile cybersecurity incidents.
The incident has rekindled much debate on the shared responsibility model in cloud security, whereby providers and customers share critical roles in the protection of data. Although customers are often encouraged to implement their own complementary security measures, such as encryption and access controls, there's a range of vulnerabilities associated with dependence on providers for critical logging and monitoring functions.
This further stresses that an organization needs not only to trust its cloud provider but also be involved in their security posture. It goes on to say that audits, additional investments in security tools, and the creation of security awareness make companies less vulnerable by not having to rely exclusively on the security measures their cloud provider will take.
Security Logs
Security logs are records of activities carried out in the cloud, including every access to the systems, configurations changes, or unauthorized and suspicious activities on the network. These logs help the security teams notice and analyze potential security breaches, thus standing at the core of any efficient cybersecurity strategy. Actually, they present the basis needed to find intrusions or even determine what actually happened during a breach.
In the case of Microsoft, this log loss impacts its Azure cloud customers and those others who use Microsoft's cloud-based services. For companies who rely on the products of Microsoft for day-to-day running processes, the lack of this critical information not only makes them more vulnerable but also renders it difficult to determine whether any vulnerability has been exploited during recent months.
Recent Cybersecurity Breaches
It is the loss of these logs that follows several cybersecurity breaches linked to Microsoft's services. Earlier this year, Microsoft's Azure platform was at the center of a high-profile breach where state-sponsored actors allegedly accessed email accounts of U.S. government agencies. The absence of critical security logs will make investigations into that and other incidents more difficult, which could slow down responses and mitigation efforts.
The absence of logs further complicates the process of cybersecurity experts to trace how the attack has been gained, what data has been compromised, and how to protect themselves against similar breaches in the future.
The missing logs for customers could mean they do not know if their systems have been compromised or what kind of specific action is required to prevent further damage. It brings forth wider concerns about Microsoft's capacity to offer trustworthy cloud services, especially to enterprises and government organizations that have to deal with highly sensitive data.
Response by Microsoft
Microsoft quickly acknowledged responsibility for the incident and assured that it will retrieve the lost data as well as take better logging in the future. The company has not gone further, though, to release specific details related to how the logs were lost or exactly what it's doing to prevent similar issues in the future. This lack of transparency adds fuel to the fire that upsets both customers and cybersecurity experts.
The logging outage follows a previous controversy where Microsoft was criticized by federal investigators for not providing security logs to certain U.S. government departments using its government-only cloud. These logs could have exposed China-backed hacks, known as Storm-0558, much earlier. The hackers gained access to sensitive U.S. government emails. The State Department only identified the breach because it had paid for a higher-tier license that included access to these logs. After the breach, Microsoft promised to offer logs to lower-tier customers starting September 2023.
Microsoft cloud services form the backbone of businesses, schools, and governments around the world. Ongoing success depends partly on the company's continued ability to ensure trust in its platform, as organizations increasingly move their operations to the cloud.
The Broader Implications for Cloud Security
The implication of the loss of these logs goes far beyond this single incident and into the very core of cloud security as a whole. With more firms moving into cloud-based services, they put immense trust in providers such as Microsoft, Google, and Amazon to make sure that their data is secure. Events like this serve as a rude awakening that even the most gigantic tech companies are not immune from security failures, and customers must remain vigilant in protecting their own environments.
Moreover, the role of Microsoft also symbolizes that a company must have effective backup systems with redundancy in place for any critical data, including security logs. Companies cannot rely on the cloud providers exclusively as their lone source of security, without risk; they must be vigilant in monitoring and securing all the systems too. This may include outsourced third-party services for security, as well as additional layers of logging and monitoring in such a way that there is no compromise of critical data being lost either.
Industry Reaction
The wider cybersecurity community has moved with quick alacrity to react to the news. Some critics have pointed to the loss of logs as an example of why companies should maintain a diverse security strategy rather than be dependent on one sole provider. Security professionals are concerned that the gap in logs can allow threats to go longer without being realized in the systems, thereby increasing the time for long-term damage.
On the other hand, people argue on behalf of Microsoft, stating that it is not something strange in this ever-evolving cloud environment, as providers have to deal with massive malicious activities. They underscore that the way to prevent such issues from happening again consist of more open relations between cloud hosts and customers.
Forward Motion
It is thus evident that the incident served as an eye-opener for Microsoft. Indeed, the company will now have to regain customers' trust in its cloud services by taking immediate, serious measures towards enhancing logging capabilities and general security infrastructure. In the coming weeks, the company should do its best to communicate clearly with its customers as it strives to achieve the solution of this problem and demonstrate that its cloud services can be secure in the days ahead.
To the wider tech industry, it is a reminder that assurance of good security practices is constant in a digitally connected globe. That means companies with cloud environments should be proactive in securing their own environments, while cloud providers take responsibility to have the required safeguards against similar incidents.
Opting for a smaller, alternative cloud service provider can offer cybersecurity advantages. Smaller providers often present a smaller target for attackers, which reduces the likelihood of being singled out in large-scale cyberattacks. This can lower the inherent risks associated with using major cloud providers, which tend to attract more attention from cybercriminals.
In today’s fast-paced world, it can be challenging to stay focused and productive. With constant distractions from social media, e-mail notifications and other online temptations, it’s no surprise that many people struggle to get things done.
Fortunately, technology can also be an asset to help you stay on task and reach your goals, regardless of whether you’re trying to accomplish things in the workplace or in your personal life. By using the right tools and strategies, you can harness the power of technology to boost your productivity and stay focused on important tasks.
Use apps and software to help you stay productive
One of the most effective ways is to utilize the right apps and software.
Countless productivity tools are available, each with unique features and benefits.
Time-tracking apps like Toggl and RescueTime allow you to track how much time you spend on any given task. You’ll quickly identify where you’re wasting time and can make adjustments to reclaim it.
Productivity apps like Asana and Trello can help you create to-do lists and track progress toward accomplishing essential company tasks and projects.
Focus apps like Freedom and SelfControl are also worth looking into if you are continually tempted by distractions. These apps allow you to block access to certain websites for a specified amount of time, which will help you avoid social media platforms and news websites when you should be focused on your work.
Some apps and tools are free, while others require a subscription or a one-time fee.
To determine the best apps for your situation, you should consider various factors, including your work style, goals and your budget.
Organize your digital work environment
In addition to the many apps that are available, another key strategy involves cleaning up and managing your digital environment. If you use a computer for work, it’s not uncommon for it to become cluttered over time. Clear out applications and documents from your home screen that are no longer needed, and disable those pesky pop-up notifications. Doing so will often boost your computer’s processing power.
Organization is a crucial part of tidying up your digital workspace. If you’re not already using a cloud-based platform, like Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive, to keep your files organized, now is the time to do so.
If you do use a cloud-based platform, when did you last go through it? Set some time aside every other month to go through your documents to ensure they’re organized in a way that makes it easy to access them. Create subfolders and date everything to truly maximize your efficiency.
These platforms will also allow you to share your documents with minimal effort. And if you’re well organized, you won’t get distracted while hunting for a specific document.
Leverage communication tools
If you work remotely and find that your productivity suffers when you need to contact an employee or a co-worker, communication programs like Zoom and Slack allow you to facilitate real-time collaboration and better connect with your team.
Be careful, though, since communication apps can be a double-edged sword. Yes, they can improve productivity, but they can also redirect your focus if you get pulled into conversations that aren’t work-related. If you find yourself constantly distracted by communication from other team members, set specific times to check your notifications.
Last tech productivity tip
As a final tip, if you need additional support when it comes to staying productive and focused, utilize a digital assistant like Amazon’s Alexa or Apple’s Siri. These assistants can be programmed to remind you about important tasks and deadlines before they get too close. They can schedule tasks, help you plan your day and even answer questions quickly.
We don’t have to think about technology only as a distraction. Once you find the right apps and technological tools that fit your work style, you’ll notice an immediate improvement in your productivity.
Ten years after Katrina devastated New Orleans, IT pros say being less dependent on physical locations is just one of the keys to ensuring your company doesn’t go out of business when disaster strikes.
It’s hard to be truly prepared to take the full impact of a Category 5 hurricane. Ten years ago, in the case of Hurricane Katrina and the city of New Orleans, there was the added devastation of flooding caused by failed levees. It will hopefully be a very long time before another disaster of that magnitude strikes New Orleans, or any other city for that matter, but organizations still need to be prepared for such an event. As it turns out, the cloud is an ideal tool for managing the risks associated with a hurricane or other natural disaster.
Even prior to Hurricane Katrina it was a security mantra and data protection best practice to ensure at least one backup of crucial data was maintained offsite. The logic being simply that you don’t want your primary data storage and all of your backups to be destroyed in the same hurricane, fire, flood or earthquake.
Offsite backups solve only part of the problem, though, if your servers and data are maintained locally. When disaster strikes and wipes out your primary data, you’ll have to acquire the backup data, deploy and configure new hardware at some secondary location, and restore the data. You’re still looking at days of downtime in a best-case scenario.
Embracing the cloud to reduce risk
The city of New Orleans and businesses like Entergy and DirectNIC that struggled to survive the devastation of Hurricane Katrina learned some valuable lessons. One of the primary caveats when it comes to business continuity is to mitigate risk by embracing the cloud.
Lamar Gardere, director of information technology and innovation for the City of New Orleans, admits that things were still in disarray when the current administration took office in 2010. The IT infrastructure was aging and many of the city’s critical applications were still being run on physical servers.
One of Gardere’s first tasks was to modernize onto a highly virtualized infrastructure to allow for servers to be quickly created, resized and moved from one site to another in the case of a major disaster. “We created a private cloud with the ability to leverage all the same capabilities as you might imagine are available if you were using Amazon’s cloud, for example. This flexibility is at the heart of our disaster recovery capabilities and allows us to quickly transfer/failover services to remote locations,” Gardere says. “During normal times, it also allows us to maximize our infrastructure investment, consolidate IT resources across areas of government, better manage resources remotely and respond more quickly to our customers.”
DirectNIC is one of a few businesses that managed to stay up and running during Katrina – partly a result of being prepared and partly a function of being safely on the 11th floor well above any flood damage. Even DirectNIC learned a thing or two from Hurricane Katrina, though. Vernon Decossas, CEO of DirectNIC explains, “We host our own operations, however, we also have the ability to move our operations onto cloud providers within the span of hours. It’s provided a peace of mind that we can keep our operations going regardless of external issues.”
Gardere also elaborates on the decision to implement a private cloud rather than simply provisioning services from one of the public cloud providers. He notes there are pros and cons to public cloud for any organization and that the city weighed those on a per-application basis to determine the best solution. “The City uses the cloud strategically and where appropriate to take advantage of its convenience while avoiding some of its problems. Perhaps most notably, the City has moved its payroll system to the cloud using ADP, ensuring that this critical but low bandwidth application is available regardless of the state of the City’s IT environment.”
Moving beyond the cloud
Leveraging the cloud and moving critical servers and data to a cloud-based infrastructure will help organizations in New Orleans mitigate risk and maintain business continuity the next time a major natural disaster occurs, but it’s not enough by itself. Beyond the cloud, organizations also must have a clearly defined business continuity and disaster recovery plan in place and have staff that are properly trained to execute it when the time comes.
“Entergy holds yearly storm drills to prepare all of our employees for what may come. We use that time to talk about ‘what ifs’ and come up with solutions to questions posed during the drills,” says Kay Jones, a spokesperson for Entergy. “We use this time to get better at responding and be prepared for any situation that can arise when a storm hits our service territory.”
Gardere stresses the importance of performing regular maintenance on backup equipment that rarely sees use and talked about how the City of New Orleans continues to strive toward more complete testing and monitoring procedures. “We perform semi-annual tests of basic back up functions and hold an annual table-top exercise simulating a hurricane to test strategy execution. We refresh documentation and review roles and responsibilities on an annual basis.”
Live to fight another day
For some companies even the best business continuity and disaster recovery plan won’t help. A local restaurant or the corner gas station can’t just continue operating from the cloud or move to an alternate location. No amount of practicing or preparing will enable such a business to remain operational while it’s literally under water.
Those businesses can still benefit from using cloud-based applications and data storage to ensure those things survive the catastrophe, though, and thankfully most businesses are not that dependent on the specific physical location. By moving critical systems and data to the cloud and practicing to smoothly implement business continuity and disaster recovery procedures organizations can mitigate the risk of the next Katrina-like event and be prepared to continue operations.
What we expected to be Windows 9 has been gradually revealed through leaks over the past several weeks, but Microsoft has thrown a curveball into the mix with Windows 10. The latest information, revealed during a public Microsoft Windows event, has gone into much detail concerning the nature of the newest incarnation of Windows, including its focus on enterprise and cloud-centric policy.
But first, what we already know; Windows 10 appears to look like a funky combination between Windows 7 and Windows 8. While several applications still use the Metro tile user interface used in Windows 8, the operating system has returned to its roots with what appears to be Windows 7 desktop functionality. Also present is the triumphant return of the beloved Start menu with a slick new look, sporting customizable Metro-style shortcuts within the menu. These fix the two most common complaints about Windows 8. While the Metro UI was designed to work well on touch-screen devices, some users who enjoyed the traditional desktop design disliked it, while the absence of the Start menu had Windows users up in arms.
The task bar is back and filled to the brim with features, including a Search function and virtual desktops. The virtual desktops can be customized for specific tasks, like separating casual applications and work-related applications. The Charms bar from Windows 8 is also making a comeback, though it is more user-friendly this time around.
Windows 10, according to Microsoft, is aiming to become the new standard for future Windows operating systems. By becoming the “threshold,” as its code name implies, it makes Windows 10 the last big operating system for Microsoft’s popular software brand. The fact that Microsoft is aiming high with Windows 10 is seen in their decision to skip Windows 9. On their official blog, Microsoft states,
This new Windows must be built from the ground-up for a mobile-first, cloud-first world. This new Windows must help our customers be productive in both their digital work and their digital life. This new Windows must empower people and organizations to do great things.
It’s also mentioned that Windows 10 will be streamlined to work on all devices, as displayed by Microsoft’s marketing slogan: “One product family. One platform. One store.” All applications will run in windows, which means that you can resize, move, close, maximize, and minimize them at will. Improved Snap features allow you to set shortcuts to certain applications for easy access.
Nobody saw Microsoft skipping Windows 9 to move forward on Windows 10… well, nobody but InfoWorld, that is. The technology news website won the April Fool’s Day lottery in 2013 when they tricked the online community into believing that Microsoft would skip Windows 9. The main gist of the joke was that Windows 9 was “too good” to release to the general public, and that it would be kept on the down-low as an internal perk for Microsoft employees. According to InfoWorld, the fabled Windows 9 was pretty sweet:
Details about Windows 9 are sketchy, but according to internal Microsoft communications obtained by InfoWorld, the OS was fast, intuitive, bug-free, and equally adept with both the Windows Desktop and Metro-style interfaces. "And who would've thought to put the Start button there?!? Genius!" marveled one engineer, though it's unclear where "there" is exactly.
Another engineer likened the OS to the Nintendo Entertainment System's Power Glove accessory, saying, "It's that good a melding of man and machine.”
As of October 1st 2014, the technical preview for Windows 10 has been made available for enterprises looking to sample the new operating system. Of course, the operating system is going to change before its official release in mid-2015. During the technical preview period, Microsoft encourages enterprises to let them know how to improve the operating system to its full potential. You can download the technical preview at preview.windows.com.
View the original article here
Depending on who you talk to, the cloud is either (A) the future of business (and personal) computing, (B) a ruse by providers to get everybody stuck paying ever-increasing rates, (C) an epidemic of security breaches waiting to happen, or (D) an overhyped development that will lead to some interesting technological advancements but won’t ultimately be all that earthshattering. So what is a business leader to do when faced with the decision of whether to move to the cloud? Naturally, it falls to the CIO to somehow square the circle and make a wholescale move to the cloud while guaranteeing lower costs, perfect security, and unlimited accessibility. Before your business takes on this endeavor, though, there are a few things about the cloud your CIO would probably like to clear up.
The cloud isn’t an all-or-nothing endeavor.
If your applications are only a couple of years old, you probably won’t have much difficulty moving them into the cloud. And of course infrastructure services like Azure are a great place to build and test new applications. But some legacy apps might be better left in the environments where they’re currently hosted. This is why many companies set up hybrid environments—getting the best of both the on-site and cloud worlds (or, the private and public cloud worlds, depending on how you want to phrase it). You may for instance benefit most from using Office 365 for collaboration and document sharing while hosting Active Directory on-site. Even if you do end up moving your entire business into the cloud, you should think of it as a transition over time, not any type of migration that can or should be accomplished overnight.
Cloud security isn’t an issue for the reasons you probably think.
It seems like every day there’s a story in the news about some kind of data hack: Target and other retailers; the Heartbleed Bug; Jennifer Lawrence. The catch-22 is that businesses feel they need to move to the cloud to remain competitive but by doing so they’re opening themselves up to myriad security risks. Here’s the thing to keep in mind: the Target and Heartbleed issues weren’t really about the cloud per se—they were about the internet in general. Any data that is accessible online is potentially susceptible to hacking. Not many businesses can operate completely offline. The celebrities having their iCloud photos stolen likewise had nothing to do with any vulnerability inherent to the cloud. Instead, it was a matter of hackers figuring out passwords and the answers to security questions. (Though Apple really was remiss in not setting limits to password attempts—a common industry practice that would have made the theft impossible.)
With on-site servers, you have to worry about fires, floods, earthquakes, power outages, etc. With cloud services, it’s blind subpoenas—which even in the extremely unlikely event that they’re issued won’t necessarily spell disaster for your business. The only other thing that might make cloud datacenters more risky is that they house information from many businesses, much like a bank has many people’s money, which makes them a more attractive target. But, also like a bank, cloud providers have a lot more resources to devote to security. There are, however, many aspects of security that you can take responsibility for yourself—like setting multifactor authentication standards for passwords, and creating BYOD policies.
The cloud isn’t an end in itself. It’s a set of tools to help you achieve your goals.
The cloud offers some pretty amazing capabilities, and it opens the way for countless untold advances in the future. But, before moving into the cloud, you should have a well worked-out idea of what you hope to achieve by doing so. Are you looking for more flexible mobile access? Do you need your server capacity to be highly scalable? Or are you looking for more seamless integration between your various software services? To know if the cloud is right for you, and to be able to tell if the cloud is working for you, you need to first have some goals in place.
In a lot of circumstances, the cloud can save you money. In some, it may be more secure. Like any other business decision, though, the choice of whether to move to the cloud starts with understanding where you are now and having a good idea where you want to go. This is important to point out because there’s a perception out there that everyone should flip the magical switch that moves everything to the cloud all at once, making it all cheaper and more efficient, and opening the way to all kinds of new developments over the horizon.
The bottom line is your move to the cloud should begin with a lot of planning. You need to know not just what milestones you hope to reach but what steps you’ll take to get there from where you are today. The CIO’s job is to help you work out this strategy and then to see that it gets successfully implemented. But someone also needs to make a point of focusing on the business side of the equation, asking questions like how will this change impact our organization day-to-day, how much down time should we anticipate, and how does this move position us with regard to future transitions and upgrades? Knowing what the cloud can and can’t do, and separating the real from the imagined risks, is a good first step.
If you have any questions about cloud services or are interested in obtaining a quote for cloud and hybrid cloud solutions, please contact QWERTY Concepts at 877-793-7891 or visit the cloud computing web page.
Consumer-class cloud services force IT to get aggressive with endpoint control or accept that sensitive data will be in the wind -- or take a new approach, such as reconsidering virtual desktops. Is VDI poised to bust out of niche status? For years, virtual desktops have been largely limited to spot deployments.
End-users don't like VDI for a variety of (quite legitimate) reasons, not least connectivity and customization limitations. For IT, it burns through CPU cycles, storage, and bandwidth. It takes effort to set up a logical set of images and roles and stick to them. OS and software licensing can be a nightmare. And so on. But now, cloud- and mobility-driven security concerns plus some key technology and cost-avoidance advances mean it's time to take a fresh look.
Public cloud services such as Dropbox, Google Drive, and Hightail pose a thorny problem: How can IT effectively control regulated and sensitive data when each device with an Internet connection is a possible point of compromise? Improvements in policy-driven firewalls and UTM appliances help, but BYOD initiatives make enforcing controls nearly impossible.
Meanwhile, advances in solid state storage and plummeting thin client prices equal lower deployment costs, especially in greenfield scenarios. Couple VDI with advances in network virtualization and virtual machine administration, particularly on VMware-based VDI deployments, and IT can achieve fine-grained control of network connections and desktop configurations.
Finally, new Linux-based VDI approaches and open-source hypervisors offer an ultra-low-cost option for organizations with the right skill sets and application needs.
Virtualized desktops are also an increasingly attractive alternative to terminal-based application delivery methods, including Microsoft RDS and Citrix XenApp. Decision points on whether to switch include the fact that VDI offers complete desktops with significantly better resource encapsulation and session isolation. While Windows and Linux session-based application-serving technologies can sandbox resources to an extent, their resource isolation is incomplete compared with what today's hypervisors provide. That's important because application servers are vulnerable to performance degradation in the face of high resource demand, whether by users or underlying OS configuration or maintenance issues. In comparison, virtual desktop infrastructures are much less vulnerable to resource strangleholds and configuration flaws. Yes, they require more effort and expertise to maintain and cost more up front -- though not as much as you might expect.
Prices plummet
Many a VDI feasibility study has been derailed by costs associated with the storage architecture required to provision and sustain a pool of virtual desktops. Storage bottlenecks have been the historical bane of VDI, with poorly specified, undersized, I/O-limited infrastructures largely responsible for poor performance and long wait times to redeploy desktop pools with configuration changes (cue the end-user hatefest).
Major advances in solid state storage go a long way toward mitigating both the cost and performance impact of storage on VDI deployments. Enterprise virtualized storage systems and software-defined storage architectures, such as DataCore SANsymphony and VMware Virtual SAN, incorporate SSD and spinning disk storage into high-performance tiered architectures that intelligently place often-accessed data on SSD and provide cache services to spinning disks. Ben Goodman, VMware's lead technical evangelist for end-user experience, goes as far as to assert that Virtual SAN can save 25% to 30% over a typical virtual desktop deployment via reduced storage costs, a number we consider feasible with the right setup.
Regardless of your SAN or storage architecture, today's mixed solid-state/spinning-disk volumes are about half as expensive as the same I/O characteristics in pure spinning disk configurations, and IT is taking notice. More than half of the respondents to our 2014 State of Enterprise Storage Survey say automatic tiering of storage is in either pilot (22%) or limited (18%) or widespread (14%) use in their organizations. Further, that same survey showed healthy growth in the use of SSDs in disk arrays, from 32% in 2013 to 40% in 2014, highlighting the growth as falling prices bring SSDs in reach of most shops.
Firstly, what does this term mean? The word “cloud” relates to the cloud computing representation used historically to illustrate the telephone network and more recently to represent the Internet in computer diagrams. So, it’s basically a metaphor for the Internet.
Overall, cloud computing is a rather an ambiguous term that takes in a number of technologies that all deliver computing as a service instead of a product.
Investopedia’s definition makes reference to ‘a cloud computing structure allowing access to information, provided an electronic device has access to the web’
If you have used Web e-mail systems such as Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail or Gmail, then you have used a form of cloud computing. Here the user logs into their web e-mail account remotely via a browser rather than running an e-mail program locally on their computer. The mail software and storage resides on the service provider’s computer cloud and does not exist on the user’s machine. This is a good example of cloud computing application as shared resources such as software and information are delivered as a utility via a network, usually the Internet. This, in turn, is analogous to electricity delivered as a metered service over the grid. Users machines can be computers or other devices such as smartphones, dumb terminals etc.
This brings up 2 major terms required to fully appreciate the world of “the cloud”, firstly utility computing which relates to the mechanics of delivering resources typically computation and storage are delivered as a metered service; again analogous to other utilities such as electricity. The second of these terms is autonomic computing which describes how systems are self-managing; the term self-healing has been applied but great care needs to be taken with that term!
Cloud based applications are accessed through a web browser or lightweight desktop/mobile app with the data and business software being held on servers at a remote location, usually a data center. Cloud application providers (ASPs = application Service Providers) aim to deliver the same or better service and performance versus applications running on end-user computers locally.
Cloud computing applications continue to be adopted quickly with uptake driven by the availability of high bandwidth capacity networks (importantly down to the end user/client level by high bandwidth broadband or other internet connections), low cost high availability disk storage, inexpensive computers plus large scale adoption of both visualization and IT architecture designed for the service model.
There are three basic models of cloud computing:
Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)
Platform as a service (PaaS)
Software as a service (SaaS)
IaaS is simplest and each higher model builds on features of the lower models.
Cloud Computing Provider Models.
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
The most basic cloud service model; cloud providers offer computers as either physical or virtual machines along with access to networks, storage, firewalls and load balancers. Under IaaS these are delivered on demand from large pools installed in data centres with local area networks and IP addresses being part of the offering. For wide area connectivity, the Internet or dedicated virtual private networks are configured and used.
Cloud users; here defined as those who wish to deploy the application rather than necessarily use it, install operating system images on the machines plus their application software to deploy their applications. Under IaaS, said cloud user is responsible for patching and maintaining the OS plus application software. IaaS services are usually billed on a utility basis, so cost reflects resources allocated and consumed.
Platform as a Service (PaaS)
Platform as a Service (PaaS) model, the cloud provider typically delivers a computing platform consisting of OS, database, and web server. This enables application developers to run their software solutions on this cloud platform without needing to buy or manage the underlying hardware and software, so eliminating cost and complexity. In some PaaS offerings, computing and storage resources automatically scale to match application demand eliminating complexity further as the cloud user does not have to allocate resources manually.
Software as a Service (SaaS)
Under the Software as a Service (SaaS) model cloud providers install and operate application software in their cloud with users accessing the software using cloud clients. A significant benefit is that maintenance and support are very much simplified as users do not manage the cloud infrastructure or the platform running the application and do not need to install or run the application on their own computers. Another major advantage of such a cloud application lies in its elasticity achieved by cloning tasks on to multiple virtual machines as demand requires it. Load balancers distribute this work over the virtual machines and the whole process is transparent to the user who sees simply a single access point. Cloud applications may be multi-tenant, so any machine serves more than one cloud user organization. This illustrates another major advantage of cloud computing as is it can quickly accommodate large numbers of new users or users can be quickly dropped as usage demands which again is reflected in the pay per user model. These types of cloud based application software are commonly referred to as desktop as a service, business process as a service, Test Environment as a Service or communication as a service.
The pricing model for SaaS applications is typically either a monthly or yearly flat fee per user. If you are looking for a cloud service provider, browse qwertycstaging.wpengine.com.
In today’s digital age, cloud computing is crucial for businesses of all sizes. While industry giants like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud dominate the market, many companies are exploring smaller cloud providers. While these large providers have advantages, opting for a smaller, more specialized cloud vendor offers several benefits, especially for businesses looking to prioritize security and customer service. Here’s why using a smaller cloud service provider could be the smarter choice for your business.
Reduced Risk of Large-Scale Cyberattacks
One of the primary benefits of choosing a smaller provider to is reduced exposure to large-scale cyberattacks. Major cloud providers, because of their size and visibility, often attract the attention of cybercriminals. These platforms are constantly in the crosshairs, meaning that businesses relying on them may inadvertently become targets of sophisticated, widespread attacks.
Smaller providers, on the other hand, present a smaller target. Their lower profile means they are less likely to attract attackers looking for mass disruption or breaches, and therefore businesses may reduce their vulnerability to large-scale cyberattacks, which can result in downtime, data loss, and significant reputational damage.
Improved Customer Service and Support
Another major advantage of using a smaller cloud computing provider is the quality of customer service and support. Large providers typically serve hundreds of thousands of customers, which can lead to impersonal or slow support. In contrast, smaller providers often offer more personalized, attentive service because they manage a smaller client base. With fewer customers to manage, these providers can offer quicker response times, more direct communication channels, and a deeper understanding of your business’s specific needs.
In many cases, smaller providers prioritize customer relationships, ensuring that businesses have access to dedicated support teams who are familiar with their operations. This personalized support, a hallmark of top cloud service providers, can make a significant difference in ensuring smooth cloud operations, particularly for businesses without large internal IT teams.
Flexibility & Customization
Smaller providers tend to offer more flexible and customizable solutions than their larger counterparts. Large providers often have set services and rigid infrastructure, making it difficult to adapt to unique business needs or specific industry requirements. Smaller providers, however, are often more willing to tailor their offerings to meet the specific needs of their clients.
Whether it’s offering custom storage solutions, scalability options, or more specific security protocols, smaller providers can offer a level of flexibility that large ones may not be able to match. This customization can be especially important for businesses in niche markets or those with highly specialized operational needs.
Competitive Pricing
Smaller cloud providers often provide more competitive pricing compared to larger ones. Major platforms tend to have complex pricing models, which can be difficult to navigate and may include hidden costs, especially as businesses scale. While larger providers offer a range of services, businesses often find themselves paying for features they don’t need or use.
In contrast, smaller providers typically offer simpler, more transparent pricing models, allowing businesses to better manage their budgets and avoid unexpected costs. Additionally, they may offer more tailored pricing plans based on specific business requirements, helping companies avoid paying for unused resources.
Stronger Relationships and Partnerships
When working with smaller vendors, businesses often develop stronger relationships with the provider. These partnerships go beyond just transactional exchanges—they evolve into more collaborative and strategic alliances. Smaller providers are invested in the success of their clients because their reputation and growth are closely tied to customer satisfaction.
As a result, smaller providers are often more proactive in helping businesses succeed, offering advice, insights, and services that are closely aligned with the company’s goals. This relationship can be valuable when navigating complex deployments with trusted providers, scaling resources, or addressing security concerns.
Enhanced Focus on Niche or Specialized Services
Some smaller service providers specialize in serving niche industries or specific sectors. Whether it’s healthcare, finance, or legal, these providers have deep expertise in the regulatory and compliance requirements of their chosen industries. This specialization allows them to offer highly relevant and compliant solutions tailored to the needs of businesses operating in those fields.
Larger cloud vendors often take a more general approach, which may not account for the specific nuances of certain industries. For businesses that need specialized solutions or face stringent regulatory requirements, smaller cloud service providers can offer expertise and services that larger providers may overlook or ignore entirely.
Localized Data Centers and Compliance
In an increasingly globalized world, data sovereignty and compliance with regional regulations have become critical considerations for many businesses. Smaller cloud service providers often operate localized data centers, ensuring that businesses meet legal and regulatory requirements specific to their country or region.
For example, European companies may prefer cloud service providers with data centers located within the European Union to ensure compliance with GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). Smaller providers can offer better assurances regarding where data is stored and how it is managed, making them a preferred option for businesses with specific regulatory obligations.
Conclusion
While large cloud computing providers offer robust infrastructure and a wide array of services, smaller cloud providers offer a unique set of advantages that shouldn’t be overlooked. From reduced security risks and personalized customer service to flexible solutions and competitive pricing, smaller cloud providers can deliver a more tailored and secure experience. For businesses looking to maximize the benefits of cloud computing while minimizing risk and enhancing customer support, a smaller provider may be the right choice.
In an era where cybersecurity and customer relationships are more important than ever, considering a smaller, and perhaps a local cloud computing service provider, could be a strategic move that leads to better outcomes for your business.
Providing professional IT services to businesses, including managed IT, cloud computing, unified communications, IT consulting, backup & disaster recovery, and internet marketing services - to help our customers operate without walls.
Providing professional IT services to businesses, including managed IT, cloud computing, unified communications, IT consulting, backup & disaster recovery, and internet marketing services - to help our customers operate without walls.
What we expected to be Windows 9 has been gradually revealed through leaks over the past several weeks, but Microsoft has thrown a curveball into the mix with Windows 10. The latest information, revealed during a public Microsoft Windows event, has gone into much detail concerning the nature of the newest incarnation of Windows, including its focus on enterprise and cloud-centric policy.
