The word Cloud is tossed around so liberally, the true character and definition of it has become woefully obscure. Here, we dispel some popular myths about what people "think" Cloud is and set the record straight!
Myth #1 - You can run it ALL from the Cloud!
Every application is architected differently and each has its own requirements including – network speed, front-end accessibility, system availability, back-end data reachability, secondary dependencies, data sensitivity, retention and sovereignty – collectively referred to as the application’s “Cloud Readiness”.
Thus based on architecture, requirements and other limiting factors the best platform for an application may be either Public Cloud, Private on-prem Cloud, Private Virtualization platform, traditional server hardware or all of the above! Myth...BUSTED!
Myth #2 - Cloud is NOT secure.
Cloud security is what you make it, with the potential to be an impregnable fortress or as easily defeated like a hot knife through butter. All reputable Cloud Providers rely on a shared responsibility model, meaning the Provider will handle all of the Physical and underlying infrastructure security with multi-layered controls. From state-of-the-art, CCTV monitored data centers that are PCI DSS, ISO and FedRAMP compliant, to dedicated and software defined firewalls, public key infrastructure (PKI), multi-layer encryption and intrusion-detection systems. It’s up to YOU to secure your environment and workloads, and Cloud offers you a plethora of services, controls, documentation and best practices for creating a virtual Fort Knox; but if you design your Defenses like Swiss Cheese, is that the Cloud’s fault? Myth...BUSTED!
Myth #3 - Cloud operation is ALWAYS cheaper.
The major benefits of the Cloud are its limitless capacity and on-demand elasticity. For workloads with dynamic resource usage characteristics, nothing beats the Cloud and you will see tremendous cost savings since you’ll only pay for what you use, rather than building out a mega-system that only occasionally runs hot (wasted compute and dollars) or worse, economizing on an undersized system, that cannot cut the mustard when it’s Showtime (lost business, revenue and customers). However, if your workloads have static and predictable usage patterns and need to run continually, you may only see minimal cost savings, if any at all. Myth...BUSTED!
Myth #4 - Cloud Is NOT for Production Use.
Ask Netflix, Hulu, Capital One, IBM, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and DropBox just to name a few. True that many organizations cautiously “dip their toes” into the Cloud pool by migrating Dev and Test workloads first. But once all the architecture and operational kinks are worked out and sufficient expertise and comfort levels are achieved, many quickly progress beyond the “experimentation phase” and begin leveraging cloud for mission-critical workloads. Many new-coming cash-strapped startups are "born in the cloud" running their entire IT Operations in the Cloud, so Myth...BUSTED!
Myth #5 - Cloud is a job killer.
As matter cannot be created or destroyed, but simply changed from one form to another, so it is with the job market. While jobs in some areas may be lost to Cloud, new ones are simply created elsewhere – in mobile app and website development, cloud solutions engineering, Cyber Security, Cyber Legal, digital communications, training and education, project / product management and continuous innovation on the ever-expanding lexicon of cloud services. Think of it more as job displacement or job transformation or just plain old job creation, but “job-killing”?? …that’s just mean! Myth...BUSTED!
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