Cloud-based desktops: Eight tips to consider

19 Dec 2011

There’s a lot for IT teams to think about when it comes to cloud desktop deployment. Here, in an excerpt from his IP EXPO 2011 presentation, Ron Grevink of Intercept IT offers his advice on key considerations.

Why would you move your desktops to the cloud?  If it’s for cost-reduction reasons, you may be disappointed. The real benefits are likely to be greater business agility, faster delivery, higher performance and better business continuity.

Many European CIOs are already aware of this fact and it seems to fit well with their current priorities: In a January 2011 survey conducted by IDG Research, for example, 71 percent said that agility tops their agendas, while less than half (44 percent) pointed to reducing IT infrastructure investments.

Either way, they have lots of questions when it comes to moving desktops to the cloud. What applications should be put in the cloud? Should they opt for a private or public cloud infrastructure? Will data be secure? Will desktops be available? What about disaster recovery? And what vendor should I hire?
With that in mind, we’ve put together eight tips for cloud desktop deployment.

1.    Visit the third-party data centre. Security of business data is of paramount importance, so take the time to inspect any prospective cloud vendor’s facilities. Ask them to show you their environment and question them closely on their security controls.

2.    Check how data is sent to the cloud. The security of a connection is often neglected. It needs to be checked thoroughly. Is the communication link a private circuit from your own premises, a secure site-to-site VPN (virtual private network], general access over the public Internet – or are all three options available. Is information in transit encrypted?

3.    Check how data and applications are segregated. A cloud provider will typically handle multiple users on the same servers, using a multi-tenant architecture. Ask how your data and applications will be protected when running with those of other cloud customers. Have each vendor demonstrate how they segregate each customer’s applications and data.

4.    Check compliancy with government regulations. Most businesses have to comply with laws on data protection; for example, customer data may need to reside only in its country of origin. Customers need to ensure that compliance is maintained once they’ve moved desktops to a cloud environment. So check how the provider will handle your data, in which country it will be stored and what kind of guarantee it can provide that your company’s data will stay in the same place.

5.    Check how you can get your data back again – if needed. This is not always easy, so find out what happens if your company decides to terminate its relationship with a cloud vendor – and ensure that this discussion is part of the contract negotiations.

6.    Check what you will REALLY pay. Customers can get misled on price. They sometimes assume that a cloud desktop strategy will necessarily be cheaper than an in-house desktop strategy. In order to have any idea whether that’s really the case, they need a really good cost estimate for running applications in the cloud, compared with running them from their own premises. Be sure to fully understand the provider’s pricing model: What are the costs of adding or reducing users, for example? Are there charges for transferring data over the network to the cloud?

7.    Talk to other customers. Ask the provider for customer references and engage them in conversation. This will give you the opportunity to compare what the vendor has told you with real-life customer experiences.

8.    Talk to Intercept IT. I did promise you eight tips, after all!

A video of Ron Grevink’s full presentation at IP EXPO 2011 is available here

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