What is the Cloud and What Can It Do for Your Business?

Cloud computing is a monster of a topic in and of itself, perhaps more so than most people might expect. Let’s define what cloud management is and take a closer look at what goes into properly managing your cloud-based resources.

What Does Cloud Management Really Mean?

“The cloud” can mean many things, some of which have different contexts depending on the company and industry it is a part of. The differences come from how they make use of resources and the capabilities their solution can offer, as well as what the solution is used for. Some of the more popular options include the public cloud, the private cloud, or a combination of the two called a hybrid cloud.

In terms of usage, many companies use the cloud for data storage and processing, application hosting and delivery, and improving accessibility of information in a way that would make on-premise solutions blush.

You can see how the cloud can make certain processes easier, but it also comes with its fair share of complications to consider. This is why managing your cloud-based resources is extremely important.

What Tools Can Help You Manage Your Cloud Resources?

No matter how you choose to implement the cloud, you can bet that there are resources out there and tools to use that can help you get the most out of your cloud solution. Depending on your needs, you might need differing levels of resource management tools, scalability, automation, compliance, performance monitoring, and so on.

These needs will generally require different technologies that adhere to best practices. Here are a couple of examples:

• For scalability, your cloud management tools should be compatible with new and improving technology, as well as different networking environments.
• For compliance, you must know who owns the various resources that your organization makes use of, as well as their roles in its management.
• For performance management, you should establish status review measures and automatic scaling according to your resource requirements. It is important that this be done proactively rather than after the fact.

Washington Works can assist you in putting your cloud resources to their optimal use.

If you need a hand with managing your cloud solutions, Washington Works can help. To learn more, reach out to us at 301-571-5040.