Cloud computing has been around long enough for us to appreciate its contribution to business growth. While cloud computing is important, it’s not always easy to setup. For most businesses, there is always the problem of figuring out what cloud services suits their business. We can make our signup process painless and quick, but it isn’t so easy to implement cloud computing into your IT infrastructure.

If you’re struggling with how to setup your cloud infrastructure correctly, you should be aware that there are three areas you need to focus on when implementing. These three areas are who, what and how. A cloud management system that is able to address all of these three areas is a successful cloud system.

The Who (People)

Successful cloud management addresses its users. It is important to clearly define who the users are, because they may not all want the same thing. For instance, technical and business users are likely to have more intense needs than a marketing user. Therefore, a business or technical user will need a more complex cloud service.

It is also important to be aware of the level of empowerment that the cloud will deliver to the user. Your cloud management needs to be flexible enough to support how much control you want. For instance, will users be able to access additional resources such as hardware and applications?

The What (Process)

The next step is to define what processes need to be implemented. You need to clearly define the cloud service based on what you want. The challenge will be in reconciling the people (your target market or who) with the services you provide. Your services need to be delivered in a way that addresses a user’s needs without increasing the workload on your part.

The process also needs to conform to the same level of security, auditing and regulatory compliance of traditional IT. Lastly, it is important to define the cost of the services provided.

The How (Technology)

As much as the people and process are important, the technology to enable the process is just as vital. The cloud technology you decide to use for the process must cover everything from planning and capacity management to all the essential requirements in between.

You also need to make provisions to use certain process in the future. You may not be able to use a hybrid cloud from the start, for example. You can, however, plan to use one in the future.

The benefits of considering the people, process, and technology when implementing the cloud are twofold. Firstly, your business will be able to run efficiently for a very long time to come. Secondly, your business will have the capacity to build on this system should the need arise. This is important for any business as it provides you with options should the future present any cloud related problems.

Taking a holistic approach to implementing your cloud will reduce mistakes. You’ll save time and money you otherwise would have wasted correcting any of the mistakes made.

Are there any specific problems that you’ve encountered while implementing your cloud? Share with us what they were and how you dealt with them!