survivors guide to the cloud whitepaper

White Paper

Survivors’ Guide to the Cloud: Making Alternative Infrastructure Services

Work for the IT Department

Sponsored by

May 2013

OneStopClick Research

Cloud Services Group

OneStopClick ©2013 All Rights Reserved

http://www.onestopclick.com/

http://www.interoute.com/

2 Survivors’ Guide to the Cloud: Making Alternative Infrastructure Services Work for the IT Department

OneStopClick White Paper | Sponsored by Interoute © 2013

Table of Contents

Page

1. Introduction 3

2. What’s really driving the move to the cloud? 3

3. Dispelling some common myths 5

4. What’s holding businesses back? 6

5. Networked cloud services vs. physical data centres or colocation facilities 7

6. The network is computing - and computing is the network 8

7. Location, location, location 9

8. The case for Virtual Data Centres 10

9. Combining the benefits of public and private clouds 11

10. Repositioning the role of infrastructure manager 11

11. Selling cloud-based infrastructure services to the board 12

12. Myth-busting - Cloud-based IT infrastructure delivery: why common objections

don’t stack up 14

13. Sources and Resources 15

About the Sponsor, Interoute 16

About OneStopClick 18




1. Introduction

In almost every organisation, irrespective of its size and industry sector, IT infrastructure managers today

are grappling with the same challenges: how to transform IT efficiency; increase agility and flexibility; and

lower overheads in such a way that performance, availability, resilience, data security and compliance

remain under tight control. Yet, whatever consolidation and refresh initiatives they may be implementing

internally, their scope for transformation will continue to be limited as long as resources are kept within

the boundaries of the organisation.

It is in this context that some cloud-based services offer unprecedented scope for IT service

transformation - allowing infrastructure managers to think very differently about how they source and

provision not just a handful of specialist applications, but a good proportion (if not the entirety) of their

IT infrastructures.

The following white paper considers the growing potential of cloud-based IT infrastructure services, as

internal teams assess their potential for delivering the dynamic, efficient and robust environment now

demanded by the business.

It also addresses some of the common concerns associated with moving infrastructure services into the

cloud, and looks at how to ‘future-proof’ the role of the infrastructure manager as assets are moved out

of the organisation - showing that it is possible to let go and add value to the business.

2. What’s really driving the move to the

cloud?

Probably the biggest barrier to progress in businesses today is the inefficiency of its IT. Unless the

organisation is new to market, unencumbered by legacy systems and ways of working, the IT

infrastructure is likely to have grown up as a sprawling mass of disparate and incompatible systems.

The content they hold and process exists in silos – the technological equivalent of keeping money under

the mattress. This limits its value to the business. It also means that each application has its own

demands of hardware and support resources. To ensure adequate capacity and performance, systems

will have been over-specified to cater for peak demand and maximum loads. Most of the time however

there will be resources lying idle - resources that must be maintained and refreshed, at mounting cost to

the business. This is tantamount to pouring hard-won budget down the drain.

Infrastructure inefficiency also manifests itself whenever the organisation tries to do something new –

whether reorganising business units, rationalising office premises, acquiring companies, launching new

ventures, moving teams and individuals around, supporting flexible working, or rolling out new

applications. Complex knock-on implications soon create a backlog of projects. This prevents companies

from responding quickly to new opportunities or business threats, or from giving users the tools they

need to do their jobs well and maintain the organisation’s competitive advantage.

The Cloud Industry Forum, which in 2012 produced An introduction and guide to buying Cloud Services,

sums up the situation under the heading Why Cloud Services for IT delivery? It notes:




“When it comes down to basics, the Cloud is about resolving a fundamental paradox: IT systems are

amongst the most adaptable tools available to businesses, particularly in meeting fast changing business

requirements, but they are expensive to acquire and maintain, typically absorbing some 70-80 per cent of

any business’ annual IT budget. Meeting that cost becomes a major inhibitor to companies making rapid

changes to the way they do business. Yet we live in times when the ability to make rapid changes to

business plans and processes is becoming ever more vital.”

In the optimal scenario, enterprise-class cloud-based infrastructure provisioning should offer everything

on the infrastructure manager’s priority list:

Access to a highly agile, adaptive and responsive infrastructure that is in turn highly efficient and

cost-effective to run;

Support for unparalleled mobility and scalability;

Rapid speed to market with the latest applications and service innovations;

Optimal control over security and compliance; and

The ability to implement discrete utility-based charging by business unit or function…

…While at the same time elevating the position of the infrastructure manager to that of a hero

and strategy influencer within the organisation.

It is for this reason that growing numbers of organisations are prepared to make the leap now.

In 2012, Gartner predicted high growth in cloud infrastructure services between now and 2016 (Public

Cloud Services Forecast Q2 2012 – see chart). It

estimated that spending on IT outsourcing

services would reach $251.7 billion (£166 billion)

during 2012, with the fastest-growing segment

being cloud compute services - part of the cloud-

based infrastructure as a service (IaaS) segment.

(Source: Gartner Says Worldwide IT Outsourcing

Services Spending on Pace to Surpass $251 Billion

in 2012, August 2012.)

Analyst firm Canalys has highlighted the rise of

cloud computing for facilitating a more dynamic

and cost-efficient IT set-up.

According to Alex Smith, a senior analyst at the

company, “Cloud computing… will continue to

disrupt established patterns of IT purchasing

behaviour. The management of hardware and

software traditionally conducted in-house will

increasingly be transferred to third-party

providers, with resources charged for on an on-

demand, metered basis.

This transition is already well underway in many

public sector organisations, particularly in Europe

where government spending is being reshaped by




the ongoing economic challenges.” (Source: Data center infrastructure

market will be worth $152 billion by 2016, Canalys, July 2012.)

Analytics is another driver of data centre investment, Canalys has noted.

“Different organisations, with different interests…will require large data

warehouses and the ability to analyse vast quantities of information. The

need to routinely process exabytes of data will become common.” Canalys’s

comments followed its findings that data centre transformation was to be

one of the three key trends driving IT growth in 2012 - the others being the

consumerisation of IT and enterprise mobility.

Ovum, which tracks enterprise use of cloud services through its Cloud

Services Business Trends Survey, warns that enterprises should consider

how their peers are adopting cloud computing. Of the 200 CIOs and IT

managers who responded to the Ovum survey in the second quarter of

2012 (from across the UK, France, Germany and the US), 54% said their

enterprises were already using software-as-a-service (SaaS), 44%

infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) and 27% platform-as-a-service (PaaS).

Primarily organisations were looking for cost cutting, but increased business

agility and improved business processes were also common goals. The

majority of respondents expected cloud services to have an effect on their

sourcing strategies in three primary areas: altering IT operations and

processes; restructuring existing IT services contracts; and encouraging

them to consider using a service integrator.

3. Dispelling some common myths

For every company that is moving positively towards the cloud for

infrastructure delivery there will be another that continues to hang back.

To the teams responsible for implementing and maintaining internal IT

systems, and delivering the levels of service required by the business, the

prospect of letting go can be a daunting one. Change is unsettling and,

when the subject is the IT infrastructure that underpins the entire business,

it is understandable that its custodians will have reservations about

adopting new delivery models.

On one level, there are likely to be concerns about exposing the

organisation to new sources of vulnerability and risk as data is entrusted to

external servers and run across unknown networks. On another, there may

be fear about the impact the new strategy will have on the infrastructure

manager’s role, and on its perceived value to the business.

Ovum confirms that the biggest impediments to cloud deployment and use

continue to be concerns about data security and regulatory compliance. Yet

this is to suppose that all external services are equal, and that the way they

Primarily

organisations were

looking for cost

cutting, but increased

business agility and

improved business

processes were also

common goals.




are configured and managed is significantly different – and inferior – to the way that internal data

centres are run today.

Source: Ovum, StraightTalkIT, Q2 2012

Fears about where data is held, how resources may be shared with other companies, and how to

maintain performance levels from outside the organisation are irrational and emotional. They are also

unjustified now that highly sophisticated enterprise-grade IT infrastructure services are readily available

which address all of these points comprehensively, with robust controls.

The confusion arises because there is a lack of clarity about how existing infrastructure functions.

4. What’s holding businesses back?

The typical internal IT infrastructure is mired in complexity; costly and cumbersome to manage; and the

opposite of dynamic and agile. Any on-premise server that is not fully utilised represents a costly waste

of resources. Extrapolate that across the entire company, and the inefficiencies are likely to assume

staggering proportions.

It is in this context that an organisation’s interest in cloud-based systems and services will typically

originate. An overwhelming sense that sourcing IT this way will be cheaper and more cost-effective is

borne out time and again by analyst research and real customer case studies.




Yet there is often reticence to go all out and apply a remote delivery model

to the company’s underlying infrastructure. Instead, organisations may look

at data centre consolidation and internally shared services involving server

virtualisation as means of driving greater efficiency. But they remain nervous

about letting physical assets and data storage move outside of the company

firewall. A psychological need to see where the boxes sit and ‘touch’ the data

seems to stop infrastructure managers cementing the benefits of cloud

services.

And yet a company’s applications and IT systems and the network they run

across are inextricably linked. They are intrinsically co-dependent. For

maximum benefits then, infrastructure managers need to review the way

that ALL of these resources are run and managed. Utility-based computing is

100% viable today and it is only by reassessing every component part of the

IT service that teams can hope to achieve optimal efficiency, performance,

flexibility and resilience.

Where infrastructure managers feel restricted by custom-built legacy

infrastructures, those limitations will be even more keenly felt if they insist

on remaining tied by them. From a maintenance and support perspective,

and in the interests of progress and competitive responsiveness, individuality

isn’t a good thing. It may have served the business well to have grown its IT

estate organically and with a custom-build approach over time, but the

result now is that changing and updating it is slow, expensive and a barrier

to innovation.

In the interests of consolidating resources, and facilitating greater mobility

and general agility, it is important to consider where to put IT services if the

decision is to centralise them. Ideally, consolidated services should be sited

so that facilities are equidistant from the dispersed national or international

user base. Ultimately that means placing systems and data ‘in the network’.

5. Networked cloud services vs.

physical data centres or

colocation facilities

Where servers and switches are concentrated at the corporate HQ or in a

particular office branch, the company’s costs increase because of the

additional access costs required – and the need to replicate services for

disaster recovery purposes. At the same time, the dependence on a given

location will limit the organisation’s mobility and freedom to redirect

resources. The reason Salesforce.com as a business application has achieved

such mainstream popularity is because users can readily access the

capabilities and associated data from wherever they are. Traditional IT

delivery models don’t allow for this kind of corporate agility.

A psychological need

to see where the

boxes sit and ‘touch’

the data seems to

stop infrastructure

managers cementing

the benefits of cloud

services.

Ideally, consolidated

services should be

sited so that facilities

are equidistant from

the dispersed national

or international user

base. Ultimately that

means placing

systems and data ‘in

the network’.




Colocation facilities have their limitations too. This type of hosting allows an

organisation to retain ownership of its server equipment but, instead of

housing this on their own premises, they use rented rack space at a third-

party data centre or ‘colocation hosting’ facility. While this option may

appeal to organisations that are nervous about relinquishing control, it has

several limitations at an enterprise level, especially where ultimate cost

efficiency and agility are the main goals. Downsides include high upfront

costs; the continued burden and expense of owning and maintaining

equipment (and now in a separate location); difficulties budgeting for

varying bandwidth use; and a lack of flexibility over locations (for example if

the company moves and still wants ready, local access to its ICT equipment).

A more flexible and cost-efficient option is to create a ‘virtual’ data centre

which exists in and is controlled via the network.

6. The network is computing - and

computing is the network

If the prospect of distributing data centre resources across an external

network sounds new it should be remembered that any enterprise

operating a wide-area network and/or serving users from a consolidated

data centre has already entrusted IT services to this scenario.

Optimised corporate networks have existed for more than a decade, using

intelligent virtual circuits (most commonly MPLS-based) to provide an

enterprise-calibre managed network backbone over an IP network. MPLS

ensures that consistently high levels of performance are maintained and

that data is transported securely. It is routinely used in the most sensitive of

environments.

Where external traffic movement is managed by a network service provider

specialising in enterprise-grade MPLS services, infrastructure managers can

have complete confidence in their rights to their data and their control over

what happens to it. The alternative is to create workarounds to the WAN

when consolidating data centre activities, with great expense and

inefficiency.

Analyst firm IDC describes MPLS as the ‘lynchpin of enterprise WAN

connectivity’. It takes a virtualised approach to network traffic, ensuring

logical separation between content. It is inherently multi-tenanted which is

a good thing – making it efficient to use and manage, while keeping

everything where it should be and preventing distinct sets of traffic from

interrupting each other’s flow.

Its potential for facilitating robust and reliable ‘virtual’ IT delivery, then, is

considerable. Content separation makes it impossible for traffic from one

A more flexible and

cost-efficient option is

to create a ‘virtual’

data centre which

exists in and is

controlled via the

network.




customer domain to enter another’s, preventing data leakage and boosting

the case for shared cloud services. This in turn gives companies access to

greater scalability and superior cost efficiency.

7. Location, location, location

Resilient, optimised MPLS backbone networks, backed by comprehensive

service-level agreements (SLAs), offer significant scope for delivering secure,

reliable access to cloud-based infrastructure, platforms and applications to

enterprises.

Over the last 10 years, these robust external networks have multiplied in

capacity and access speeds, enabling companies to place as much of their IT

estate into the cloud as they would comfortably like to – without having to

take a gamble on truly ‘public’ platforms.

Enterprise-class MPLS backbone networks are the key to enterprise

infrastructure as a service (IaaS) provision and the concept of the highly

dynamic and cost-efficient ‘virtual data centre’.

Having controls over where data resides is crucial in an enterprise context,

both from a compliance perspective (for example if industry sector-specific

regulations dictate that sensitive customer data is not allowed off national

soil, and because of the potential impact on access speeds.

It is important, then, that IT departments are able to specify where data can

and can’t reside - and have complete control over it, because it remains

entirely their data - while at the same time are able to maximise locations

for access efficiency.

Even if data can be transmitted at the speed of light across fibre networks,

the download speeds between different locations will always vary due to

latency. When the cloud is built inside a fit-for-purpose network, on the

other hand, the ability to influence performance is vast because there is now

an opportunity to use the operator’s ‘fast lane’ for little or no cost. By

pairing dedicated networks with sophisticated network management

technologies such as MPLS, traffic to and from a cloud can be given

additional controls too – for example, enabling private cloud levels of

security but providing a level of convenience and economic efficiency

usually associated with the public cloud.

It is important, then,

that IT departments

are able to specify

where data can and

can’t reside - and

have complete control

over it, because it

remains entirely their

data




8. The case for Virtual Data Centres

In an Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) scenario, the cloud-based service

being provided will include virtual server space, network connections,

bandwidth, IP addresses and load balancers. Physically the pool of hardware

resource is pulled from a multitude of servers and networks usually

distributed across numerous data centres, all of which the cloud provider is

responsible for maintaining. The enterprise customer, on the other hand, is

given access to the virtualised components to build their own IT platforms.

Using a scalable, fully automated, enterprise-ready infrastructure-as-a-service

(IaaS) solution, organisations can look to establish a ‘Virtual Data

Centre’ (VDC) – an optimally distributed IT infrastructure based in the cloud,

which is highly cost-effective to run, and offers maximum flexibility.

A VDC provides on-demand computing, storage and applications - integrated

into the heart of a company’s IT infrastructure, but delivered via an external

network. It replaces the need to buy, manage and maintain physical IT

infrastructure, tapping into the managed service provider’s physical data

centres nationally and internationally (and the best ones have strict controls

over where data can and can’t go, where this is an issue for companies). To

ensure enterprise-class performance and consistent service levels, the diverse

data centres need to be inter-connected by high-speed fibre links, ensuring

access speeds.

When identifying a service provider there are a number of key criteria to

look out for to ensure an enterprise-class experience that delivers all of the

benefits of a virtualised, cloud-based infrastructure with minimal risk.

These include:

Security. This should be built into the fabric of the MPLS network.

Ownership. Look for a provider that owns and manages its own

facilities in all of the locations you require, so you can be sure you are

working directly with the underlying infrastructure provider. You don’t

want to have a situation where your provider’s provider is the cause

of your service issues.

Transparency and compliance. Make sure your provider is industry-

certified and clearly communicates where your data will be hosted -

down to the specific data centre. This will give you complete

confidence that data remains within the designated country, with

complete visibility and access control.

Integration options. Look for use of trusted, advanced networking

technologies so that there are no limitations to additional expansion

of your corporate IT infrastructure.

An open architecture. Check that the underlying architecture that

enables the VDC is based on open standards to ensure a continuous

‘best in class’ service well into the future.

Using a scalable,

fully automated,

enterprise-ready

infrastructure-as-a-

service (IaaS)

solution,

organisations can

look to establish a

‘Virtual Data

Centre’ (VDC) – an

optimally distributed

IT infrastructure

based in the cloud,

which is highly cost-

effective to run, and

offers maximum

flexibility.




9. Combining the benefits of

public and private clouds

An enterprise-grade Virtual Data Centre (VDC) will share most of the

characteristics and cost efficiencies of a public cloud, but with the vital

assurances of an MPLS/IP network - combining scalable elastic computing

with the most trusted network technology.

An optimal VDC should offer the virtual equivalent of building a real physical

data centre, allowing infrastructure managers to plan their servers, switching

and storage in the same way they would plan the real thing in the physical

world. This should give infrastructure managers the confidence they need to

make the transition to a cloud-based delivery model, and to do this quickly

and efficiently without a pronounced learning curve or cultural adjustment.

The big difference in the new scenario is that they pay only for what they

use, eliminating the upfront investment costs of the data centre. And

because the facilities exist in more than one place, high availability and

resilience are an inherent part of the solution – yet at the same time there is

no cost for the network between the data centres, or for data transfer to and

from storage systems.

With the right VDC proposition, the advantage of hosting a data centre in

the network compared to creating an isolated physical data centre attached

to the internet, or one with a handful of agreements with third-party

exchange providers, is that organisations can choose to harness ‘private’ or

‘public’ cloud infrastructures as appropriate – from the same secure and

flexible base.

10. Repositioning the role of

infrastructure manager

One of the main emotional reasons that internal teams are anxious about

moving IT infrastructure into the cloud is a fear that, in so doing, they will

somehow downgrade their role or even make themselves redundant. But

this isn’t a rational concern, especially given the alternative - which is to

continue allocating hard-won capital budget, and internal talent, to core

infrastructure maintenance instead of front-line innovation.

For all the media coverage devoted to corporate agility over the last decade,

a great many enterprises – indeed, especially larger enterprises – have

struggled to make much headway in achieving this. In an October 2012

Special Report, Corporate agility: Six ways to make volatility your friend,

consultancy firm Accenture notes that it has never been easy for large,

complex organisations to be nimble. Nearly half of the 674 executives

The big difference in

the new scenario is

that they pay only for

what they use,

eliminating the

upfront investment

costs of the data

centre.




Nearly half of the

674 executives

surveyed globally in

an Accenture study

reported little

confidence in their

companies’ ability to

mobilise quickly to

capitalise on market

shifts or to serve

new customers.

It is unlikely that this

situation will change

as long as an

organisation remains

engrained in old ways

of delivering and

managing IT.

surveyed globally in an Accenture study reported little confidence in their

companies’ ability to mobilise quickly to capitalise on market shifts or to

serve new customers. Half did not believe their culture adaptive enough to

respond positively to change, and 44% weren’t certain that their workforces

were prepared to adapt to and manage change through periods of

economic uncertainty.

In a study by the Economist Intelligence Unit (Organisational agility: how

business can survive and thrive in turbulent times), more than a quarter of

respondents felt their organisations were at a disadvantage because they

weren’t agile enough to anticipate fundamental marketplace shifts.

It is unlikely that this situation will change as long as an organisation

remains engrained in old ways of delivering and managing IT.

Indeed, where technologists have aligned themselves more closely with

delivering business solutions rather than technology, believing that this will

safeguard their future, this has created a new danger. By disassociating

themselves with the specifics of the way networks and cloud services

operate, they may be closing themselves off from new opportunities -

because they haven’t kept pace with the latest advances. In this sense, they

may be failing rather than responding to the business.

A final word of caution is to consider whether peers within competitor

organisations may be pursuing a different path and thereby gaining an

advantage. Even in government and across the public sector, and in other

sectors including known for their conservatism such as financial services,

cloud-based infrastructure services are rapidly taking centre stage as

organisations recognise the overwhelming arguments in favour of new

models - ie in enabling superior agility, mobility, productivity and cost-

efficiency.

11. Selling cloud-based

infrastructure services to the

board

By now the arguments for exploring and exploiting alternative IT delivery

models should be stacking up very strongly, based around hard cost savings

where savings typically start at 30% on new hardware provisioning, and a

whole series of strategic softer benefits which are directly aligned with top

business priorities.

Not only can infrastructure managers position cloud as an enabler for

almost all of the transformative change the business is demanding, they

should also be spelling out just what will happen to the organisation if it

continues to ‘wait for more proof’.




In an industry that moves as fast as this one does, time waits for no

company and every year lost to indecision could set the business back by

five years competitively. Where the future is unknown, an organisation’s best

strategy is to be prepared for anything. Being embroiled in a complex,

inefficient infrastructure that is slow to adapt and costly to manage is not

the way to achieve that.

Finally, there is plenty of evidence to support cloud-based IT provisioning in

the form of real case studies with measurable returns on investment. These

are widely available on the Internet. (See also the Sources & Resources

section on page 15)




12. Myth-busting Cloud-based IT infrastructure delivery: why common objections don’t stack up

The myth: The cloud offers some potential, but only for web hosting or specific applications.

The reality: Not true. In fact, to limit your vision in this way could create more of a problem than

these solutions solve. The real challenge for enterprises is about managing infrastructure. Moving

to hosted applications may simply shift the problem, and create a new set of relationships that now

need to be managed. Unless you tackle the infrastructure too, your strategy will remain

fragmented and inefficient, and you’ll have limited control over performance, security and data

handling.

The myth: The cloud is less secure than on-premise IT delivery.

The reality: If this is the case you should axe your provider. The reality of course will depend on

what security process and systems you currently have in place and the controls available from your

cloud-based infrastructure service provider. Security is predominantly down to people and process

rather than technology, and a successful provider will have more experience of looking after more

services than an internal IT department so will have tighter processes in place.

The myth: Regulatory requirements on data handling make the cloud unusable.

The reality: This depends on where the cloud is hosted. If you opt for a provider that lets you

select which data centre you use and in which country, and one that offers the right type of service,

you will have full control over where the data goes, what happens to it and who can get near it.

The myth: Once data is in the cloud, anyone can get at it from anywhere on any device.

The reality: This level of flexibility can be provided certainly, but with the right service provider this

will be strictly under your organisation’s control - through the use of access policies to determine

permissions by geography, device and even network type.

The myth: If we use the cloud it will open the floodgates for stealth IT.

The reality: Not if you govern it properly. Set firm parameters and rules as part of your strategy.

The myth: If everything’s on the network, what happens if the connection fails?

The reality: Networking is the simplest, most economic and proven way to securely scale

enterprises and is already responsible for a vast proportion of the way computing is run today, and

external controls are more robust and advanced than ever. When was the last time the Internet

stopped working? It is the corporate access to it that is the weakest link. If you have on-premise

computing and the connection to the network fails, your entire organisation is blind. If it’s in the

network, on the other hand, it’s likely that it will be still working.

The myth: If the CIO agrees to move our core infrastructure to an external service provider, my job

will be under threat.

The reality: On the contrary – this is your chance to add unprecedented value for

your organisation, by future-proofing its infrastructure and creating a platform for

rapid, flexible innovation. If, on the other hand, you don’t come up with a new plan

for dynamic, cost-efficient IT delivery, your job will almost certainly be under threat.




13. Sources & Resources

Managing data center growth: Consolidate, colocate or move to cloud?, TechTarget:

http://searchdatacenter.techtarget.com/tip/Managing-data-center-growth-Consolidate-colocate-or-move-to-cloud

Gartner Identifies the Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2013, October 2012:

http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2209615

Gartner Says Worldwide IT Outsourcing Services Spending on Pace to Surpass $251 Billion in 2012, August 2012:


Gartner Says Worldwide Cloud Services Market to Surpass $109 Billion in 2012, September 2012:


Gartner Public Cloud Services Forecast 2Q12 Update:

http://www.gartner.com/id=2064615

Gartner Outlines Five Cloud Computing Trends That Will Affect Cloud Strategy Through 2015, April 2012:


The Business Landscape of Cloud Computing, Gartner/Financial Times, May 2012:

http://www.ft.com/cms/5e231aca-a42b-11e1-a701-00144feabdc0.pdf

Data center infrastructure market will be worth $152 billion by 2016, Canalys, July 2012:

http://www.canalys.com/newsroom/data-center-infrastructure-market-will-be-worth-152-billion-2016

Heading for the Cloud - Why cloud services will be the foundation for business technology enablement & What enterprise

customers want from cloud computing, StraightTalkIT, Ovum, Q2, 2012:

http://ovum.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/STQ_IT_2Q12.pdf

Organisational agility: how business can survive and thrive in turbulent times, Economist Intelligence Unit:

http://www.eiu.com/site_info.asp?info_name=orgagility

Will the Enterprise App Store Change the Way We Purchase Technology Forever?, Interoute:

http://kc.interoute.com/sites/default/files/white-papers/Will%20the%20Enterprise%20App%20Store%20Change%20the%20Way%20We%

20Purchase%20Technology%20Forever.pdf

Organisations will focus on datacentre efficiency in 2013, says Ovum, Computer Weekly, November 2012:

http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240171905/Organisations-will-focus-on-datacentre-effieiciency-in-2013-says-Ovum

Corporate agility: Six ways to make volatility your friend, Accenture Special Report, October 2012:

http://www.accenture.com/us-en/outlook/Pages/outlook-journal-2012-corporate-agility-six-ways-to-make-volatility-your-friend.aspx

Predicting a Cloud Outlook for 2013, ESJ, July 2012:

http://esj.com/articles/2012/12/07/predicting-cloud-outlook-2013.aspx

An introduction and guide to buying cloud services, Cloud Industry Forum, 2012:

http://www.cloudindustryforum.org/downloads/whitepapers/CIF-Guide-to-buying-Cloud-Services.pdf

Virtual Data Centre and Security, an Interoute white paper:

http://www.interoute.com/sites/default/files/resources/node-attachments/Product/

interoute_virtual_data_centre_and_security_whitepa_71787.pdf

Case study: Cloud computing underpins UEFA business strategy, Computer Weekly, July 2012:

http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240159071/Cloud-computing-underpins-Uefa-business-strategy

Case study: Advantive cuts build and operational costs by 30% with Interoute Virtual Data Centre :

http://www.interoute.com/news/advantive-cuts-build-and-operational-costs-30-interoute-virtual-data-centre


http://searchdatacenter.techtarget.com/tip/Managing-data-center-growth-Consolidate-colocate-or-move-to-cloud




http://www.gartner.com/id=2064615


http://www.ft.com/cms/5e231aca-a42b-11e1-a701-00144feabdc0.pdf

http://www.canalys.com/newsroom/data-center-infrastructure-market-will-be-worth-152-billion-2016

http://ovum.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/STQ_IT_2Q12.pdf

http://www.eiu.com/site_info.asp?info_name=orgagility

http://kc.interoute.com/sites/default/files/white-papers/Will%20the%20Enterprise%20App%20Store%20Change%20the%20Way%20We%20Purchase%20Technology%20Forever.pdf

http://kc.interoute.com/sites/default/files/white-papers/Will%20the%20Enterprise%20App%20Store%20Change%20the%20Way%20We%20Purchase%20Technology%20Forever.pdf

http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240171905/Organisations-will-focus-on-datacentre-effieiciency-in-2013-says-Ovum

http://www.accenture.com/us-en/outlook/Pages/outlook-journal-2012-corporate-agility-six-ways-to-make-volatility-your-friend.aspx

http://esj.com/articles/2012/12/07/predicting-cloud-outlook-2013.aspx

http://www.cloudindustryforum.org/downloads/whitepapers/CIF-Guide-to-buying-Cloud-Services.pdf

http://www.interoute.com/sites/default/files/resources/node-attachments/Product/interoute_virtual_data_centre_and_security_whitepa_71787.pdf

http://www.interoute.com/sites/default/files/resources/node-attachments/Product/interoute_virtual_data_centre_and_security_whitepa_71787.pdf

http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240159071/Cloud-computing-underpins-Uefa-business-strategy

http://www.interoute.com/news/advantive-cuts-build-and-operational-costs-30-interoute-virtual-data-centre



About Interoute

Interoute Communications Ltd is the owner operator of Europe’s largest cloud services platform, which

encompasses over 60,000km of lit fibre, 10 hosting data centres and 31 collocation centres, with

connections to 140 additional third-party data centres across Europe.

Our full-service Unified ICT platform serves international enterprises as well as every major European

telecommunications incumbent and the major operators of North America, East and South Asia,

governments and universities. These organisations find Interoute the ideal partner for computing,

connectivity and communications and developing new services.

Interoute’s Unified ICT strategy has proved

attractive to enterprises looking for a

scalable, secure and unconstrained platform

on which they can build their voice, video,

computing and data services. It also appeals

to service providers requiring high-capacity

international data transit and infrastructure.

With established operations throughout

mainland Europe, North America and Dubai,

Interoute also owns and operates dense city

networks throughout Europe’s major

business centres.

About Interoute’s Virtual Data Centre (VDC)

Interoute’s Virtual Data Centre (VDC) is a highly scalable, fully automated Infrastructure-as-a-Service

(IaaS) solution. It provides on-demand computing, storage and applications integrated into the heart of

an organisation’s IT infrastructure.

Interoute VDC is the first cloud computing solution that can be deployed with the simplicity and

convenience of the public cloud, combined with the security and confidence that a private cloud brings.

The ability to offer fully automated public and private cloud on the same platform makes VDC unique.

Interoute Virtual Data Centre combines computing virtualisation in the cloud with network virtualisation

on the ground. It delivers a virtual IT infrastructure as a fully automated online service and connects

across Europe using Interoute’s virtualised MPLS fibre-optic network.

With VDC, infrastructure managers don’t have to spend time and effort installing and managing firewalls

between Virtual Data Centres, because all data traffic is inherently secure as it moves between them. This

advanced technology gives organisations the choice between having VDC delivered as a private cloud

service via their corporate VPN, or as a cloud service via the public Internet - or both.


http://www.interoute.com/sites/default/files/itrnetwork_marketing_13-6-12.pdf



The individual Interoute VDC data centres are not isolated but are built into Interoute’s vast pan-

European network. This means we don’t charge our customers for any data transfers in and out of their

VDCs or between VDC zones.

Interoute VDC is the virtual equivalent of a real physical data centre, offering companies the same

control and resource as they would have in their own data centre - but without the cost of equipment,

power, colocation, network and manpower.

Within your Interoute Virtual Data Centre you can choose to build your server, switching and storing in

exactly the same way as you would in the physical world. You can specify RAM, CPU and storage to

create any desired configuration, and as often as needed. This allows infrastructure managers to add new

applications, services and customers in line with internal demand.

Interoute VDC has all the benefits expected from a cloud - computing infrastructure, elasticity, pay-as-

you-go pricing and real-time deployment. But Interoute VDC is not simply a cloud of virtual servers. It is

a completely new approach to designing and operating a secure computing solution, which offers

organisations an actual data centre they can control at a click on Europe’s largest cloud computing

platform.

Interoute Virtual Data Centre is a truly unique cloud computing platform – the first without

compromises.

To take a free trial of the Interoute VDC visit cloudstore.interoute.com

For more information

Visit us www.interoute.com

https://twitter.com/interoute

http://www.linkedin.com/company/interoute


https://twitter.com/interoute

http://www.linkedin.com/company/interoute

https://cloudstore.interoute.com



About OneStopClick

OneStopClick is an independent publisher of news, articles, white papers and technology-related

research helping IT professionals and business executives achieve better business outcomes.

For more information

Visit us www.onestopclick.com

Call us +44 (0)844 243 5670
