Cloud Data means your head is in the clouds.
It’s the only place for it to be if your cloud data management strategy is going to thrive there.
Your insight though, is another ball game.
I’ve never had 20/20 vision. And you probably never have either.
If cloud data management is on your radar, this is one of the few times when having your head in the clouds is a great thing!
Seeing through clouds does get a little foggy though:)
So your insight must trump your eyesight all day long.
And if your insight is ‘tight,’
You’re on par or even better than the King of the Jungle!
Did you know that lions can see six (6) times better than human beings?
I had no idea…
No wonder they can fetch their dinner in a New York minute!
Just make sure it is not you.
Apparently, their iris adapts so quickly to their environment, they can see where you and I are rendered blind.
But insight?
Us humans, we’ve got that on lock.
Well,
Some of us do.
5 Steps to Cloud Data Management
1. How does your Data Recovery Service Level Agreements (SLAs) stack up?
Reliability instills confidence. And if you know that your existing plan to recover data in the cloud or on demand is seamless should a disruptive event occur, then your insight just trumped your eyesight.
But if recovery from the cloud has an itch, then its time to scratch.
SLAs should not be tight.
Remove the lag in terms of recovery and establish new recovery strategies to overcome it.
Oh, and by the way,
If you haven’t tested your backup and recovery operations, do your fire drills. Make sure backup and recovery operations can stand up to an actual disruption before a disaster recovery need arises.
Going to the store to get the fire extinguisher is the wrong time when the house is on fire!
So here is the checklist for Data Recovery Service Level Agreement (SLA):
- What SLAs are needed for each workload?
- Are these SLAs achievable using current data recovery processes?
- When was the last time your data recovery strategy was tested and how did it perform?
- What would you change or update in the data recovery strategy?
2. Do you have a clear picture of Data Security and Governance?
So you should know that a data security breach is the wrecking ball of the 21st century. Data breaches and data loss have many IT professionals up at night. And a cloud data deployment has them in a tizzy.
But did you know that the biggest risks originate with poorly-designed applications and poor control around access to systems and information that are controlled by the organizations themselves?
An Interop ITX research report revealed that “Cloud providers like AWS hold their own feet to the fire. They subject themselves to far more stringent security audits and controls than most on-premise data centers.”
So while anxiety around cloud data deployment is fair, with 51% of enterprises biting their nails if they are considering a private or hybrid cloud, the reality is that the fattest elephant is sprawled out on the floor in their own house– their data center!
Your checklist that will reveal whether or not your Security and Data Governance policies are aligned…
- Is your Cloud Data Strategy committed to centralized security i.e. Authentication, Authorization and Encryption Key Management?
- What business policies and controls do you have in place to place to govern cloud usage to ensure that data is created, used and responsibly retired?
- Consistency is everything whether your cloud is public, private or hybrid. A consistent approach to meeting data governance standards with cloud operations is crucial.
- Does your team apply active governance to data creation based on content and context?
There is little worse than crying over spilled milk.
If only I had, blah, blah, blah.
Whatever.
No one will care except you, the headlines and people who will eat you for dinner.
Active governance based on content and context, is proactive; incorporate it into your process while data is being created.
3. Get Greater Data Management and Control
So, here is where insight really pays.
Many organizations love the cloud for scaling their workloads, so it is important to know that the cloud can contribute to inefficiencies rather than an agile workflow.
So, here is your checklist to vet your intended cloud data deployment:
- What is your visibility into all of your data? Effective management will depend on your view into data that is in the cloud and other locations. And can you confirm your firm’s compliance with regulatory requirements?
- Have you deployed a single index for all data? Indexing is an informant. It let’s you know what data you have, where it is, who owns it, and who has access to it?
- If you were to query all locations, would you be able to see both structured and unstructured data?
- What about a unified data management operation that supports efficient governance, compliance and discovery on demand?
4. Do you have clarity around the Cost Benefits of the Cloud?
Cost often trail scalability and performance as a Cloud computing benefit. But its cost will never escape the bean counters eyes.
Maximizing the spend demands a strategy; a strategic cloud data management approach will help to control costs.
Three (3) cost saving methodologies:
- Move data between tiers of cloud storage. The location and access patterns will enable you to optimize the spend.
- Is a cloud gateway really necessary? This is just one example of an unnecessary line item on your bill. Remove infrastructure needs and reduce the risk of data loss through deep cloud data management integration.
- Controlling your budget is essential. So a self-service mechanism to provision compute and storage resources in a public cloud will help.
5. Cloud Data Management Gives Freedom and Flexibility. Enjoy it.
It is revolutionary that Cloud data allows you to embrace new technologies easily without added cost. Therefore your cloud data management strategy must support your need for agility. And portability across multiple public clouds, private and on-premises infrastructure clouds securely is a critical component to that end.
So be sure to choose cloud data management solutions that are truly vendor-agnostic. Consequently, you will be able to move workloads as market and business conditions dictate.
What’s in it for you?
How does a good night sleep with zero interruptions sound?
You will be the envy of the town when you reach your recovery, security and governance goals even as you retain IT efficiency and control. But doing so, while you prevent costly failures and discover new value for the cloud as a competitive business tool is masterful.
It is insight that trumps eyesight.
