8 Cloud Myths Exposed and Debunked

We have been working in Cloud communications platforms for many years, specialising in delivering Private Cloud infrastructure, fully managed, purpose built, flexible, available and extremely high quality communications networks.

BUT..

Even when we demonstrate successes, we get asked very similar questions time and time again. So I felt it best to take the time to piece together an article that would allay any fears or misconceptions regarding Cloud.

 

Common misconceptions of Cloud that should be long forgotten..

 

Myth 1:

Cloud is just a way to reduce costs

This is a common challenge / view point that we encounter towards cloud. There is obviously some truth to this as removing the costs and maintenance contracts towards supporting and operating physical stuff can lower expenditure.

But, it misses some of the other key advantages that Cloud can deliver:

• Rapid deployment
• Flexibility
• OPEX budgeting – more visible costs
• Reliability
• Removal of ownership costs

 

Myth 2:

To adopt Cloud you have to do it all in Cloud

There are many, many, many variations of Cloud, from Private, On-Premise, Hosted, Virtualised, Hybrid, Public etc etc..

There really is a great deal of flexibility in deployment models that you should easily find one that best suits your needs and requirements. It is no longer an “all or nothing” proposition, and we frequently see customers using the cloud for certain aspects of their technology and not others.

A recent presentation at our Annual Convergence Summit discussed just some of the deployment models and how they are currently being used Feel free to review the video on BritannicTech.TV.

 

Myth 3:

You can’t customise the Cloud

As you can probably gather from the above myth, with the level of deployment methods available to you, this doesn’t hold much water.

Most Cloud solutions these days will feature many configuration options and parameters, giving you a great deal of flexibility anyway. What a good Cloud Managed Service Provider should be able to do however, is add services and develop the platform to fit your needs perfectly.

The key point to understand here is the difference between a Cloud deployment and consuming a standard hosted service. Managed Service Providers should work with you to migrate your solution to the Cloud and give you exactly what you want, with all the functionality and no compromise.

 

Myth 4:

The Cloud can’t deliver voice

If it wasn’t good enough for voice, everyone at Britannic Technologies would be out of a job. As it stands, we are all still here. Make of that what you will.

With the advent of technologies such as SIP, converged networks no longer suffer the challenges they once did in handling data and voice over the same infrastructure. Combine this with the ever increasing capacity of data cabling and the ultra-high-speed internet broadband connections and you shouldn’t suffer any challenges.

This can then be supported through resilient multi-carrier routing and redundant/passive/active servers for complete disaster recovery and business continuity. So, not only does the Cloud deliver voice, it is more resilient and reliable too.

 

Myth 5:

The Cloud isn’t secure

Media hype doesn’t equate to more risk. The Cloud, whether Public or Private, is being monitored and looked after constantly by professionals. For us, our Cloud is the most important thing to our business and we treat it as such.

Security first. That is the mantra that we abide by, and I am sure all other Cloud providers do too. In the majority of cases the hardware and software implemented to provide security in these custom built facilities will far out-perform the security in standard data facilities.

 

Myth 6:

The Cloud doesn’t provide adequate controls for our business

There are certainly some control issues in a Public Cloud environment, however in a Private Cloud you could end up with more functionality and flexibility than with a traditional, on-premise deployment. And with all the reporting and alerts that are available, right down to the device level, you can determine how much control you need, or want.

The Cloud makes it far easier to add or decrease capacity in no time at all, not to mention the simplicity in rolling out new features.

 

Myth 7:

The Cloud locks you in to a relationship with a vendor

Every technology purchase will come with some form of contractual agreement, but if you choose the right provider then this shouldn’t be such a problem. For some helpful advice on choosing the right Managed Service / Cloud Provider then you check out our recent(ish) blog posts on some key questions to ask.

If you choose the right deployment model, you will have the flexibility and control that you need, minimising the need to change.

 

Myth 8:

The Cloud is new and unproven

This is my personal favourite question to answer. The Cloud isn’t new. From an architectural perspective it has been around a while.

We have been delivering Cloud infrastructure for 6 years or more now (accurate as of Feb 2015), including Contact Centre environments and Unified Communications.

It isn’t new, and it certainly isn’t unproven as some pretty large organisations will testify.