Cloud Computing is a big word, but what does it mean for our clients?

The basic idea is very simple. Take a few applications, run them from a central location in a data centre, and make them accessible to any number of people who pay for them as they are using them.  

These users can then take advantage of all the services the IT industry has to offer, and use these services to carry out a specific job without requiring their own infrastructure. This general portrayal makes this relationship sound both very simple and very useful. One must, however, differentiate as to when and under which criteria it can actually prove useful for each individual target group.

Well, what does this mean in detail?

The following example shows a situation in a customer context:

A company arrives at a point where it needs to renew its IT infrastructure. The existing server structure is most often affected, as well as parts of the network and hard disks or other storage media used, for example, to create backups. This situation requires investment in state-of-the-art technology to replace the existing hard and software components. The cost and effort for exchanging these components is usually relatively high, as the various systems must be shut down during the exchange process and the existing data, already several years old, must be ported from the outdated IT world into the new one.

This is the point when the following question arises: How can we use cloud computing to obtain advantages for the customer by migrating the old environment to a new infrastructure? 

The solution is virtualisation!

Virtualisation allows the portation of existing system landscapes consisting of servers and storage devices into a new system landscape. Moreover, in the context of this transfer it is also possible to entirely port the respective program systems from the so-called 'old environment/hardware' to the new one without interrupting operations. It is also called virtualisation because various operating systems or different data types from different systems can be collectively transferred onto one central unit. This is performed by specialists from Autowork Datacenter at the customer's site and allows the migration of all systems and infrastructure components during operation and without interrupting the client's staff in their work.

Having successfully converted to the virtual world, our clients can then convince themselves of the availability and the integrity of the data, as well as the resulting utility. Moreover, they will enjoy a test period to gain all necessary experience and carry out tests to learn how to safely handle this converted, virtualised environment. 

Following the trial period and the respective approval of content and technology, the customer environment is transferred from the local environment to a high-security data centre, in which operating space is exclusively reserved for the customer.  The transfer of the virtualised infrastructure from the company location to the data centre is carried out during normal running and working time, and will not lead to any interruptions to data and programme access. As soon as the transfer of all virtualised content has been concluded, the system environment must be restarted for a short while for the transition from the operation in a local infrastructure to that of a data centre. After that it will be available for business as usual.  The continuous operation of the existing PC workstations is guaranteed. New work places can optionally employ Ultra-Thin-Clients especially developed for cloud computing. They replace the PC workstation and are optimised to cater for the special data transfer from data centres to company infrastructures.  

A strategic advantage of these so-called Ultra-Thin-Clients is their low energy consumption and maintenance-free operation. In comparison with traditional work stations, which on average consume between 80 and 160 W of electricity, the Ultra-Thin-Client concept requires only 4 W.

The transition from a self-operated local infrastructure to cloud computing without infrastructure is then concluded and clients can start complete operation within the highly available environment of a data centre with their own applications and their own data.

It is important in this context to mention that the conversion of the virtual components from the local world into the data centre world takes place in a high securitymode setting. Common security deficiencies are automatically remedied in this way. This respective structure within the data centre always has highly available, mirrored hard disk structures, failsafe and redundant, duplicated servers and network infrastructures, as well as highly available further services for the internet and intranet. Moreover, customer-specific backups are generated where all client data is secured on tape. They can also be stored outside the data centre or handed over to the customer according to customer requirements.

What is the cost for such an operating situation? Many would say: "Well, that's only something for the Deutsche Bank or for other large companies." - No! This is no longer the case today thanks to virtualisation and the concentration of a performance system into a high performance system. Today we are able to offer this service range to small companies as well. The price for a PC workstation in a fully outsourced data centre environment today starts from 75.00 Euros per PC workstation. This includes all costs for operation, security and the provision of redundant systems.

If you are interested in taking a look at such a process yourself, come and visit us in our offices or we can arrange a meeting at your location, and we will explain everything and provide appropriate examples.