Intelligent Data Centres Issue 36 | Page 64

UNCOVERING THE LAYERS
risk and expenditure . While public clouds appear to tick all these boxes , scratch the surface and the reality is not so clear-cut .
Easy , CapEx-free , pay-per-usage scalability is one of public cloud ’ s most appealing benefits , but how much value does pay-as-you-go add for core application usage ? It ’ s a question that IT leaders are now asking as they consider whether it is more cost-effective to deploy apps that are the backbone of the business in a fixed price environment .
With unpredictability and frequent step changes now the norm , IT leaders know that it is highly likely that business critical applications will experience unforeseen and significant workload peaks . This in turn can result in unpredictable pay-peruse costs that will become hard to justify if these become a regular occurrence .
For this reason , deploying the enterprise ’ s ‘ workhorse ’ apps in a colocation facility that has direct access to public or private cloud environments makes a lot more sense . Delivering both high performance and predictable costs , together with the flexibility to expand or change deployments in the future .
Finally , while IT leaders want rapid scalability they are rightly cautious about
placing core business functions with a single public or private cloud provider .
The idea of being bound to a technical infrastructure over which they have no control over is proving worrisome , as is being unable to visit sites and having no personal contact to discuss scaling requirements . Colocation , however , addresses all these concerns .
Colocation – a powerful Digital Transformation alternative to a fully public and private cloud architecture
The flexibility of the cloud is key for delivering rapid change that is the baseline for staying competitive in today ’ s increasingly digitally powered business world .
From identifying trends , to swiftly scaling a remote workforce or enforcing compliance within a new supply chain , becoming a cloud-led business is increasingly mission critical .
However , it ’ s clear that IT leaders are recognising how colocation can play a starring role in enabling cloud-lead businesses at every level of Digital Transformation maturity . By introducing colocation as part of a hybrid or multicloud strategy , they ’ re able to improve the performance , agility and resiliency of their core business applications in a highly controlled and predictable manner .
Providing a risk averse option that offers fast data connectivity to public and private clouds and keeps spending under control , colocation also makes it possible to enable multi-cloud and hybrid cloud strategies in a way that constructively addresses concerns relating to data sovereignty , security and privacy regulations . ◊
IT ’ S CLEAR THAT IT LEADERS ARE RECOGNISING HOW COLOCATION CAN PLAY A STARRING ROLE IN ENABLING CLOUD- LEAD BUSINESSES AT EVERY LEVEL OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION MATURITY .
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