It is incredible how connected our lives are today. Increasingly sophisticated wireless devices are becoming common every day tools leading us to expect to be connected wherever we are. At the same time data, information and applications related to these activities are no longer on a specific server, mainframe, network or PC. It is all out there in the cloud. But what is the cloud?
Forrester estimates that 66% of workers in the US and Western Europe now work remotely. The mobile workforce in the Middle East is also growing significantly. It is clear that being able to work remotely and increasingly via mobile platforms is something that has direct commercial value and gives a competitive edge for businesses.
We need that access to email, to the sales system, to the database, to the corporate intranet, to book our flight home, to secure the best price. We need that access in any place and at any time.
But this means the applications I use and the data I draw on to do my job should reside and does reside anywhere and everywhere – in that fuzzy edged, undefined cloud.
Like most employees of course, I don’t really care where the applications and data reside as long as I can access them and they are secure – whether I log-in from Starbucks at Dubai International Airport or McDonald’s at Heathrow or the hotel bar in Munich.
In this environment, remote workers and remote devices lead to remote data and remote applications, which place huge strain on IT resources. The IT department cannot be relaxed in their attitude to where and how vital applications and data are held and accessed. They are at the sharp end of the cloud.
And that sharp end is increasingly virtualised. The move towards a more mobile, connected work environment means the enterprise’s assets are less physical and more virtual and this shift requires a different approach in terms of IT management.
When people talk about businesses becoming virtual enterprises it’s generally because the way employees and businesses interact has a virtual feel. And so we find ourselves at an interesting point in the evolution of work and the technology that supports us. As has happened in the past, the change in how we want and need to work has raced ahead of technology components that make remote working possible. Workers’ attitudes and realities of business have outstripped the data centre and enterprise networks ability to deliver.
Cloud presents an approach to get around the sheer scale of the challenge.
So what is the cloud? For me cloud is a way of making data or IT resources available by enabling almost immediate access when it is requested through Internet technologies. So rather than having to purchase and install more software licenses when you increase headcount in a given department, cloud means you can utilise and access spare application licenses.
Increased flexibility, managed and predictable cost have seen demand and adoption of cloud-services grow significantly over the last 18 months. And it is easy to understand why. Why incur significant cost and endure complex and long implementations when you can call your services provider and ask them to make a specific application available to certain staff member and know that it will be done within hours?
Cloud takes away a lot of the pain and the problems of enabling the business at the speed required in a highly digitised economy.
However companies still need the right network to ensure connectivity, and not all operations can viably be transitioned to public, services-based cloud solutions. Security, regulation, internal policy and legal requirements can all influence whether third-party cloud-services are appropriate or feasible.
But if a public internet based cloud is not feasible, delivering a cloud solution with its management benefits is still possible by developing a private cloud.
Whichever type of cloud you select, you first need a virtualised IT infrastructure. Without virtualisation managing the sheer volume of data, server utilisation, variety of devices, network complexity and the number of points of failure makes such an aim unfeasible and unachievable.
But virtualisation itself is a process that is complex, and traditional approaches to network and data centre design can’t support virtualised systems.
A key enabling technology is Ethernet fabric – a new approach to network design that is revolutionising data centre architectures. Compared to classic hierarchical Ethernet networks, the Ethernet fabric delivers higher levels of performance, utilisation, availability and simplicity.
By enabling the virtual data centre and providing a platform for cloud migration, Ethernet fabrics ensure availability and simplified network management, which in turn increases end-user productivity while reducing operational costs. As far as the data centre is concerned, if virtualisation revolutionised computing, Ethernet fabrics are revolutionising networking.
Fabrics are perfect for delivering a virtualised infrastructure, so we can all enter the cloud and embrace the revolution. All of which means you can access that proposal from a colleagues PC, phone, laptop or the server direct. You will not know where you have accessed it from and you don’t care because you’re too busy working. And that’s the point. Welcome to the cloud!
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Ali Ahmar is Brocade’s Regional Sales Manager across Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan. Ahmar is based at Dubai and has overall sales and operations responsibility for the region. Prior to Brocade, he worked at MDS in Dubai, Al Jeraisy Group in Saudi Arabia and ACT in Lebanon. He has a degree in computer and communications engineering.
Brocade?s Ali Ahmar shares his personal insight into technology enablers of tomorrow?s work life
