What private cloud implementation barriers should I plan for?
There are many factors to consider when building a private cloud, so planning is crucial. Policy changes and hardware choices are just some challenges that may arise.
Implementing a private cloud is not an easy process. Private clouds are complex environments, and they require careful planning.
If an organization is planning to build a private cloud, it may face some tough choices and considerations. Prior to a private cloud implementation, companies must take into account issues such as hardware resources and user policies.
Hardware and software choices
One of the first decisions companies must make when planning their private cloud implementation is which software, such as VMware vSphere or Microsoft Hyper-V, they will use to build the cloud.
Deciding on the software is often the easiest part of the process, however.
What tends to be more difficult with a private cloud implementation is provisioning enough hardware to support the necessary resources. Private cloud architects must determine which hardware can power the cloud and how much the cloud requires. Architects must also anticipate future hardware needs based on growth projections.
At the same time, companies planning a private cloud implementation must determine what hardware resource limits to put in place. One approach that many businesses take is to assign compute and storage quotas to individual users. These are often augmented by departmental quotas, which are set to prevent users within large departments from collectively consuming excessive hardware resources.
Policy concerns
If an organization is new to the cloud, it is important that users understand how they can and cannot use the private cloud. To that end, companies should establish written policies that outline the kinds of data workers can store in the cloud, which devices they can use to access it, whether they need to connect over a virtual private network and with whom they can share data stored in the cloud. Companies can establish and enforce these policies based on users' roles or departments.
If outside contractors have access to the cloud during special projects, they should have specific policies and permissions, as well. Policies must address concepts such as acceptable use, responsibility for data backups and whether user data might be exposed to the IT department.
