Benefits and Challenges of Deploying Platforms in the Cloud

The cloud has transformed how companies interact with customers. It also plays a critical role in business strategy and has the potential to revolutionize business processes. Even though cloud computing has been around for nearly as long as the Internet, it has only gained general application over the past few years. As the rise in data use has gone hand in hand with the transition into the digital 21st century, it has become more and more complicated for companies to maintain their vital information, systems, and programs up and running on in-house servers, thus the need for deploying platforms in the cloud arose.

Clouds are IT environments that extract, group, and share scalable resources on a network. They are created to activate cloud computing, which consists of executing workloads within the system. Yet, clouds and cloud computing are not technologies in themselves. Clouds are environments: sites where applications run. Cloud computing handles executing a specific workload in a cloud.

Deploying platforms in the cloud is a must-go-through phase toward the digital transformation. Learn the main benefits and challenges of cloud projects, and which resources and security factors you need to consider on our video blog Why Moving to the Cloud?

Cloud Services

• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). It offers cloud resources to users, such as computing, networks, and cloud storage, through a network connection. The rise of big data, mobile applications, and the Internet of Things (IoT) has increased the number of IaaS data storage providers, such as DropBox.
• Platform as a service (PaaS). It provides users with an application software platform, also to all the IT infrastructure needed to run it through a network connection.
• Software as a service (SaaS). It presents users with a fully functioning application, as well as the platform on which it runs and the IT infrastructure it needs, through a network connection. Usually, this is the way cloud applications are offered.

Benefits of Deploying Platforms in the Cloud

Cost Savings

It allows reducing CAPEX and OPEX. It is possible to replace expensive investments in infrastructure, software licenses, technical personnel, etc. for easy monthly payments.

For example, it is estimated that the migration of email to a solution in the cloud can bring savings of around 30% to a company. Also, the migration of the CRM system to the cloud can represent savings of up to 25%.

Even though companies may face errors that can increase costs, proper planning, and reliable advice from a third party, will keep costs low.

Business Model

A cloud solution allows payment for use, reducing the initial barrier of heavy investment, and achieving desired objectives later. The new model is much more aligned with companies’ cash flow.

Scalability

It can evolve from more straightforward solutions to more complex applications. Also, the auto-scaling capabilities embedded in Cloud solutions mean having the optimal capacity and performance at any moment, avoiding the oversizing to attend unusual peak demands.

Accessibility and Mobility

It allows access to services and information stored in Cloud applications from anywhere through the Internet, using any fixed or mobile device.

Updated Technology

The service provider handles updating and improving the systems, ensuring that the company accesses the latest technology without having to invest big efforts in Product Update/Upgrade planning, development, execution, and post-migration.

Focus on the Business

It allows the company to focus on the management of its business, reducing the effort and resources necessary to manage ICT systems.

Easy Access

Shared and real-time access to all information from anywhere and through any device with an Internet connection.

Easy Handling

The integration is done without intervention. System integration occurs almost automatically in the cloud, meaning that companies do not need to worry about solving complex technical interoperability problems. The integration of solutions in the cloud guarantees companies access to coherent and integrated information from any of the solutions and eliminates the need to perform data registration tasks in duplicate.

Automatic Updates

The latest software version is always available.

Customized

Cloud systems are customized according to customer requirements and needs.

Challenges of Deploying Platforms in the Cloud

Security

The data loss, confidentiality issues, and breaches in security are the most significant challenges. The implementation of a proper application will generate enough peace of mind for cloud migration.

Lack of Resources or Experience

There are difficulties in finding employees with the necessary skills. One solution is to hire an external service with experience in managing cloud services.

Governance

Some organizations lack visibility in the shadow IT, and governance becomes more complicated in the hybrid cloud and many cloud environments. Processes can be simplified with best practices, the application of policies, and the hiring of a managed service.

Compliance

When it comes to compliance management, it is key to have the skills to protect the information, solve problems, and provide adequate compliance reports.

Migration

Enabling a new application in the cloud is quite simple; moving an existing application to that environment has its peculiarities. Pre-tests are required to ensure a migration, which comes out correctly and on time. Establishing a project schedule or hiring an expert are also variables to consider.

Integration

Here the challenge is that services and applications in the public cloud could work in sync with their peers in the private cloud or on-premise systems.

Quality of Service

Having SLA (service level agreement) established is essential to guarantee server downtime, performance, and latency in the Internet connection; or the acquisition of systems, administration, and maintenance.

Thus, as businesses, technology, and the economy change vertiginously, the cloud is a way of keeping up with innovation. Despite the challenges, the benefits it brings, which helps to improve not only the technical infrastructure but business processes.

How Should MSOs Tackle The Challenges of Deploying Platforms in the Cloud?

The optimization of cloud expenses is one of the most challenging issues for cloud users. With several reasons involved, companies tend to spend much of their budget on unnecessary tasks connected through the cloud. To avoid this challenge, MSOs should seek assistance from technological solutions for cloud cost management and involve a cloud computing partner who is skilled and experienced in cloud solution management.

No doubt, migrating existing applications to the cloud could cast doubt on even the more skilled professionals, as it has its own set of hurdles, drawbacks, and challenges. In order to meet this challenge, companies should hire cloud service providers who are experts at migration projects to avoid issues such as security configuration, time consumption, budget overflow, unmatched requirements, downtime, etc.

One of the most common concerns is the security of processed information. Safeguarding this data is the obligation of both the cloud service provider and the end-user. Meeting rules proves to be strategically vital to make sure the correctness and security of information flow in the cloud. The design of compliance protocols in security frameworks and the implementation of a cloud management solution that complies with regulations is a must.

In the case of mission-critical solutions, execution serves a fundamental role in cloud-based applications as downtime directly affects the performance of the application. MSOs should have a solution that offers proper disaster recovery tools and provides failover mechanisms in case of downtime.

Symphonica: Leading Telco Cloud Platform

Symphonica is a powerful service orchestration and activation platform, convenient for communication operators that seek to streamline service implementation processes without investing in complex infrastructure projects that require a lot of time and budget.

Symphonica is cloud-based, ready to use, and has a series of preconfigured flows and connectors that facilitate an agile, secure deployment of services based on industry best practices.

Solution Description

The end-to-end management of complex network services is a great challenge. Internet accesses with unprecedented speeds, virtualization of networks, and customization of digital service offerings now demand automation capabilities and smarter orchestration of network resources.

To facilitate this evolution and simplify operations, Symphonica offers a scalable and flexible service orchestration and activation solution that eliminates the inconveniences of interacting with various sealed systems, tailor-made, and with complex maintenance and evolution.

Symphonica provides a service-oriented architecture that allows BSS/OSS systems and self-management applications to easily interact with the network infrastructure in an efficient, decoupled, secure, and auditable manner.

The platform implements TM Forum APIs to expose a single interface to northbound systems and thus abstracts from the complex integrations with the southbound network protocols.

Symphonica is built on proven technologies such as Web Services, Workflows based on BPM engines, integration through messaging queues, and highly efficient frameworks that follow industry guidelines such as TM Forum, MEF, and CableLabs.

The platform is hosted in high performance and scalable infrastructure, with load balancing and failover in all its components supported on Amazon AWS.

The main features of the solution are:

• Single and standard (API) Rest interface for integration with the operator’s BSS/OSS systems.
• Web portal for the management of the configurations and operation of the service.
• Web portal to assist the technical support of the customer service representative before customer calls.
• Mobile application to ease installation online by field technicians.
• Provisioning and monitoring flows of pre-configured and ready-to-use services designed and tested based on industry best practices.
• Prefabricated connectors for the integration with managers (NMS, ACS, AAA) of the leading vendors of GPON networks in the industry.
• Control panel with indicators, performance reports, and alarms for the monitoring of the platform and its services.

Deploying platforms in the cloud is a must-go-through phase toward the digital transformation. Learn the main benefits and challenges of cloud projects, and which resources and security factors you need to consider on our video blog Why Moving to the Cloud?