Welcome to this week’s edition of CloudBolt’s Weekly CloudNews!
Earlier this week on our blog, we looked at the four things organizations should seek in a cloud orchestration platform and highlighted some can’t-miss hybrid cloud sessions at next week’s Microsoft Ignite conference in Orlando.
Speaking of Ignite, if you’re headed out to the show next week, we’d love to see you. Sign up for some time to chat with us about your hybrid cloud management and orchestration needs here.
With that, onto this week’s news:
NetApp Introduces Keystone: Simplifying Storage For Hybrid, Multi-Cloud World
Joseph Kovar, CRN, Oct., 29 2019
“NetApp Tuesday introduced NetApp Keystone, which the company said simplifies the acquisition of data storage and management technology whether for on-premises data centers or in the cloud.
NetApp Keystone, unveiled on the opening day of this week’s NetApp Insight 2019 conference, allows customers to purchase their on-premises and cloud-based storage capabilities without worrying about future requirements by allowing data to be migrated as needed across on-premises, private clouds or public clouds, and either purchased outright or on a consumption model, NetApp said.”
CRV leads $40M round into cloud networking and security startup Aviatrix
Maria Deutscher, Silicon Angle, Oct. 28, 2019
“Cloud management startup Aviatrix Systems Inc. today announced that it has raised a $40 million funding round led by Charles River Ventures to launch a new growth push.
Five-year-old Aviatrix will use the capital to add staff across its sales, product development, customer support and other core teams. The investment comes about two months after the startup moved into a bigger office in Santa Clara, California, to accommodate planned workforce expansions.
Aviatrix provides a suite of networking and security services for enterprise cloud environments. The toolkit works across all the major infrastructure-as-a-service-service platforms, which allows companies that use multiple clouds to centralize management operations in one interface instead of handling the administration of each deployment separately.”
Rackspace security alliance with Armor aims for hybrid cloud
Spencer Smith and John Moore, SearchITChannel, Oct. 25 2019
“A new Rackspace security deal with Armor aims to attract mid-market and low-end enterprise customers looking to shore up their hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
The San Antonio-based managed cloud services company plans to integrate Armor’s technology into its portfolio of security services. Armor, a security-as-a-service provider, will contribute its Armor Anywhere platform, which includes intrusion detection, vulnerability scanning, patch monitoring, log management and threat hunting among other tools and capabilities. The integration of Armor into Rackspace security services will be available for customers across major private and public cloud platforms in 2020, according to Rackspace.”
SEE HOW CLOUDBOLT CAN CHANGE YOUR HYBRID CLOUD ENVIRONMENT. REQUEST A DEMO TODAY!
Business units, both big and small, want to get on the cloud. After all, the cloud does help reduce operating and capital costs. At the same time, the cloud has made IT more complex. This is because of the amount of data and processes spread across multiple systems. Manageability and coherence of all these interconnections and interactions can turn into a nightmare for the IT department. This is where a cloud orchestration platform comes in.
What is a cloud orchestration platform?
A cloud orchestration platform provides a single interface to manage multi-cloud deployments. This includes transferring assets to the cloud, monitoring apps, storing data, and managing compliance and security. Cloud orchestration technology works with heterogeneous systems deployed in different geographical locations with different providers.
Should your business invest in a cloud orchestration platform? The answer is yes. Here are some of the fundamental functions and features to look out for.
Integration with Automation
The ability to integrate with intelligent automation is key to a successful orchestration platform. You get a highly functional and more robust solution that can carry out workflows effectively. It’s impossible to set up workflows without this marriage between orchestration and automation. You can go with a stand-alone product and integrate it with existing automation tools. Or, you can opt for a comprehensive solution with intelligent automation built in. The latter is the better choice.
Good User Experience
The whole point of cloud orchestration software is to simplify the cloud. You want to deploy services fast and efficiently. For this to happen, the orchestration solution should be user-friendly. You shouldn’t have to spend too much time creating workflows. After all, you invested in the platform to avoid this. Also, rolling out the tool to the entire organization should be a seamless process. If it requires specialized knowledge or extensive training, then you might want to look elsewhere.
Reusable Components for Workflows
For workflows to be effective, they must be flexible, robust, and scalable. Creating workflows from scratch is usually a tedious process. So, it’s best if you can reuse workflow components down the road. This makes it easier to create new workflows.
Reporting Functionality
Reporting is critical to the success of your enterprise. Reporting allows you to pinpoint inefficiencies in your operations. For example, it allows you to identify problems and underperforming users. Reports also enable those not in IT to see the work done and its overall value. Make sure the reports are flexible enough for consumption by a wide variety of audiences.
Conclusions on Cloud Orchestration Platform Selection
You can get off-the-shelf cloud orchestration software from a wide variety of vendors. Alternatively, DevOps teams can implement a custom cloud orchestration solution through automation and management tools. Whatever the case, these tips will help with the evaluation process.
An enterprise-class cloud orchestration platform can change everything. See how CloudBolt can help. Request a demo today!
Welcome to this week’s edition of CloudBolt’s Weekly CloudNews!
Earlier this week on our blog, we looked at the capabilities required for cloud management suites and setting up your organization for cloud success.
If you missed it, CloudBolt launched CloudBolt 9.0––Cumulus last week. You can find all the details on the release and watch a replay of our launch webinar here.
Lastly, CloudBolt will be at Microsoft Ignite in Orlando from Nov. 4-8. If you’re looking to get your hybrid cloud questions answered, sign up for some time to chat with us at the show. We’d love to see you!
With that, onto this week’s news:
Extreme Networks Unveils ExtremeCloud IQ Cloud Management Application
Deborah Schalm, DevOps.com, Oct. 22, 2019
“Extreme Networks, Inc, a cloud-driven networking company, today announced availability of ExtremeCloud™ IQ, the industry’s first end-to-end cloud management application that leverages machine learning and artificial intelligence to provide enterprises with insights, as well as complete visibility, control, and automation of their entire network. With this announcement, Extreme is also introducing “Co-Pilot,” a new automation feature that will help IT administrators save time and effort on an increasing number of everyday tasks. The ExtremeCloud IQ application can be deployed in the public cloud, private cloud, or on-premises, providing enterprises with unmatched flexibility to accomplish their business objectives.”
Seven digital transformation trends for 2020
Ben Moore, Channel Life, Oct. 22 2019
“MuleSoft has released the report ‘Top 7 Digital Transformation Trends Shaping 2020’ which outlines the most timely digital transformation trends for 2020 and explores their impact across industries.
The top trends, according to Mulesoft are:
- Connecting the consumer experience.
- Data-driven business.
- Artificial intelligence and machine learning.
- Multi-cloud computing.
- Partnering with IT to turbocharge the business.
- Co-creating value with external stakeholders.
- Co-creating value with external stakeholders.”
Ubuntu 19.10 released with Kubernetes at the edge and multi-cloud infrastructure
Christina Cardoza, ITOps Times, Oct. 18, 2019
“The latest version of the open-source Linux distribution Ubuntu is now available. Version 19.10 comes with a strong focus on Kubernetes and the edge.
Canonical has added strict confinement to MicroK8s — is zero-ops Kubernetes solution. According to the company, this will provide enhanced edge computing capabilities and ensure isolation and secure Kubernetes environments. Users can extend MicroK8 with Istio, Knative, CoreDNS, Prometheus and Jaeger.”
See how CloudBolt can help you get the most out of your cloud. Request a demo today!
Welcome to this week’s edition of CloudBolt’s Weekly CloudNews!
Earlier this week on our blog, we explored Cloud Solutions in the Multi-Cloud Era. We also officially announced the launch of CloudBolt 9.0—Cumulus.
With that, onto this week’s news:
Recent AWS Billing Error Points to Need for Partner-Led Cloud Management
Kelly Teal, Channel Futures, Oct. 15, 2019
“Telecom expense management has been a familiar part of the indirect channel landscape for at least a dozen years. But the need for its more evolved counterpart, cloud management, provisioned through partners, is becoming more apparent.
In late September, word quickly spread that Amazon Web Services had overbilled a number of customers throughout the world. It was an accident, and one that AWS caught and corrected right away. Nonetheless, the incident made clear that channel partners can, and should, play a larger role in their enterprise clients’ cloud management efforts.
And therein lies the real opportunity for channel partners. While there is legitimate reason to track and monitor cloud expenses for organizations, there is even more call to ensure they use what they buy, and control consumption.”
Nutanix Outlines Cloud Footprint Expansion As Talk Of Acquisition Rears Head
Antony Savvas, Data Economy, Oct. 11, 2019
“Nutanix is planning to increase its data centre footprint further to support the increased number of data storage, disaster recovery and cloud orchestration and management services it is planning in the near- to medium-term.
The company now generates the majority of its sales from software and services, which is a far cry from when it gained quick traction for its hyperconverged infrastucture (HCI) appliances a few years ago.
At the firm’s annual .NEXT EMEA customer and partner event in Copenhagen this week, Nutanix CEO Dheeraj Pandey (pictured) told Data Economy: “We will expand our cloud reach as the compute has to come to the customer data now being generated in the cloud and at the edge.”
He said this would involve widening the company’s partnerships with data centre operators and public cloud providers to increase the number of the firm’s cloud regions, to make sure services more easily comply with data laws such as GDPR and data sovereignty demands from both enterprises and governments.”
CenturyLink Adds Google to Cloud Destinations
Edward Gately, Channel Partners Online, Oct 15, 2019
“CenturyLink has expanded its Cloud Connect Dynamic Connections service to Google Cloud Platform.
The move provides a new option for connecting business premises and public data centers to cloud environments. It allows self-serve, real-time, dedicated network connectivity across thousands of endpoints in North America, Asia Pacific and Europe through CenturyLink’s global fiber network.
Chris McReynolds, CenturyLink‘s vice president of core network services, tells Channel Partners the top three public cloud providers are Google, Microsoft and Amazon, and adding Google to his company’s cloud destinations for Dynamic Connections is “key to supporting the customers’ need to move and stand up workloads when they want and where they want.”
Just as movie rental stores gave way to streaming services that deliver instant Friday night entertainment in a click, the “anything-as-a-service” (XaaS) model has fundamentally changed how enterprises access and provision technology. Across the IT infrastructure, what were once physical pieces of hardware have slowly but surely become virtualized services, services the enterprise subscribes to and then delivers to users on-demand.
Taking a XaaS approach solves two problems at once. From an enterprise IT perspective, it can simplify deployments and remove layers of on-premises infrastructure that need to be constantly managed and patched. From the user side, especially for DevOps teams that have ongoing and time-constrained needs, XaaS means they can get the resources they need when they need them.
By solving both these problems in a cost-efficient, controllable manner, XaaS is the future of IT infrastructure management. Automation and self-service are the key to making that future a reality.
The struggle for IT teams is real
IT teams face some very real challenges. Not only are they charged with deploying and maintaining applications across the enterprise, but they are also responsible for maintaining and securing both these applications and the networks they run on. At the same time, IT plays an essential role as a partner to DevOps teams, teams that are themselves under immense pressure to develop, test and get product out the door fast.
Delivering the VMs and other cloud-based resources DevOps teams need has its own inherent challenges and risks. Outdated processes can mean that provisioning takes an agonizingly long time, and this time lag can drive DevOps to develop their own shadow IT workarounds. What’s worse, when these processes are manual, non-standardized or dependent on tribal knowledge, they can be error-prone and generate avoidable security vulnerabilities.
Enabling resource delivery through automation
An XaaS approach addresses these challenges for both IT and the teams they support. From an IT perspective, this begins with the standardization and automation of provisioning processes. The key here is blueprints. Blueprints are templates that enable the standardized, compliant, and repeatable delivery of resources to business users. Through blueprints, IT can execute actions – or executable scripts – to safely automate and orchestrate complex processes and streamline resource lifecycle management. And since blueprints contain set rules and builds sanctioned by IT, they’ll always be able to accurately and securely deliver the right resources.
Additionally, administrators can use blueprints to define conditional logic that periodically executes and applies remediation steps. In this way, automated rules can be implemented to take corrective actions if there are issues in a particular environment, for example, shutting down unused resources that drain costs.
In other words, not only do blueprints automate provisioning resources, they remove the manual pain of managing and patching the layers and layers of on-premises infrastructure.
Enabling access through a service catalog
Standardizing and automating resource delivery is just one side of the XaaS equation. The other side focuses on providing DevOps teams easy access to provisioned resources. In the XaaS approach, this happens through a self-service catalog.
The trick here is to make accessing resources as easy as ordering a book off Amazon. Users shouldn’t need to know anything about the idiosyncrasies of configuring this or that cloud. They should simply be able to access the catalog and get what they want. Frankly, providing this sort of easy access to resources is the surest way to discourage users from going rogue.
Self-service doesn’t mean that IT relinquishes control over resource allocation or control. In fact, it’s just the opposite. By using blueprints to provision the resources available through the self-service catalog, IT ensures that the provisioned resources actually come with the necessary guardrails built in. That is, the combination of automation and self-service allows IT to accurately and securely deliver the right resources, while maintaining proper governance and cost controls.
The Anything-as-a-Service Imperative
The idea behind XaaS is that anything in the IT stack can be turned into and delivered as a service. For IT, this is a no-brainer, because the approach makes it possible to deliver technology more rapidly while decreasing overhead and mitigating risk. For DevOps, XaaS gives them exactly what they want: instantaneous access to the resources agile teams need to get products out the door.
Automation and self-service are the two key components of standing up an XaaS model. Automation reduces the inefficiency of manual processes while providing total control over resource allocation. Self-service streamlines access to resources, keeping users happy and supporting the demands of continuous innovation.
So, what’s stopping your team from making XaaS a reality in your organization?
Learn how CloudBolt can help transform your organization’s self-service IT journey.
The movement to the cloud has been the most significant megatrend in the IT world for years now. Its allure comes from promises of simplified management and infrastructure and, hopefully, reduced costs.
Despite this promise, cloud spending has only increased. Research firm IDC expects spending on public cloud services to more than double worldwide from 2019 to 2023. Without strong cloud cost management in place, those hopes of lower costs can drift away.
What organizations don’t often account for is the sprawl that can occur when resources aren’t properly purchased or provisioned. Without proper processes, consumers of IT resources can run up a big bill if spending goes unchecked.
A cloud strategy without cloud cost management best practices is doomed to fail and won’t provide the business value expected from a migration.
How Cloud Computing Costs Can Spiral
Moving compute and storage resources to the cloud can seem great at first. Teams can more readily access the resources they need without having to manage on-premises infrastructure.
But things start to get tricky pretty quickly. Cloud providers will often try to sell organizations add-ons to their deployments, upping the overall cost at the end of the day. And many organizations are utilizing multi-cloud environments where resources are coming from several public cloud providers. This doesn’t even account for private cloud/on-premises resources.
There’s also the matter of shifting priorities or needs for an organization. When business priorities change, cloud priorities can change as well. This can sometimes lead to resources that keep running while not being utilized. Without a cloud cost management framework in place, your organization will be on the hook for paying for them.
Organizations may also not be aware of potential discounts or offers from cloud providers that could significantly cut down on the overall resource cost within a cloud cost management framework.
Getting the Most out of Cloud Cost Management
The best way to avoid the pains of these high costs is to utilize a centralized platform to implement all of your cloud management strategies in one place. That includes setting quotas, ensuring workloads are run at lowest cost sites, or decommissioning workloads during off-peak times. This way, efforts aren’t duplicated and stakeholders have one place to go for those resources. Bulk ordering can be set up so resources across common groups of users and teams are easy to acquire with costs staying in check.
Having one central location for these resources can also significantly aid in utilizing cloud cost management tools because it can be centrally-managed by IT to ensure users get the resources they need when they need it, and those resources can be turned off or diverted when they don’t.
It’s also critical to account for economies of scale when it comes to cloud cost management. Things can change rather quickly for organizations of all sizes; they can either become acquired or acquire other entities, or grow on an exponential basis with new offices and branches spread across the globe.
With this in mind, using a platform that allows organizations to configure IT resources through “blueprints” allows for an easily-repeatable and cost-effective format where configurations can just be altered based on needed configuration settings.
Taking this approach to cloud cost management should result in your organization realizing those promised benefits of the cloud. Learn how CloudBolt can help.
Organizations looking to use the power of hybrid cloud environments are faced with a significant task: picking the right cloud management system. Without one in place, IT and DevOps teams will face the consequences related to unorganized and ad-hoc deployment of cloud resources.
The foundation of any worthwhile cloud management system is the right set of capabilities to accomplish business and technological objectives. In this post, we’ll explore the top cloud management tools necessary for any system and why they’re critical to your success.
Provisioning and Orchestration
The correct capabilities for provisioning and orchestration allow teams to create new resources as requested by those who need it, or modify or delete those resources based on priorities.
In addition, a cloud management system should have tools enabling orchestration for provisioning workflows and management operations for hybrid cloud resources.
These cloud management tools are critical because without them in place, organizations may be faced with significant backlogs for resource request and no centralized way to fulfill them. With robust provisioning and orchestration tools, the headaches associated with ensuring resources get to where they need when needed become a thing of the past.
Cost Management
There’s no question that utilizing cloud resources from both public and private sources can get costly. These cost issues can get even worse without the right capabilities to manage them.
As such, a cloud management system needs features that allow organizations to keep track of what’s being spent on cloud resources and ensure that spending is being utilized effectively. These tools allow unused or little-used resources to be reapportioned as needs of the business evolve.
Any of the cloud management tools in the market should also provide the ability to keep resource capacity in line with the demand that is actually being placed on the specific workloads being tracked.
Inventory Management and Monitoring
Cloud management systems need inventory capabilities that allow for the discovery and maintenance of all the cloud resources that exist within a specific enterprise. Without that holistic view, managing those resources can get hectic fast.
Inventory management capabilities should also allow for monitoring changes to those resources and management of new configurations.
In addition to keeping track of inventory, one of the most important cloud management tools available includes monitoring of that inventory.
These should provide metrics on availability and performance of resources as well as intelligence for incident prevention and resolution.
This intelligence gives stakeholders the ability to report the performance of the cloud asset management system back to the business and prove its effectiveness.
Self-Service IT
Lastly, any strong cloud management system has to afford users the ability to make their requests for resources in an easy-to-use and understand portal that’s managed by a central IT function. That’s where self-service IT comes into the picture.
Self-service IT cuts down on unnecessary and wasteful back-and-forths between IT and users regarding provisioning of resources. That makes both parties more productive at the end of the day and helps drive greater business value.
Your organization may have different needs when it comes to provisioning and innovating on hybrid cloud resources. But for an effective hybrid cloud management system, tools around provisioning, orchestration, cost, inventory, monitoring and self-service IT cannot be discounted.