Failure to adopt the cloud as a way of doing business is not the main obstacle for organizations. The main obstacle is finding the appropriate cloud infrastructure services required to support a business's needs.
As a VP or Data Manager, you will be making decisions that will affect your organization's ability to scale, reduce costs, increase the reliability of its systems, and have the flexibility in your long-term architecture to adapt to changing business needs.
While access to cloud services is no longer difficult thanks to providers such as AWS, MS Azure, or Google Cloud, aligning the services that these providers offer to your business's needs can be difficult. How do you determine what cloud infrastructure services you need to assist you in completing your current workload? How do you predict what will help you scale as your workload increases? And if you select the incorrect cloud service(s), how can you mitigate the risk of receiving unexpected charges in the form of cloud usage inflated costs?
This blog will examine cloud infrastructure services based on first principles and then provide a framework for evaluating and comparing those services in order to support your confidence in selecting the most appropriate in preparation for the future.
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What Are Cloud Infrastructure Services?
At their most basic level, cloud infrastructure services provide organizations and developers with the elements of hardware and software that are required to build applications, store data and manage computing facilities, without having to own the physical facilities that support those applications.
Basic Components of a Cloud Infrastructure Service
- Computing Resources (Virtual Machines, Containers)
- Storage Resources, (e.g., Object storage, Block storage, File System Storage)
- Networking Resources (Load Balancers, (VPC) Virtual Private Cloud)
- Security Resources (e.g., Identity & Access Management {IAM}, Encryption, Monitoring, {Audit Trail})
In general, cloud infrastructure services are offered as IaaS or Infrastructure as a Service.
IaaS is the most common method for providing cloud infrastructure services to customers.
It enables businesses to:
Provide computing power when needed Alter workloads accordingly. Do not manage hardware.
Example:
Rather than acquiring servers, you can create an instance in a few minutes, increase the number of instances automatically, and only pay for the amount of time you used them.
Overall summary: Cloud infrastructure services hide the complexity of using pieces of hardware allowing groups to devote their time to creating systems instead of maintaining servers.
How Unique are Providers?
On paper, most cloud companies look the same. In real life, they provide very different levels of speed, price, and how mature their systems are.
Complexity that is Hidden:
Service Explosion
Providers each have between 150-300+ services.
Pricing Models
Pay As You Go may be easy on paper, but it typically includes:
Cost of Processing on the server Cost of storing Data Cost of transferring data Cost of those API calls.
Locking your Architecture
Using provider-driven services can lead to creating long-term reliance on that provider.
Rapid Change.
Constantly new services are being produced, therefore, decisions become obsolete very quickly.
According to Gartner, over 60% of cost overruns in the cloud are caused by poor architectural decisions, NOT by over-utilization.
For you?
You are not choosing a thing. You are creating:
- Flexibility of the System.
- Scability of Data Architecture
- Velocity of Engineering
Overall summary: Cloud decisions are architectural decisions and not buying decisions.
Types of Cloud Infrastructure Services that You Should Learn
In order to make your evaluations, you need to understand the classifications.
1. Compute Services
Virtual Machines Kubernetes Clusters Serverless Compute
The Application is to run applications and process workloads.
2. Storage Services
Object (large data sets). Block (database). File (for use across many users).
3. Network Services
Virtual Private Clouds Load Balancers Content Delivery Networks
4. Security & Identity
Access Control Encryption Detect security issues.Tracking and Watching Over Itemization of the Entity
As for the G Cloud
The Core Infrastructure Services of Google Cloud Platform include:
Compute Engine Cloud Storage Compute Cloud Virtual Private Network Cloud Monitoring
These serve as the foundations of a robust scalable cloud environment.
Key Point: Being able to determine which type of service you may need helps eliminate unnecessary services and will help reduce over-engineered services.
Ways to Assess Cloud Infrastructure Services - A Guide for Implementing Cloud Solutions within Organizations
One of the greatest obstacles that leaders in the industry face is assessing their cloud infrastructure services. Using comparison charts will not provide the answer, they will confuse companies. Using a systematic evaluation plan can help make the right decision for your organization.
The following steps can be used to evaluate your organization's cloud infrastructure services:
Step One: Determine the Workload Requirements
Are you running batch jobs or real-time workloads? What are your latency requirements? How critical is uptime to you?
Step Two: Determine Your Infrastructure Needs
Your workloads have infrastructure needs. The table below outlines what your infrastructure needs would be based on your workload requirements:
- Your Requirements The Infrastructure Needs
- High Compute Scalable Virtual Machine or Containers
- Large Amount of Data Object Storage
- Real-Time Application Low Latency Network
Step Three: Assess Your Scalability
Can you 10X Your Workload? Can your System Scale Automatically?
Step Four: Review Your Cost Structure
When reviewing your service provider's cost structure, you should look beyond their pricing page, and take into consideration the following:
Data Egress Compute Waste When Idling Storage Tiering
Step Five: Review the Vendor Ecosystem
Look at the following:
Tool Integration into Various Vendor Tools Other Marketplace Offerings Community Support
Step Six: Security and Regulatory Compliance
Ensure the following:
Role Based Access Control
Encryption Standards
All of the necessary Compliance Certifications; a list of the compliance certs can be located here.
Step Seven: Avoid Over-Engineering (adopting services you do not require for your operation).
Key Point: Service evaluation should be based on the ending requirement of that service, not the features available.
Comparing Large Cloud Infrastructure Providers is a Serious Problem for the Industry.
Choosing between cloud providers is difficult.
Amazon Web Services has the most comprehensive service portfolio, the most established service ecosystem, and the largest share of enterprise customers.
Microsoft Azure integration with the Microsoft ecosystem is best for enterprises using those services. It is also well-equipped for hybrid cloud systems.
The focus of Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is on data analytics and artificial intelligence, with unique pricing models.
Comparison Table:
| Provider | Strength |
|---|---|
| AWS | Size and Maturity |
| Azure | Enterprise Integration |
| GCP | Data and Analytics |
Tip: Choose a cloud provider based on how they align with your workload, not brand recognition.
Don't Repeat These Mistakes When Selecting Cloud Provider Infrastructure Services
Even experienced teams can make very expensive mistakes when selecting a cloud provider.
Over-provisioning
you buy too much compute power and waste money.
Avoiding egress charges
egress fees can potentially be greater than your compute fees.
Vendor lock-in
using proprietary services without an abstraction layer.
No governance oversight on usage
resulting in cost sprawl.
Tip: Most cloud failures are from strategic mistakes rather than technical mistakes.
Example Scenario: Evaluating Data Platforms
Let's say you're a Head of Data and you have the following use case.
Situation
You are developing a digital data platform for:
Analytics Machine Learning real-time dashboards.
Requirements
- Scalable Storage
- High-performance Compute
- Low Latency Queries.
Recommended Settings
- Object Storage For Raw Data
- Data Warehouse For Analytics
- Kubernetes For Processing
- Streaming Pipeline Data For Real-Time Use.
Outcomes
- Faster Insight Delivery
- Scale-Out Architecture
- Reduced Operational Overhead
Teams that use a structured evaluation system are able to achieve 30%-40% better cost optimization than teams that take an Ad-Hoc approach to Cloud Adoption.
The key lesson is to align your infrastructure directly with the specific workload use cases and not the latest tech trends.
How to Optimize Your Cloud Infrastructure Costs
Cost Optimization Is A Continual Process
Strategies
- Auto-scaling
- Shut Down Idle Resources 3 Optimize Storage Tiers 4 Reserved Instances.
Monitoring Tools
- Cost Dashboards
- Cost/Efficiency Usage Analytics
- Alerts
Key Metric
Monitor Your Costs by Workload not total $$$ spend
Key lesson cost optimization is not a financial exercise or an accounting task but rather an engineering discipline.
The Future Of Cloud Infrastructure Services
Cloud Infrastructure is changing at a fast pace
1.serverless Architectures
(Less Focus on Infrastructure Management – More On Code)
2. AI Driven Optimising Systems
Sys will automatically optimise per cost and performance.
3. Multi Cloud Strategies
Provides: No "vendor lock" - more resilience.
4.edge Computing
Make Data Processing Closer To Data Sources.
5.Unified Platforms
Convergence of Data, AI, and Infrastructure
Key Lesson All Future Cloud Infrastructure will be Autonomously Intelligent and Distributed.
Conclusion: Build What You Need Not What Is Available
Cloud Infrastructure products provide tremendous flexibility, but without a strong clear vision, an excess of options can leads down the road of complexity. The objective is not to add additional services; it is to choose the correct services and to only add NEW services if they meet a specific requirement.
At Logiciel Solutions we work with Data/Engineering leaders on designing AI-first Cloud architecture systems that balances performance/costs and scalability.
Our teams build systems capable of evolving with your organisation rather than against it.
If you are currently evaluating your cloud strategy, now is the time to take action before things become even more complex.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What Is A Cloud Infrastructure Service?
A cloud infrastructure service is an equipment service that provides compute, storage, network and security over the Internet. This allows companies to create applications and scale without managing physical equipment.
Which Cloud Infrastructure Service Model is The Most Common?
The most common model for accessing cloud infrastructure is Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS).
Who Are The Top Cloud Infrastructure Providers?
The top providers are Amazon web services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google cloud platform (GCP). They each have different/unique advantages in scalability, integration, and analytic capabilities.
How Do You Choose The Right Cloud Infrastructure Services?
The best way to determine which cloud services will best support your workload is to define the workload characteristics and match those with the appropriate requirements from the Infrastructure and possible Cost.
What Are The Most Important Components Of Infrastructure As A Service?
The core components are included in an IaaS offering, which consist of Compute, Storage, Network, and Security. There will also be Monitoring Tools and Governance Tools.
