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by Greg Hunt on 25 June 2014
Rapid adoption of cloud technology worldwide has meant that many New Zealand organisations are already testing the water by shifting non-critical workloads to the cloud. However, when business-wide applications move into the cloud, they need to integrate not only with on-premise systems, but also other cloud services.
Our experience with New Zealand businesses has shown that integration is a key concern for those organisations considering cloud service migrations. This post explores the 5 top cloud integration problems and how IT Architects can address these when considering the implementation of cloud services.
Top 5 cloud integration problems
1. Fewer Integration Options
Often the options for integrating with a cloud service are dictated by the cloud service provider. While traditional batch file transfers may be supported, we find in most cases cloud service providers rely on APIs of various flavours. For organisations without a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) capability or the ability to provide message translation services, successful cloud integration will require significant investment in your teams cloud architecture skills and experience.
2. Poor understanding of data flows
We find that organisations often do not have a clear understanding of the nature and extent of information that will be stored in their cloud service. Not only do cloud services hold your information outside of your organisation, but many services also require access to your on-premise systems, potentially exposing you to a range of security risks.
3. Ad hoc approaches to integration
Many organisations approach cloud integration on a project-by-project basis. However, as cloud adoption increases across the enterprise, this ad hoc approach to integration increases architectural complexity and overheads for the entire organisation that becomes increasingly hard to maintain and enhance. Project based approaches to cloud integration will result in ongoing costs remaining high, eroding the benefits cloud services can deliver.
4. Lack of suitable tools
The capability to integrate systems using SOA or custom APIs is something that many New Zealand organisations still lack. Many older on-premise applications have APIs that were developed prior to the emergence of cloud services and may be incompatible with newer, cloud-centric standards. In addition, some internal systems were not designed with any integration in mind, making successful cloud integration even more challenging.
5. Latency and performance
Due to New Zealand’s geographic location, cloud service providers are usually based halfway around the world from their kiwi clients. This raises concern around the ability of the provider to support the needs of their clients, such as reliable delivery of synchronous, near real-time communication.
What can New Zealand cloud architects do to mitigate these problems?
The following 5 approaches can be used to overcome some of the cloud integration problems your organisation may be facing:
1. Create an integration strategy
An integration strategy should present a structure of how your organisation will approach the integration of cloud services. It’s vital you apply your strategy at an enterprise level to ensure all areas of the business are accounted for. Practical guidelines directing standards and protocols for data transfer that are specific to your business should be included, with close ties to any existing identity, data classification, and information security policies. Standardised integration patterns should also be developed to enable a faster and smoother design and delivery of the solution.
2. Establish a shared integration platform
This demands a move away from integrating on a per-project basis, towards establishing a shared set of integration tools. Functions such as message, routing, translation and transformation are required to move data between systems that may not speak the same language. This means SOA gateways and message busses shift from “nice to have” status to key components of the IT service portfolio.
3. Balance flexibility with complexity
A good strategy should provide solid guidance but allow for flexibility to meet the needs of specific projects and systems. One of the key objectives of strategic integration is cost reduction, so ensure you don’t erode this benefit by defining unnecessary levels of detail and complexity in your integration architecture.
4. Understand your data
A good integration strategy leverages the knowledge an organisation has of its information. Make sure that your organisation comprehends the importance of its information, regardless of whether it is stored on-premise, in cloud services, or transferred between systems. This will enable the appropriate levels of control and visibility to be put in place, reducing threats to information security in a manner that fits the context and objectives of the business.
5. Don’t forget identity
Many organisations focus on data integration whilst forgetting the importance of identity integration. The result is identity fragmentation across your services, with users having to juggle multiple usernames and passwords. Through directory federation or identity replication, organisations can retain control over who accesses their cloud services, and provide a better user experience.
The uptake of cloud services is set to accelerate in New Zealand over the coming years. Cloud integration will continue to slow cloud adoption and the realisation of cloud benefits until we start taking a more strategic and enterprise-wide approach. Creating an integration strategy and establishing a shared platform that is right for your organisation will help you efficiently and effectively transition to cloud while maintaining the necessary control over your organisation's critical information.
