More and more enterprises are moving forward with private/public cloud proof-of-concepts and production deployments. As the cloud migration ramps, cloud governance is becoming more of a focus.
Recent CRN and ZDNet articles gave some great points to consider about cloud governance.
- Central authorization
- ID and access controls
- Policy enforcement and monitoring
- Service level reporting
- Automation and auditing
One new question facing organizations moving to the cloud is how do you deliver this governance and from where?
As the diagram below shows, there are three options to deliver a cloud governance solution.
1) SaaS solution running in the cloud being managed
In this model, you are running all or part of your cloud governance solution in the cloud that you are governing. This is how several enStratus competitors deliver their solution. In terms of access controls, service levels, disaster recovery and other issues, the risk level seems a little like letting the fox guard the henhouse.
2) SaaS solution running outside the cloud being managed
This model has become popular for companies governing public cloud deployments. This is one option available from enStratus. Governing your public cloud from a SaaS solution hosted outside the cloud provides a better framework for key management, encryption, and auditing.
3) An on-premise deployed cloud management solution
Deploying a completely on-premise version of cloud management software is the preferred option for enterprises with very sensitive data in the public cloud or organizations that have a private cloud. The benefit includes leveraging your policies and procedures and directly integrating with internal infrastructure and management systems. This is also a model delivered by enStratus. This is the best option for organizations with compliance requirements or that are very risk averse.
The key to selecting one of these models is understanding your cloud strategy, governance needs and risk tolerance.
Amit,
Transparency is critical when governing cloud infrastructures. enStratus has clearly stated that we live outside the clouds we manage for both our SaaS and on-premise deployment options - I cannot speak for other cloud management vendors.
Posted by: George Hadjiyanis | 09/22/2011 at 09:12 AM
Manaranjan I received your question about the references.
Here you go.
http://www.channelweb.co.uk/crn-uk/opinion/2101216/prerequisites-cloud-governance
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/saas/time-to-think-about-cloud-governance/1376
Posted by: George Hadjiyanis | 09/22/2011 at 09:03 AM
Can you please provide references to the CRN and ZDNet articles that you have mentioned?
Posted by: Manaranjan Pradhan | 09/21/2011 at 07:28 PM
How different will be the Option 1 and Option 2 if cloud management doesn't provide transparency of whether they are running in cloud or not.
Posted by: Amit P | 09/21/2011 at 10:11 AM