By Rishikesh Kamat, Senior Director: Products and Services, India, NTT DATA
Migrating to the cloud without implementing cloud governance is like getting behind the steering wheel of a car without having learned to drive; it’s likely to lead to a disastrous and expensive outcome. The cloud market in India could grow by as much as 24% this year, with large and medium-sized enterprises having a high demand for public clouds, in particular. However, organisations will only realise the full benefits of cloud if they understand the significance of cloud governance and the tools available to support it.
Three key aspects of cloud governance
Cloud governance represents the very necessary evolution of cloud management practices. Many organisations still manage cloud as though they’re managing traditional data center infrastructure. This approach means they’re unable to leverage the full capabilities of cloud, as data centers are less flexible than the on-demand cloud environment. It could also lead to a lack of control and security. Adding more clouds to the ecosystem means you’ll need a more sophisticated way to manage them, which only strengthens the case for cloud governance.
Start by understanding how cloud governance will help an organisation maximise the benefits of cloud from in these areas:
The commercial perspective: Cloud computing offers benefits like flexibility and scalability, but without proper governance over how it’s accessed by various teams, rising costs can become a concern.It’s like being charged for wasted water when someone has left a tap running. In the commercial sense, cloud governance is about managing excess consumption, having a clear view of departmental spending and centralising decision-making about cloud spending. Consolidating the needs of different departments, can lead to better discounts from hyperscalers and more efficient use of cloud resources.
The security perspective: When multiple teams in an organisation have different levels of access to a cloud environment, security governance is key. While providing cloud access and configuring cloud systems might seem straightforward, misalignment between cloud configurations and central data security policies can lead to compliance issues and potential data breaches. In this context, cloud governance involves implementing policies to ensure adherence to regulatory standards, maintain visibility of all cloud instances and mitigate security risks. In this way, one can safeguard sensitive data and remain compliant with industry regulations.
The operational perspective: In a dynamic cloud environment, only effective operational governance can create a consolidated view of the assets, applications and resource provisioning. This approach helps in understanding the assets in place identifying who is managing what and spotting potential operational gaps. For example, allowing a product team to work in a self-sufficient way without having to rely on the IT team for all cloud provisioning requests will be practical only when cloud governance policies are established to serve as guardrails.
Take a tool-based approach
As with any technology, having the right policies in place is key, but a policy is no guarantee that the right processes will be implemented. To implement cloud governance policies, you need the right set of tools. Cloud management platforms (CMPs) are software-as-a-service (SaaS) tools with out-of-the-box connectors to hyperscalers. Cloud management platforms (CMPs) offer a cloud-native approach to governance. By aligning with the cloud’s inherent flexibility and scalability, they can swiftly “understand” the cloud ecosystem, enabling the codification of governance policies, providing visibility into the cloud environment, and automating cloud provisioning.
Making cloud governance work for everyone
Having both the right policies and tools in place for cloud governance delivers several business benefits. With a consolidated view of cloud environment, one can make well-informed decisions and improve the productivity of the development teams. It also becomes more straightforward to meet compliance requirements and optimise cloud spending, resulting in significant cost savings.