For those companies in the business of cloud computing, there seems to be one popular tenet held by all. For cloud migration and adoption to reach its full potential, the entire technology sector needs to be educated on the changing needs of the user base and how they relate to the shift toward an on-demand, scalable technology architecture.
That principle, along with a host of other important technology topics and trends, will be the focus of discussion at next week’s ITEXPO West event and conference in Las Vegas. RiverMeadow Software, which offers a SaaS platform for the automated migration of servers into and between clouds, will be participating in a panel discussion at the conference, Cloud Migration: What, When, and How. MSPToday had an opportunity to speak with Richard Scannell, executive vice president at the company, about his views on cloud migration and more.
Scannell stressed that one of the biggest yet most important challenges in technology today is closing the generational gap in technology literacy. With mobility and the BYOD trend gaining traction at a lightening pace, the predictability of requirements that were once available to application developers is all but gone. He added that apps need to be built on a flexible platform that can conform and scale to meet changing needs, but that companies need not be tasked with owning the entirety of the infrastructure any longer.
“Client/Server was revolutionary in the way applications were built versus mainframe,” said Scannell. “Cloud represents a similar shift in architecture with on-demand, scale out resources available. [We see] a high percentage of mid-market companies moving all infrastructure to the cloud as a competitive advantage.”
According to Scannell, that advantage includes very low risks, both technically and economically. Particularly when using a platform like RiverMeadow’s, which utilizes the performance and security of customers’ private networks to automatically migrate physical, virtualized or cloud resident servers to a destination cloud. Scannell believes that private clouds are an evolution of the internal computing environment, designed to accelerate and enhance the way IT is delivered to users, while also providing them with the flexibility to procure and configure infrastructure at their own pace.
The logistics of just how to migrate to the cloud will be the focus of Scannell’s panel discussion, which is set to take place Monday at 4:30 p.m. PT. The conference session will focus on what to move to the cloud as well as the timing of the migration, to ensure users maximize their ROI and investments. Moderated by TMC’s Paula Bernier, the session will also feature Bob La Loggia of Appointment-Plus and Pablo Marin of MyCloudIT.
“It’s simple really,” said Scannell. “Migrating to the cloud can come with a cost if you don't employ a well thought-out strategy. During this session, our panel will walk the audience through both the challenges and methodologies associated with securely migrating IT infrastructure into the cloud. We'll outline the different types of migration projects that both MSPs and end users will encounter and provide a best practices approach to a successful and cost efficient migration project. Audience members will walk away with an in-depth understanding as to how best to approach their migration projects and achieve their ROI goals.”
ITEXPO will take place next week from August 11-14 at The Rio Las Vegas.
Edited by
Adam Brandt
