By: Preetham Shivalingappa, Senior Consultant, LTIMindtree

The world we are living in is becoming more and more digital every day, making it truly a digital era. As per a Statista 2021 report, the number of smartphone users has surpassed 6 billion and is expected to grow further. Have you ever wondered when you upgrade your phone how all the data from your old device is moved to a new one without having to back it up to a hard drive or transferring manually to the new one? The answer is cloud; yes all your phone data is stored safely in the cloud if you had opted to save it. By punching in your credentials, you will be able to restore and access all your data on the device of your choice.

An average person uses 10-15 applications, which are on the cloud. We use cloud storage every day on different platforms and in different formats. Below are a few examples for you to get a fair idea.

• Google Drive, Google Photos, OneDrive, Samsung Cloud, and iCloud for storing and accessing data (IaaS)
• Netflix, Amazon Prime, Spotify, DropBox, Office365, and GSuite (Saas)
• ZOHO, Salesforce, SAP, Microsoft Azure, and Google App Engine (Paas)

The COVID-19 pandemic has made cloud adoption more of a mandate than a choice for organizations to transform their operating models and swiftly adjust to a new normal way of operating. Flexera 2021 State of the Cloud Report highlights that COVID-19 has increased cloud usage for organizations. In this blog, let us deep dive to understand about cloud and what it means for the business world in these testing times.

What is cloud and cloud computing?

Deep in our mind, cloud is always associated with weather, rain, or meteorology. You may ask why the word cloud is being used here. In the early days network engineers would use cloud symbols as a metaphor for the servers and network design. With the rapid growth of cloud computing and infrastructure, the cloud has become a buzzword in IT.

Cloud simply refers to the software and services that can be accessed over the internet instead of a local computer or the on-premise network of servers. Cloud computing is the on-demand delivery of different services over the internet. Major services include storing, accessing, and sharing data and software.

To put it in simple terms cloud is the internet and it is all the things one can do over the internet. When someone says the software is in the cloud, it simply means that the software is stored or accessed on the internet servers instead of from your computer’s hard drive.

How do cloud-computing services stand out from traditional client-server services?

We now have a fair idea of services that are offered over the internet via cloud computing. In the traditional client-server model, the client connects to a server that performs a particular job. This server may host a database, a web page, or a series of file shares. Usually, servers are typically installed on the premises. Organizations with client-server models have to take full responsibility for the hardware’s upgrades, maintenance, and security. The below table gives a list of pros and cons comparisons of both models.

Cloud service providers

Cloud service providers are third-party companies offering cloud-based platforms, infrastructure, and application or storage services. In simplified words, it is like a tenant renting a house from the property owner based on his/her needs, likes, and preferences, and paying the rent. The property owner here is the cloud service provider, and the tenant is the cloud user. Based on his/her requirement, the cloud user can choose the type of cloud service.

Gartner predicts, by 2023, the 10 biggest public cloud providers will dominate half of the total public cloud market. Below is the generic list of cloud service providers compiled from the public domain:

• Amazon Web Services (AWS)
• Microsoft Azure
• Google Cloud
• Alibaba Cloud
• IBM Cloud
• Oracle
• Salesforce
• SAP
• VMWare
• Adobe
• Cisco Systems
• HP Enterprise
• Verizon Cloud
• Red Hat cloud
• DropBox
• Rackspace
• Digital Ocean
• Workday

Types of cloud computing

There are 4 main types of cloud computing explained below with advantages and disadvantages. Organizations can choose the type of cloud according to their business needs:

Private cloud
A private cloud is a server, data center, or distributed network exclusively dedicated to a single business or organization. A private cloud can be physically located in the company’s on-site data center. An organization with private clouds enjoys higher security, better compliance, access control, self-service, scalability, and elasticity.

Public cloud
Unlike the private cloud, multiple businesses or organizations share the space in the cloud. The cloud services provider owns and maintains the infrastructure in a public cloud. An organization with a public cloud enjoys a cost advantage and economies of scale with the latest hardware and software.

Hybrid cloud
Hybrid clouds combine both public and private cloud offerings for business or organizations. In a hybrid cloud, organizations have the opportunity to utilize the private cloud for selected services and the public cloud for other services. An organization with a hybrid cloud will enjoy lower CAPEX, scalability, and reliability.

Multi-cloud
Multi-cloud is the use of two or more cloud computing and storage services from multiple cloud service providers. A multi-cloud environment can be all private, all public, or a combination of both. Organizations opt for multi-cloud to enjoy the benefits of flexibility over cloud vendors, higher governance, and minimized risk of downtime and data loss.

Types of cloud computing services

There are 4 main types of cloud computing services, as explained below. It is again up to the organizations to choose the type of cloud computing services required. However, it has become inevitable for any organization not to run IT infrastructure, hardware, and software resources on Cloud.

1. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

In the IaaS model, organizations rent the servers and storage they need from a cloud service provider to build their own applications in the cloud infrastructure. In simple IaaS is like leasing a plot of land and companies later build whatever they want.

Examples: Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Cisco Metacloud, Rackspace, DigitalOcean, and Google Compute Engine (GCE).

2. Platform as a Service (PaaS)

In the PaaS model, cloud computing service provider provides an on-demand environment for developing, testing, delivering, and managing software applications. In simple PaaS is like building a house by renting all the tools and equipment. The PaaS model helps organizations to quickly create web or mobile apps without having to worry about storage, database, network, and infrastructure.

Examples: AWS Elastic Beanstalk, Google App Engine, Microsoft Azure.

3. Software as a Service (SaaS)

SaaS is a method for delivering software applications over the internet, usually on a subscription model or pay-per-use. The cloud service provider manages the software upgrades, security, and other general routine software maintenance. Many software applications offered in the SaaS model run directly through web browsers, eliminating the need for downloads or installations on user devices. The SaaS model helps organizations with ready-to-use software applications without having to build from the ground.

Examples: Murex, Markit, Salesforce, SAP Business, Microsoft Dynamics, Markit, JIRA, Dropbox, and Netflix.

4. Functions as a Service (FaaS)

FaaS, often known as server-less computing is gaining fast momentum as a game-changer for many businesses. This model lets software application developers easily develop and deploy an individual “function” or a piece of business logic in the cloud without having to manage servers. The word Serverless does not mean that the application runs without a server, and it cannot be as well. It needs to be understood in the context that the cloud provider handles the infrastructure, resources, and maintenance.
In simple words, it is like multiple restaurants operating in a cafeteria of a shopping mall. All maintenance is done by the shopping mall and each restaurant uses common resources like water, electricity, and so on. The mall does customized service offerings independent of their peers.
Examples: AWS Lambdas, Microsoft Azure Functions and IBM Cloud Functions.

Relevance of cloud adoption on the back of the pandemic?

The COVID-19 pandemic toppled the way businesses operated overnight, creating multifold challenges of running a business remotely. Businesses of all sizes across geographies and domains turned to cloud services on the back of the pandemic to cope with the challenges, which have resulted from the implementation of lockdowns. Gartner Predicts By 2021, over 75% of midsize and large organizations will have adopted a multi cloud and/or hybrid IT strategy. For companies, cloud adoption has become an immediate priority in their list and a key enabler in their business continuity plan. According to the latest forecast from Gartner, the spending on public cloud services is bound to grow 23% to $332.3 billion, up from $270 billion in 2020.

Irrespective of the business domains and verticals, the entire business ecosystem is moving to cloud; it is hard to name whether it is healthcare, banking, finance, education, hospitality, or consumer goods. The relevance of cloud adoption has become mission-critical for organizations to navigate it for tomorrow’s survival and to be the winner. In other words, cloud adoption has become the realization of a reminder of Darwin’s theory for organizations to adapt to new challenges to survive or perish. International Data Corporation (IDC), expects that by 2022, over 90% of enterprises worldwide will be relying on a mix of on-premises/dedicated private clouds, multiple public clouds, and legacy platforms to meet their infrastructure needs. IDC also expects 2021 to be the year of multi-cloud as the global COVID-19 pandemic reaffirms the critical need for business agility. Further adoption of deep technologies like Blockchain, big data, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), Augmented Reality (AR), and Virtual Reality (VR) are fueling the need to move to the cloud.

Immediate need and relevance of cloud adoption for Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI).

• Business resilience and continuity: work towards increasing business resilience to respond and adapt quickly to unprecedented challenges and have BCP plans handy.
• New normal of remote working: reinvent the business-operating model for long sustainable growth rather than temporary fixes.
• Efficient collaboration: bring improved omnichannel capabilities for the customer, client, and employee experiences in remote working across divisions in the organization.
• New revenue streams: companies have to align business propositions and products closer to the clients and lesser time to market.
• Reduced costs: cloud adoption will bring down the Capex and cost to organizations resulting in improved numbers.
• Enhance IT security and governance: bring in additional measures to safeguard the data to diffuse data breaches and compliance risks.
• Drive innovation: look for ways and means of serving customers and clients through technology.

How can LTIMindtree help you?

While most enterprises today have a cloud presence, few maximize the vast opportunities that the cloud enables. To derive the greatest value for the business, organizations must specifically determine how cloud services can affect IT budgets, security, IT infrastructure, and the business itself. It also entails thorough analysis to determine if moving to the cloud makes a logical next step forward for the organizations embarking on a transformation journey.

LTIMindtree is recognized as a Rising Star (Global) in the ISG Provider Lens™ Quadrant Report on Public Cloud – Solutions & Service Partners. With 35 leading industry partnerships and 12 cloud-native, industry-specific business platforms, LTIMindtree’s end-to-end, holistic cloud expertise helps to accelerate the speed of migration, achieve cloud transformation and unlock the benefits of ROI.

LTIMindtree’s cloud capabilities

Organizations require assistance to gain a single view of their application infrastructure and need a blueprint of the current and future application infrastructure landscape. The below diagram demystifies the cloud complexity:

We have worked with clients across verticals such as Banking, Capital Markets, Consumer Devices & Electronics, Consumer Packed Goods, Manufacturing, Insurance, Media & Entertainment, Retail, and Travel and Hospitality. Below are some of the KPI metrics we have generated for our clients in their cloud journey:

LTIMindtree’s success stories

Few stories of being proud and loud on how LTIMindtree helped the clients in their cloud Journey:

• Cloud migration services helping a leading technology provider redeploy applications on Azure IaaS
• Azure PaaS and DevOps implementation for hosting of application
• Reimagining Cloud Operations for Media-Enterprises

At LTIMindtree, we are getting you to your future, faster! Collaborate with us to accelerate and scale your business with Cloud by ENABLING digital foundations, MODERNIZING operations for an agile experience, and INNOVATING for scale. To find out more, get in touch with one of our experts today.