Regional Gardens Ltd: Cloud Migration Strategy and Implementation Plan

This document provides a case study solution focusing on cloud computing strategies for Regional Gardens Ltd, a company with diverse gardening enterprises. It addresses the objectives for cloud migration by examining the 'why' questions in the business case, considering the limitations of the existing legacy infrastructure. The solution details the steps for running a private cloud, including assessing use requirements, consolidating IT infrastructure, virtualization, and migration, with emphasis on data security and business process continuity. Furthermore, it discusses key considerations for selecting an IaaS provider, focusing on data protection policies, compliance, and service level agreements. The analysis includes a benefits and drawbacks comparison of cloud computing, highlighting continuous access and security threats. Finally, it outlines the requirements for remote administration, resource management, SLA management, and billing management systems necessary for effective cloud operations. Desklib provides access to this and other solved assignments for students.

Running head: CLOUD COMPUTING 1
Cloud Computing
Name
Date

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19.
The first step is to develop the objectives for the migration by asking the WHY?
Questions in the business case, the infrastructure is legacy and usually, are utilized just 45%. The
‘why’ questions will give way to determining the benefits of migrating to a cloud environment,
including flexibility, security, availability and business process continuity with the costs for an
incomplete migration also being factored in. A cost margin analysis and usability and benefits
versus the demerits of the present setup is then done to justify and affirm the business case for
migration (Orban, 2017)
20.
Running a private cloud will require determining the use requirements and the content
and resources to be stored in the cloud by undertaking a detailed assessment. The next step is
consolidation of existing IT infrastructure and resources, followed by virtualization of the IT
infrastructure and then migration is done, taking care to ensure continued and avoid data loss.
Migration entails standardizing application and maximizing application performance. This is
followed by automation where features like self-provisioning are set. Finally, optimization is
done by scrutinizing metrics (Orban, 2017)
21.
The organization must look at data security, business process continuity, and the required
levels of access for the IaaS, the required modification for the software to use in the IaaS, and the
owner of the infrastructure and their performance record. Data protection policies and laws as
well as backup and continuity from cloud service provider must also be considered. The vendor
monitoring and support as well as backup, which must be clearly stated in the SLA are other
factors to consider. The vendors’ compliance with regulations such as data protection laws must
be considered as well as how use will be controlled. Considerations must also be made for what
to be done with existing infrastructure (Huang, 2014)
22.
Benefits Drawbacks

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Continuous access from any location Security threats, especially because control of
data is passed to another party
Security Portability
Reliability as most cloud services now have
multiple backups
Lack of compliance by the vendor
Reduced manpower and resource requirements
to manage a locally hosted IT infrastructure
Data loss in case the vendor becomes bankrupt
Service level Agreements (SLA) that are not
clear
(Orban, 2017)
23. Requirements for;
Remote Administration System: this requires a self-service portal for searching and
updating services and IT resources; it also includes a usage and administration portal for setup,
control, and configuration of cloud resources.
Resource management System: This entails having API's that are exposed that cloud
administrators use to customize and control resource allocation. The system requires a usage and
administration portal
SLA management system: Requires a repository for storage and retrieval of SLA data
and a mechanism for SLA monitoring
Billing management system: Needs monitors for pay-per-use and a repository for storing
this data for purposes of billing calculation (Huang, 2014)

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References
Huang, R. (2014). Six steps in migrating to private cloud | ZDNet. Retrieved from
https://www.zdnet.com/article/six-steps-in-migrating-to-private-cloud/
Orban, S. (2017). Ahead in the cloud: Best practices for navigating the future of Enterprise IT.
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, North Charleston