ViON_Benefits of Cloud_WhitePaper_D6_V3

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The Benefits of
Cloud:
Maximizing
Resources,
Maximizing
Value
White Paper
May 2015, Version 1.0

The Benefits of Cloud: Maximizing Resources, Maximizing Value -|- WHITE PAPER
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The Benefits of Cloud: Maximizing Resources, Maximizing Value
Across sectors as diverse as state and local government, education, and commercial
enterprises there is a desire to move to the cloud to save money and use technology more
efficiently. While both are key benefits of cloud solutions, the money-saving value proposition
is a bit more complicated than it may appear at first glance. Looking at bottom-line
numbers, cloud solutions may end up costing the same as other technology approaches,
but the value that a service-based cloud solution provides is more than just dollars and cents
on a balance sheet.
Citizens, students, and consumers all expect online services not only to be available, but to
be a consistent part of daily life. They believe they should have the same service experience
whether they are renewing a driver’s license or setting up a monthly home delivery (neither is
exciting, but both have to get done). Cloud will help institutions and organizations meet the
expectation of increased service levels while still being responsible stewards of taxpayer,
donor, and shareholder investments.

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Organizations have invested a lot of money in existing infrastructures that in most cases work
fine for their intended purposes. There may not be funds available to rip out and replace
infrastructure to meet customers’ increasing demands, but there is budget for continuing
operations. This is where cloud comes in. Cloud solutions can be purchased with operational
budget dollars and help extend the life of existing capital investments. Multiple organizations
can share the same cloud-based infrastructure and applications, allowing them to further
defray the bottom line expenditure for each group. This non-infrastructure investment can
make it possible for organizations to greatly expand their physical bandwidth and provide
the applications their users expect.
Shared Service Enabled by Cloud
When considering cloud, it is best to think of it not so much as a technology but more as an IT
business model, a way to deliver technology. In this model, cloud capabilities are delivered
“as a service,” an approach that is changing the way technology is developed and
deployed. Whether organizations look to purchase software-as-a-service, infrastructure-as-a-
service or platform-as-a-service, customers of the cloud have the power to use a provider’s
offerings in the way that works for their organization. Whatever is being used from the cloud,
be it an application or infrastructure, it is there to serve the end user’s needs. This as-a-service
perspective changes how organizations share resources among themselves for a more
holistic IT infrastructure.
Shared service is where the value of cloud is found. There are three main ways of using cloud
to deliver services to an organization and its constituents.
 Software as a Service provides applications to users from a cloud environment rather
than depending on hardware within an organization’s IT infrastructure. This allows
organizations to take on projects that they could not have previously handled. For
example, if a small company is looking to develop a new product, their R&D team will
need a specific piece of software for 60 days of the project. Without the cloud, the
investment in buying and installing the software would not be justified, but with a cloud
structure they can buy the software as a service for only the 60 days needed.
 Platform as a Service serves as an extension of the IT department, providing a place
for applications to be deployed and used by a large, dispersed user base.
Educational institutions use these platforms to accommodate varying student
registrations in online classes from semester to semester, and ensure every study group
on campus can log into collaboration workspaces during mid-terms. Cloud provides
the flexibility to scale up and down with no effort on the part of IT.

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 Infrastructure as a Service allows IT professionals to automate the provisioning of
computing power and resources such as storage, networks, and processing. For
example, state and local governments have multiple data centers. Even if each data
center is being highly utilized, there is still typically 30 percent of capacity not being
used in each one. That’s 30 percent of the investment sitting idle. If those data centers
are consolidated into a single cloud, the entire network will require less overall
capacity and can still share any unused capacity across all connected organizations.
This cost savings and efficiency is great for organizations, but what does it offer end-users? If
a state like Tennessee used infrastructure as a service and a shared services model, for
example, small rural towns could afford to provide citizens access to the same level of
services as those provided in large cities. The government could equalize the level of service
across the state and make a huge improvement for a fraction of the cost to offer the
services on a town-by-town basis. This is the type of value that cloud provides beyond dollars
and cents.
Value Beyond Cost
The bottom line cost of a cloud solution may not always offer the dramatic “cheaper, faster,
better” benefit in every case, but it can deliver a tremendous value in certain organizations
and applications.
A recent GovLoop survey of 230 public-sector employees highlighted some examples of how
their organizations found value in the cloud:
 Accessing a shared pool of tools and infrastructure
 Collaborating between government and public staff
 Conducting assessments and valuation and creating maps with GIS software
 Connecting to programs and shared data files on state servers
 Developing dashboards
 E-mailing, file sharing and archiving of documents
 Operating an information technology service desk and case management system
 Promoting telework and facilitating web meetings, document sharing and
asynchronous communications
 Sharing and storing data at reduced costs
 Storing large data files that are sent from outside resources
 Tracking program effectiveness

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When considering how to attain the potential value from cloud, organizations need to look
at how they are paying for cloud. Because it does not
require investment in new infrastructure, cloud can be
procured using Operations and Maintenance funds
rather than being classified as a Capital Expenditure
(CAPEX). Not every service can be improved or
instituted by using Cloud, but by funding those that are
suited to cloud, capital funds may be assigned for
other services improvement or development. It may
take a budget cycle or even two to realize this savings,
but it will be there once technology investments
become an operational expense rather than a capital
one.
How do we get to the cloud?
With the monetary and business value defined and agreed upon, there still can be
roadblocks to “buying the cloud.” IT procurement is a tried and true practice, but cloud
procurements are a mix of technology buys and consulting services. For many, this is a new
way of doing business.
Before engaging with a cloud vendor, organizations need to define a number of key
elements:
 What is success – What should users be able to do? What does the system allow your IT
team to do (or not do)?
 What is the goal – What are you looking to get out of the move to cloud – speed, cost
savings, new functionality, consolidation?
 What do you need the cloud-run applications to do for employees, customers and/or
constituents?
 What data will people need to access?
 What security does that data need?
Providing clear answers to these questions should yield valid Request-for-Proposal responses.
When evaluating the responses, cloud buyers need to pay close attention to the service
level agreements (SLAs). Do they match your goals? Is there a penalty for moving things out
of the cloud? What is the plan should the cloud provider go out of business?

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Defining goals and making sure SLAs match them is good practice and shows that cloud is
not in fact a commodity buy. Cloud solutions need to be customizable and purpose-built to
provide economic and service value.
ViON Agile Cloud
Organizations with significant security and performance
concerns may find that a private cloud solution is best suited to
their needs. ViON’s Agile Cloud Solution was developed to suit
those needs. It is the product of expertise gained in 35 years of
working with the federal government, combined with 12 years
of delivering private cloud solutions that meet the unique
needs of our customers.
A key component of our Agile Cloud Solution, ViON Agile
Cloud Platform is a complete package of infrastructure
(servers, storage, networking, and software) developed to
enable delivery of enterprise-class private cloud. It was
designed to help organizations gain maximum value through
customizing options and features to best meet specific needs.
The Agile Cloud provides a prescribed set of building blocks that
can be flexible in terms of size and scope with built-in capacity and workload planning.
Understanding Your Cloud Options
In the classic definition of cloud IT, the cloud services provider (CSP) owns the technology
and charges the customer by usage. Similar to how you pay for electricity based on usage,
you plug into the cloud environment and pay for what you use. This provides customers with
flexibility to adjust spending based on their demand for technology. It also provides
customers with more cost predictability and removes cost risks associated with oversupply
of capacity..
Cloud services are delivered in various ways, depending on the organization and its needs.
At ViON we are defining cloud deployment in this way:
 Private Cloud – Technology dedicated to a single customer, not shared with other
customers.
 Public Cloud – Technology shared among a set of customers, also called multi-tenant
cloud.
 Hybrid Cloud – Mixed use; some technology is shared, some dedicated.
 On customer premise – Technology located in the customer’s own datacenter.
 Off customer premise – Technology located at a remote location not owned by the
customer.

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ViON Agile Cloud Platform includes:
 Hardware components needed to run application environments (servers, networking,
storage)
 Software components to create a highly efficient and cost-effective virtualization layer
 Cloud enablement software that allows the delivery of private cloud and its
associated benefits
 User portal with graphics highlighting usage and other critical metrics of the cloud
platform
Agile Cloud Platform can be installed quickly and easily on premise to deliver enterprise-class
private cloud (a private cloud focused on highly secure, high-performance, high-availability
application environments).
Two cutting-edge technologies allow for the provisioning of computing resources in a new
way for maximum efficiency:
 ViON Extreme Virtualization (EV) Technology – Specialized technology that allocates
resources in smaller increments for more cost-effective provisioning.
 ViON Vpool Technology – Technology that takes extreme virtualization a step further
by allowing easy tracking and charging only for the resources used.

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Determining Your Cloud Needs
Before implementing any cloud solution, ViON works with customers to fully understand their
needs and determine the right cloud for their business and mission. This is accomplished with
our Cloud Advisor service.
Advisor is a structured, multidimensional analysis and reporting solution designed to facilitate
the transition to a more efficient virtual infrastructure or cloud architecture. It includes a data
collection tool deployed into the client’s infrastructure to “listen” to the client’s environment
and provide a comprehensive analysis based on the organization’s core business objectives,
existing compute infrastructure and operational requirements. Deliverables from the Advisor
include performance metrics and statistical analysis that provide fully detailed Return on
Investment (ROI) and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) projections.
In Conclusion
An investment in cloud is just
that, an investment. And as
with any investment you
expect to see returns. For
private clouds, that return
should be in the form of
improved constituent service
with little impact on IT team
workload or effectiveness.
Maximizing the investment in
cloud requires strategic
planning, goal setting and
results measurement.
Implementing a cloud
environment is half the battle.
Operationalizing the cloud to
get the most from your
investment is the critical
component in ensuring
success.
ViON has the expertise to help you deploy the right cloud solution to meet your needs,
overcome barriers to implementation and achieve your strategic goals. We partner with you
from beginning to end to ensure your success.

ViON_Benefits of Cloud_WhitePaper_D6_V3

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