Of course, you’re in the cloud!
The better question might be, “What, exactly, are you doing in the cloud?”
Untangling the confusing web of information surrounding the cloud, specifically Microsoft Azure, can be a tedious endeavor. You may understand the benefits of a move to the cloud and yet still not understand all the mechanisms and the impact on your business that moving to the cloud includes.
Pricing
One of the primary sources of confusion is pricing. Microsoft seems to be purposefully cryptic when it comes to the pricing structure of moving to Azure. Their “Azure Monetary Commitment” concept seems transparent at first (upfront payment, followed by a free period to develop, deploy, and manage applications).
But then what? An organization may risk over-commitment, and payments can skyrocket if you exceed the consumption pool provided by Azure. This can be a minefield for the uninitiated. Therefore, we recommend having a thorough understanding of how Microsoft pricing for Azure works early in the game.
Cloud jargon
Another source of confusion, for me at least, is the jargon used to describe this new breed of technology. The two leading cloud providers, Microsoft and Amazon (AWS) have each developed their own unique languages around their product offerings and dealing with either one can be quite frustrating.
For example, in AWS, servers are called “Instances.” In Azure, they are called “VMs.” Drill down a bit more, and the categorization of each of these instances/VMs get even more granular. The small ones in AWS are called the “t2 family.” In Azure, these are called the “A series.” This type of thing goes on and on, and if you’re dealing with both platforms, it can be a full-time job getting the right jargon aligned with the right technology.
Add in all the general “cloud concepts” such as IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, scale up, scale out, IOPS, access control, notifications hubs, appfabric caching, BLOB, VHD, and so on, and so on. It can be aggravating.
My advice is this:
Don’t get intimidated by the confusion because, well, most everyone else in your position is likely confused as well! Embrace the unknown and dive in headfirst. Don’t be afraid to ask the “dumb” questions. Don’t assume “everyone else” knows the answers either. Most likely they do not.
Depend on a few trusted sources to guide you through the terminology and decision-making required to get your organization where it needs to be. That’s why we are here. Sometimes, all you need to get started is a conversation with a trusted resource, one with over 20 years of experience working with clients who are facing the same issues you are.
