cloud

Why switch to Cloud ?

The Purpose of transferring some of one’s services or operations from a traditional structure to the Cloud is to better respond to the major challenges of the company. There are multiple reasons to adopt Cloud technologies, the most common being:

  • The reduction of Time to market
  • A higher quality of service
  • The reduction of investment and operation costs
  • Scale economies
  • Flexibility

To list the most frequent concerns when talking about Cloud Computing, there are several topics associated with the Cloud model that remain major issues for companies:

  • Security and confidentiality
  • The problem of ongoing accessibility to the network
  • The disappearance of functionalities
  • Integration to the existing IS
  • Quality of service and service level agreements

Precodata has taken into account these obstacles and thanks to our consulting services in strategy, security and network expertise, we give practice solutions in order to work alongside our clients through their Cloud projects, current and future.

How switch to Cloud ?

In order to adopt this new way of dealing with IT technologies, one has to change its work methods down to the production system. A Cloud migration cannot be taken lightly. Indeed, switching to the Cloud can consequently change some of the characteristics of a company, whether it is technical, organization or Human Ressources. It is thus advisable to choose coherent solutions, fitting perfectly with the environment and most of all the company’s needs. A partial or complete migration of a company’s IT to the Cloud as to be considered as a project, a strategy and as such be carefully planned.

A Cloud project calls for a thorough classification, often linked to the existing applications assets, based on 3 components:

  • Select the best suited method for implementation
  • Identify correctly the business’ specifics of the company
  • Define clearly the needs in term of existing recovery

The two last points can have a considerable impact on the duration of the project, thus the importance of controlling its scope.

A Cloud project also requires a clear vision and understanding of the following key topics:

  • Impacts on the company’s organization
  • Calculation of the project ROI
  • Reversibility terms

The experience we acquired through numerous projects allowed us to present you several key factors to conduct a Cloud project successfully:

  • Validate the fact that the Cloud solution is in adequacy with the needs
  • Know how to adapt oneself technically as much as functionally
  • Identify the needs in terms of security
  • Be careful of the network quality
  • Validate the fact that Cloud technologies and offers are in adequacy with the needs
  • Support change
  • Measure the service’s quality
  • Properly manage relationship with the suppliers

Precodata has developed methods adapted to the nature and challenges of Cloud projects:

  • Migration of a software solution from OnPremise to SaaS
  • Application migration to a laaS hosting
  • Creation of a private Cloud structure
  • Transformation to a hybrid Cloud infrastructure
  • Design & implementation to Serverless Cloud solution

 

big-data

Which business challenges to address ?

There are multiple business challenges:

  • Improvement of the customer relationship: a more accurate business targeting in order to propose offers adapted to the clients’ needs
  • Optimization of the business performance: an optimum valorization of the collected data to develop new products and conquer new markets
  • Optimization of the operational performance: a more efficient controlling thanks to data management and indicators that will allow to measure operational performance

How to conduct a successful Big Data project ?

Precodata has developed a 4 steps innovative methodology adapted to Big Data challenges:

-> Identify opportunities of value creation

  • Identify the business challenges of a Big Data approach
  • Identify the opportunities of value creation made possible thanks to a Big Data approach
  • Define new services with a high added value for the businesses
  • Achieve business case studies

-> Demonstrate the added value of a Big Data approach

  • Set a case study and its scope of application (data source and analysis to achieve)
  • Implement a Proof of Concept (POC) on Precodata’s Cloud platform
  • Assess the ROI of a Big Data platform implementation

-> Build and implement the Big Data platform

  • Specify and validate the technical and functional needs of the platform
  • Design the platform’s architecture and select the best suited technical solutions to respond to the needs (collection, storage, analysis, visualization)
  • Implement the Big Data platform within the IS
  • Prepare and work with businesses on how to use the platform

-> Deploy and industrialize the Big Data platform

  • Industrialize the gathering, storage and analysis of the data
  • Secure the platform’s access and data storage
  • Define the operating and administrating standards of the platform
  • Train and work with IT teams on the platform adoption

Work with the business teams (R&D, marketing, sales, back-office, production, etc.) to ensure the adoption of the Big Data approach.

 

DevOps

What is DevOps ?

DevOps (“Development” and “Operations”) refers to a quick, flexible and continuous approach, on the development and operations sectors, in order to reduce the “Time to Market” of new applications and services toward the businesses. It is also a set of best practices to address the need for industrialization and standardization of the IS.

Why use DevOps ?

DevOps is an approach that sets the “Framework” allowing developers and operations to merge into homogenous teams with the common goal to deliver quality IT applications and services.

This approach allows:

  • A reduction of Time to Market: companies that have adopted the DevOps approach have noted an overall 20% decrease on the Time to market
  • A reduction of the production costs: the automation of the deployment ensure production efficiencies and reduction in the number of errors
  • An improvement of the service quality: time saved on the deployment phase is dedicated to quality improvement (operation, monitoring, performance, security, etc.)
  • An improvement of the cooperation between developers and operations team: especially on a better understanding of the others’ problems, which consequently would allow each sides to gain experience.

Adopt a DevOps approach

DevOps is an approach which gather the “Dev” and “Ops” functions, often separated on a project. DevOps adresses, above all, companies’ new business challenges and not a strictly technologic approach. DevOps includes a strong organizational component and also involves a technologic dimension.

A DevOps approach requires:

  • An organizational change: teams rearrangement to facilitate interactions and cooperation
  • The creation of a continuous deployment center: creation of the tools and mechanisms to automate and industrialize the deployment process (integration, test, delivery, configuration management)

 

network-security

An imperative added value

External IT solutions, such as Cloud solutions in SaaS mode, are more and more common. These solutions raise major difficulties, not only for the optimization of network infrastructures but also in terms of good governance and flow management for data security. These difficulties are the main concern of companies wishing to adopt such solutions. Cloud and Big data, whatever their mode, require a healthy and functional system. Thus, network and security expertise brings a crucial added value to a Cloud Computing and Big Data company.

Precodata helps you optimize your network infrastructure and implement good governance rules in order to sustain your IS and protect your data when you integrate a Cloud or Big Data solution.