5nine’s Vince Arneja talks to ITWatchIT about current trends in cloud computing, with a focus on security, operational efficiency and unity across platforms. 5nine offers end-to-end cloud management for Hyper-V, and the first and only agentless, multilayered security solution for Hyper-V and Azure.
Trends in Cloud Security
We see a lot of customers talking about and slowly progressing towards the hybrid cloud. Customers who have formerly favored private cloud and on-prem are looking to move certain workload to Microsoft Azure, and so are slowly becoming hybrid users. We have been conversing with numerous companies, ranging from the smaller-sized ones to the large organizations, who are moving workloads, and are interested in having a unified platform.
As cloud becomes more of a commodity, we’ve seen some price decreases over the years, due to competition and number of available options. Cost is probably the main factor, especially for the SMEs and mid-market firms, as they make their decisions. However, the volume of applications being routed through cloud computing will offset the cost factor. Managing and optimizing the sheer volume of applications and workloads that will be slowly migrated through more of a hybrid infrastructure will be a chief contributor to cost going forward.
The larger enterprises have more financial backing, and are able to pick and choose their cloud environment based on certain parameters, including the sensitivity of the application and workload. In recent years, we have seen larger enterprises freely embrace public cloud and aspects of hybrid. Due to the need for hybrid environments, we have seen this trend permeate down to mid-market firms and SMEs, as well. For the smaller companies, cost is certainly a factor, but they also adopt and embrace a semblance of hybrid cloud.
Avoiding Vendor Lock-In With a Multi-Cloud Strategy
No large enterprise wants to be bound by one vendor, and when they go the multi-cloud strategy route, a lot of that has to do with associated costs and obtainable infrastructure. Many companies that have adopted Microsoft Hyper-V for virtualization in the last five years are finding it easier to migrate to Microsoft Azure. This is due to the similarity in the requirements and the tools used in managing security. Certainly, larger enterprises are adopting the multi-cloud strategy, while the mid-market and SMEs are not quite there yet. This is mostly the outcome of concerns related to the complexity of making the move, and also the costs associated with that. Mid-market firms and SMEs typically look for a solution from one vendor, for instance, Microsoft, just because it makes their lives easier.
Cloud Innovation Pacesetters
It’s all a matter of perspective and is based on where we are in the momentum as cloud platform providers. We have seen Microsoft Azure’s revenue soaring 93 percent, and this data shows that Microsoft is doing a tremendous job of catching up to Amazon’s AWS. Not only with regards to features, security, ease of use and things of that nature, but also due to the availability of more options for customers. They are definitely doing a good job of incentivizing customers to use Azure, in comparison to AWS. More customers who are new to this field tend to lean towards Azure, in comparison to AWS, based on recent information from Microsoft.
Edge Computing vs. IoT
Cloud vendors also have a stake in IoT. All the different aspects of IoT and the connected environment, whether it is the home, smart grid, data center, or the edge devices, and the proliferation of connected devices, are leading to ever more IoT cloud options with regards to security and management. Microsoft specifically targeted IoT with the launch of Azure IoT, and the implication for many enterprises is that they can make strategic decisions around which vendor to choose as their number one vendor.
Cloud Security
Some enterprises have genuine concerns about the security of public cloud, especially those in industries with a huge stake in maintaining a watchful security posture, such as financial and government. That is one of the reasons why Microsoft launched Azure Stack, which is an offset of Azure for the datacenter. What that means for customers is that they can still benefit from the cloud environment and cloud efficiency, without having to put their sensitive applications on the public cloud. There are certain verticals and industries that will always be wary of putting certain types of applications, data or workload on the public cloud. This is why there are options for such customers that are not necessarily public cloud.
5nine
5nine specializes in helping customers manage and secure their private infrastructure for data management. Historically, we have focused on private cloud, which includes a company’s datacenter, on-prem, and virtualization stack. We recently expanded that to cover private, public and hybrid cloud infrastructure. Managing, monitoring, enabling backup and helping them secure their cloud infrastructure. The solution we offer is very vertical agnostic, so it doesn’t matter if our customer is a small bank, a large financial institution, or a state or local agency. The focus is on the infrastructure that they are trying to manage or secure, and the provision of operational efficiency and unity across the platforms.
Profile
Speaker: Vince Arneja, Chief Product Officer
Vince Arneja brings over 20 years of experience in executive and senior level technical product management positions with the last 15 years focused on product management and strategy in the domains of cloud, mobile, application, endpoint and network security. He joined 5nine from OPAQ Networks where he helped launch the company and headed up the Product function through two acquisitions. Vince also serves as an advisor to various Cyber Security companies in the DC Metro Area and the Bay Area.
About 5nine
5nine offers end-to-end cloud management for Hyper-V, and the first and only agentless, multilayered security solution for Hyper-V and Azure. Their innovative, powerful and easy-to-use software is designed to reduce costs, increase productivity and mitigate security risks. Today, 5nine helps customers around the world reach the full potential of their virtual infrastructure. Their suite of available solutions fit all shapes and sizes, including small and medium businesses, large enterprises and hosting providers. 5nine is headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida, with offices worldwide. They are a Microsoft Gold Datacenter Partner, Enterprise Cloud Alliance Partner, Azure Pack Partner, and member of the Virus Information Alliance
