By Goran Novkovic, CQA, CSQE, ITIL, APM, PMP, PEng
This blog is part of a series called Manufacturing in the Cloud. This series aims to assist manufacturing organizations
to evaluate how they can overcome challenges and maximize cloud computing
benefits. As cloud computing services mature both commercially and
technologically, this is likely to become relatively easier to achieve.
One
of the biggest benefits to manufacturing organizations from the use of cloud
computing is the ability to rapidly acquire and implement cloud-based solutions.
This increased business agility results from removing the time required to
rationalize new capital costs, the time and capacity required to put necessary
cloud infrastructure in place.
What
should you consider with cloud infrastructure?
A
cloud infrastructure is the collection of hardware and software that enables
the five essential characteristics of cloud computing that we talked about in a previous blog. To make this as simple as possible, the cloud
infrastructure can be viewed as combination of a physical layer and an abstraction
layer. The physical layer consists of the hardware resources that are necessary
to support the cloud services being provided. It typically includes network,
storage and server components. The abstraction layer consists of the software
deployed across the physical layer, which manifests the essential cloud
characteristics. Conceptually speaking, the abstraction layer is sitting on the
top of physical layer.
There
are different types of cloud deployment and cloud service models that can be
implemented depending on manufacturing needs and application specific
requirements. Each of the cloud models has specific
advantages and disadvantages that are relative to the other models. Cloud is definitely
not for every type of business and operational process nor every organizational
need.
The types of cloud services selected and how they are
managed is critical. Thinking strategically about costs and benefits and risks
is paramount and must be done first. The most common reason not to move to the
cloud is a perceived cost of the customization. This perceived cost outweighs
the benefits of the cloud solutions in the minds of many manufacturing
professionals. The thought may lead to a decision that cloud computing is not good
for the manufacturing organization, and not really the optimal solution when comparing
it to other solutions on the market.
The
technology landscape for manufacturing is changing. The landscape for computing
and how information technology is delivered to manufacturing organizations is
changing, too. So, what we should do
about that? First of all, waiting for good things to happen isn’t going to
save you any time or resources in the long run. Start drafting strategies and
flow charts to utilize advantages and benefits of cloud computing. Determine
what kind of cloud services you need and what cloud models will work the best
for your manufacturing needs. Here is a baseline list of the four cloud
deployment models that can help kick start your draft of a solution.
CLOUD DEPLOYMENT MODELS
When
we talk about cloud computing, most of us think about the Internet. It is
certainly true that cloud computing can be offered to manufacturing
organizations over the Internet. However, it is also true that cloud computing
can be offered within a manufacturing organization running on its own infrastructure.
I
n the next blog of this series ‘Manufacturing in the Cloud’ we will look
at each cloud type (private, public, hybrid or community) and how they can be
incorporated (or not) in your draft strategy.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Goran Novkovic,
CQA, CSQE, ITIL, APM, PMP, PEng
Goran Novkovic has over 15 years of experience in various
regulated industry sectors. His expertise is in industrial control systems
(ICS) cybersecurity, control systems engineering, computer systems validation,
software security and test management, cloud security and regulatory
compliance. Goran has a formal education in Electrical Engineering and Project
Management and possesses a master's degree in Information Technology. He has
number of professional licenses and designations. He is holder of CQA
(Certified Quality Auditor) and CSQE (Certified Software Quality Engineer)
certifications with ASQ (American Society for Quality). Goran is certified
ITIL, certified Agile Project Manager and Project Management Professional with
PMI (Project Management Institute). He is licensed Professional Engineer with
PEO (Professional Engineers Ontario). Goran is focused on ICS cybersecurity and
he is helping organizations to establish ICS cybersecurity governance and
develop effective ICS cybersecurity programs from scratch. E-mail
contact: goran@valiver.com
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