Through the Eyes of JellyTech -> Cloud: Still an Option, or Already a Necessity?

First, a few basic but worth-recalling pieces of information.

First and foremost, the undeniable advantage of the cloud is data indestructibility. Data in the cloud usually has its backup copy, stored on multiple servers in different countries. All of this is very important, but to make the decision to introduce the cloud, a specific calculation is needed. To start, it's worth asking yourself a few questions:

- How much data do we have?

- How often will we need something from the cloud?

- How many queries will we have?

- What operations do we need to perform?

After analyzing the above questions, we will know what scale of data we have and what we will mainly use the cloud for. The next step will therefore be to look at the available solutions. The most popular ones are:

- IaaS

- PaaS

- SaaS 

At JellyTech, a goldmine of knowledge regarding cloud solutions is our Architecture and Technology Director — Walerian Sokołowski. That is why we asked him to explain these concepts. First, IaaS. As Walerian says, the foundation of every cloud is the ability to run leased virtual machines and, as needed, configure communication between them and external infrastructure relative to the cloud. Cloud used in this way (running, configuring virtual machines) is referred to by the abbreviation IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service).

IaaS is the most flexible way to use the cloud, but it involves the greatest amount of work when setting up more complex environments.  Most clouds, using IaaS-level capabilities, provide pre-configured solutions/components that significantly simplify typical tasks, e.g., databases, distributed object storage systems, serverless application execution mechanisms, load balancers, DNS, etc.

An ecosystem consisting of pre-configured components and utilizing additional services provided by the cloud solution constitutes a platform, and using the cloud with the components it provides is referred to by the abbreviation PaaS (Platform as a Service). PaaS imposes certain limitations resulting from the usage scenarios of components supported by cloud creators, but significantly shortens the deployment time of solutions even of considerable complexity. 

 Some elements of cloud environments are available on a subscription basis of shared services. By creating an account in such a service, we have access to the full functionality of the tool, without wasting time on administrative aspects. An example here could be Microsoft Office 365: in the administration portal, a user is added, assigned a license, and from that moment they have access to the set of tools included in the package (Plug-And-Play). Services delivered in this way are referred to by the abbreviation SaaS (Software as a Service).

As we can see, there are as many solutions as there are needs. Why then isn't everyone already using the cloud? Unfortunately, a lot still revolves around costs and their proper estimation. Estimating cloud-related expenses is already quite complex in itself. It's getting to the point where pricing out the cloud could be a science in its own right. Cloud-ology? 😊

Well then, maybe on-premises solutions? Let's remember that with such a solution, maintaining servers is the responsibility of the company owner. So we have additional costs including an administrator, security, renting/purchasing suitable and adapted space. There is also the option of renting a server in a data center. And that is a convenient solution. Everything depends, however, on what data we want to store and process.

Sometimes, however, the decision is partly made for us. In what situations?

Let's hypothetically assume that we run a business in Poland, but most of our customers are in the USA. Maintaining all services in Poland doesn't make sense. It's cheaper to transfer data within a region, and sensitive data is better kept close to where it's used. International business will therefore most likely use the cloud.

The second situation where we will be presented with a fait accompli is legislative restrictions of countries and specific entities. Not all data can be stored in every place on earth. Some countries do not allow storing sensitive data of their citizens outside their territory. Of course, cloud owners have their own ways around this. But that's a topic for a separate article 😉

Time to choose a provider. What clouds are available? There are quite a few, but the most important players are:

·       Amazon Web Services (AWS)

·       Microsoft Azure Platform (Azure)

·       Google Cloud Platform (GCP)

Beyond these, we have several domestic players. Worth mentioning, though hard to compare to the top three listed above:

·       Chmura Krajowa (Polish National Cloud)

·       Atman Cloud

·       Polcom Cloud

·       Integrated Computing (Orange)

To tell you specifically about each cloud, we invite you to our upcoming blog articles. As part of our cloud series, we will focus on their characteristics, advantages/ disadvantages, and other topics.

Finally, we should answer the question posed at the outset: is the cloud still an option, or already a necessity? The answer can only be: it depends 😉 nonetheless, it seems that cloud solutions are still one of the options rather than an obligation. If you have any questions or need help choosing and pricing out the cloud — we recommend getting in touch. As JellyTech, we provide services related to building cloud solutions and advise on choosing the best available provider.

Thanks for your attention!

‍

Sources:

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/pl/IP_21_983

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/-/ddn-20211209-2

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/-/ddn-20210121-1

https://stat.gov.pl/obszary-tematyczne/nauka-i-technika-spoleczenstwo-informacyjne/spoleczenstwo-informacyjne/spoleczenstwo-informacyjne-w-polsce-w-2021-roku,1,15.html