Head in the Clouds: Real-world experiences and recommendations for moving technology infrastructure to the cloud

Presenter Steve Birnbaum, Vice President SofTrek Corporation/ClearView CRM

Cloud computing defined Tablet Mobile Having secure access to all your applications and data from any device Laptop Desktop

Why move to the cloud? Current technology Focus on work Better security and uptime Simplified cost assignment

Choices in cloud structure Public IT activities and functions provided “as a service,” over the Internet, allowing access to technology-enabled services without knowledge of, expertise with, or control over the technology infrastructure that supports them.* Private IT activities and functions provided “as a service,” over a company’s intranet . . . built by an organization for its own users . . . everything is delivered within the organization’s firewall (instead of the Internet).* Hybrid Integrated external and internal service delivery methods . . . Rules and policies established by the organization based on factors such as security needs, criticality and underlying architecture, so activities and tasks are allocated to external or internal clouds as appropriate.* * IBM, “Dispelling the Vapor around Cloud Computing,” June 2010

What is Hadassah? Volunteer organization committed to partnership with land and people of Israel Supports medical care and research at Hadassah Medical Organization in Jerusalem Founded in 1912 $569.6 million in assets (2013) 38 field offices

The pre-cloud landscape Many telecommuters Imminent move to new building Security and compliance requirements User demand for mobile access Need for support

Hadassah’s technology issues Lack of revenue to maintain in-house servers IT staffing changes Increasing cost to compliance, security Need for 24/7 support

Hadassah’s technology answer Move to the cloud

Prime considerations Migration paths Risk management Implementation

Key planning steps Strategy Cost-benefit analysis Budget

“Hard” cloud strategies Contract with appropriate vendors Eliminate centralized server room Invest in equipment, ISPs

“Soft” cloud strategies Professionalize IT services Collaborate with hosting vendor on policies, procedures Treat all offices alike

Lessons learned Treat all offices alike Include all units in decisions Maintain realistic expectations Stay flexible Set backup retention schedule

Making a smooth move Do your homework Build a team Communicate a vision Plan Distinguish between need and want

Making a smooth move Build a timeline Share your budget Take baby steps Test, test, test Provide fast results

Questions?

Getting in touch Steve Birnbaum sbirnbaum@softrek.com www.softrek.com