Best Practices in Cloud Computing for 2010

Cloud computing has garnered a great deal of discussion and debate in the technology community. In our Industry Perspectives columns at Data Center Knowledge, executives working in the field have presented their expertise and opinions on best practices on the hot topics in the data center industry. We have selected 10 columns that featured aspects of cloud computing, bringing together a full year's worth of cloud wisdom. Enjoy!

Building the Cloud-Ready Data Center Network
By Andy Ingram, Juniper Networks, Dec. 2, 2009
The lessons learned from cloud computing can vastly improve the scale, agility, and application service levels of enterprise data centers as well as reduce costs. Achieving these results requires close examination of the network itself, which is the foundation of the cloud-ready data center.

A Guide to Managing Private Clouds
By Richard Whitehead, Novell, April 19, 2010
To facilitate a practical move into the cloud, here's a guide to how private clouds work and an explanation of how they can be managed using service-level agreements (SLAs) and business service management (BSM) technologies.

Adapting Your Operation for Cloud Computing
By Rob Jackson, Rackspace Hosting, April 27, 2010
Industry chatter sells cloud and cloud computing as the answer to all our IT concerns and business needs. Instituting operational changes is critical to receive the full benefits of cloud computing.

Creating a Successful Cloud Environment
By Joel Wineland, Rackspace Hosting, April 28, 2010
Security, performance and interoperability of the cloud environment should be at the top of every data center’s checklist when considering how best to leverage cloud resources.

How to Evaluate Cloud Computing Providers
By Jason Baker, ReliaCloud, June 1, 2010
Enterprises looking to outsource infrastructure to cloud computing providers face a bewildering number of choices today. Here are steps to help your enterprise evaluate and select the right cloud platform.

The Competitive Threat of Public Clouds
By Rodrigo Flores, newScale Inc., June 4, 2010
IT operations groups are going to be increasingly evaluated against the service and customer satisfaction levels provided by public clouds. IT teams need to make self-service for their own resources as easy and robust as it is for public clouds.

Government Taps the Power of Cloud Computing
By Bruce Hart, Terremark, June 22, 2010
The Federal government is using cloud computing and finding it can meet its security and scalability needs. Security and privacy concerns often present a strong barrier-to-entry and federal government CIOs need to find ways to secure their investments in the cloud.

Cloud Computing a Catalyst for Virtualization
By Ellen Rubin, CloudSwitch, July 21, 2010
Cloud computing is providing virtualization with a return to center stage. With most enterprises only 20 percent virtualized, there is much more work to be accomplished.

Colocation for a Changing Cloud
By Kevin Dean, Interxion, July 27, 2010
Carrier-neutral data centers are ideal locations to meet the demands of cloud computing. They have the ability to provide critical and necessary requirements: scalability, power, connectivity and security.

Pharmas Lead in Enterprise Cloud Adoption
By Ellen Rubin, CloudSwitch, October 22, 2010
Pharmaceutical companies are finding that cloud computing is meeting their needs for massive computing power that is scaleable as well as for quick turnaround in deploying infrastructure.

Do you have something to say on a current data center topic? We welcome submissions from industry leaders. See our guidelines and submission process for information on participating. View previously published Industry Perspectives in our Knowledge Library.