Oracle ACE Director Luis Weir reviews the opportunities and challenges inherent in the migration to Cloud Computing, presents an overview of Oracle's Cloud offerings, and then describes a three-step holistic approach to adopting Oracle cloud solutions in order to ensure a cohesive strategy that supports a company's short- and long-term goals.
By Oracle ACE Director Luis Weir 
Business today is dynamic and digital. Whatever industry you look at, the pace of change is accelerating. Driven by new technology developments-such as cloud computing, the Internet of Things, and mobile apps-consumers and business buyers alike have become more informed, connected, discerning, and demanding than ever before.
At the same time, these same technologies are driving new business and delivery models that are transforming how companies interact with employees, partners, suppliers, and consumers. You only have to look at companies like Google, Netflix, Amazon, and Facebook to see the transformation that is taking place.
But for traditional companies this poses a problem. The organizations mentioned above were born digital. When it comes to the enterprise applications they use, they had the luxury of starting with a blank sheet of paper. So they were able to take advantage of new technologies that allow them to operate with unprecedented agility and automation.
Traditional companies have to compete with the new upstarts. To level the playing field, digital transformation is essential. Indeed, 27% of senior executives think it is a matter of survival.
But traditional companies don't have the luxury of starting from a blank sheet of paper. They have legacy systems and data that are often inflexible and hard to change.
So how can these companies make the change? Cloud computing provides the answer. Cloud computing offers the opportunity to migrate legacy systems into a more adaptable, agile environment and allows organizations to take advantage of new emerging technologies such as mobile, integration, and the Internet of Things.
Recognizing this, Oracle, in particular, has embarked on a digital journey to transform its thousands of products into a set of comprehensive, cohesive, cloud-based digital offerings called Oracle Cloud Services.
This article looks at what those services are composed of and how companies can best take advantage of them.
Oracle's Offering
Oracle's cloud ambition is big: to become one of the largest cloud vendors in the next few years. The company is already delivering many of its products through the cloud and these will shortly be extended to include all its current products and capabilities that are available on-premise.
The Oracle cloud consists of three building blocks:
- Software as a Service (SaaS): All Oracle's next-generation applications-including Oracle Customer Experience Cloud, Oracle HR Cloud, Oracle ERP Cloud, and Oracle SCM Cloud-are provided as cloud solutions.
- Platform as a Service (PaaS): Oracle's Fusion middleware offerings, such as Oracle Mobile Cloud Service, Oracle Integration Cloud Service, SOA Cloud Service, and Oracle Process Cloud Service, migrated to the cloud.
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): Services here will include Oracle Cloud Infrastructure as a Service, services and solutions for Oracle's cloud elastic compute platform, and Database as a Service (DBaaS).
In addition, the Oracle Cloud supports two deployment models:
- Public Cloud : In this option, Oracle's own infrastructure is leveraged, the stack is run and supported entirely by Oracle, and access to core infrastructure components is restricted. This particular option is ideal for small- or mid-size organizations that don't have to deal with very high volumes of data and are not subject to several regulatory requirements regarding data security. It is also ideal for deploying development and test environments for organizations of any size.
- Private Cloud : For organizations that deal with much larger volumes of data and also have to comply with several data regulations, a private cloud option is also available for implementing Oracle's engineer systems. With this option, the stack doesn't have to reside in Oracle's data center and can be supported by a certified Oracle partner. As a result, it delivers more flexibility and scalability than the public cloud option and is also more secure in nature.
Very soon the transition will be completed and Oracle will have one of the largest end-to-end cloud capabilities, all with a single user experience. I believe that, with this breadth of capabilities, Oracle will provide organizations with a solid foundation for transforming into digital enterprises. In addition, the possibility of adopting public cloud and/or private cloud options allows customers to cherry pick the solution that best fits their needs and budget.
- 90% of businesses have adopted cloud computing to some degree, of which 82% report cost savings as a result. [1]
- 70% of companies plan to adopt Platform as a Service (PaaS) solutions by 2017. [2]
The Journey to the Cloud
However, at the same time, our experience tells us that a headlong rush to cloud solutions can be counter-productive.
The Oracle Cloud promises organizations the ability to quickly deploy new applications, often with minimal investment in IT infrastructure. As they can typically be accessed anytime, anywhere, from multiple devices, the applications also allow companies to rapidly take advantage of mobility. However, the danger lies in their very ease of deployment, as it is all too easy for business users to put in place their own systems and bypass IT. Left unchecked, this can lead to multiple cloud solutions that integrate neither with each other nor with corporate applications. and cause security problems and potential data privacy breaches.
Another hidden challenge lies within the size of the Oracle Cloud itself. Although generally speaking this can be a good thing, the many options available can sometimes overwhelm customers and, in some cases, drive them away from adopting an Oracle Cloud solution. To avoid this issue, the author recommends creating a Cloud Reference Model. The model should deliver a comprehensive approach for choosing the necessary Oracle Cloud capabilities. This not only reduces complexity, but also accelerates the process of adopting cloud solutions.
I believe that organizations need to take a holistic approach to adopting Oracle cloud solutions, ensuring they have a cohesive strategy that supports the company's goals in both the short and long term. I recommend a three-step approach.
Three Steps to Cloud Success
- Define a strategy: A clear cloud adoption strategy must be based on a detailed understanding of the current technology landscape and the future aims of the company. From this, a plan can be drawn for the future state that will meet the needs of the business, highlights the quick wins that are possible, and describes how the candidate systems for migration to the cloud can be decoupled from other applications.
- Migration: Showing early results with an Oracle Cloud migration pilot will help gain the buy-in of senior executives and line-of-business managers for the overall strategy, and eliminate the possibility of rogue IT. At this stage, the company would be running a hybrid model, with some functionality in the cloud and some still on-premise. As a result, it is expected to see Oracle PaaS (like Integration Cloud Service (ICS) and on-premise solutions based on Oracle SOA Suite and Oracle Data Integrator) adopted in order to support the integration of cloud and on-premise systems. Plus, the rationalization of on-premise applications can begin.
- Future state: In the third step, functionality, including analytics, continues to be moved to the Oracle Cloud; disruptive technologies to support mobile working, the Internet of things, social analytics, and business APIs are introduced. By this stage, the integration of systems should be complete and should be almost entirely on the cloud supported by Oracle PaaS components. This also means that there would be a seamless user experience rather than the disjointed experience in Step 1.
It is important to note that the future state is not necessarily an exclusively Oracle cloud environment. For all sorts of legal, compliance, or business reasons, companies may need to keep some systems and/or data on premises, in private clouds or even in other clouds, resulting in a hybrid environment.
Key Considerations
Experience dictates that a number of key issues must to be taken into consideration when developing a cloud strategy. Addressing these issues at the initial stages can save significant effort later.
Data
With data, the consideration that rises above all else is regulatory compliance. Many regulations stipulate the jurisdiction in which data can be held. Even if the data is not subject to regulations, there is also the question of the legal rights some territories may have over the data held within their borders. Before making a decision about whether to migrate applications, it is vital to understand where the data will be held and under what rules.
Note that, as stated in the Oracle Cloud Hosting and Delivery Policies, as well as Oracle's Services Privacy Services, Oracle Cloud services are in alignment with the ISO/IEC 27001:2005 security standards and also adhere to the Safe Harbor Privacy Principles of notice, choice, onward transfer, security, data integrity, access, and enforcement. The Oracle Cloud has also been awarded TRUSTe's Privacy Seal. Although this alone should satisfy many data regulatory requirements, it is important to understand if these would be sufficient and comply with your organization's data security requirements.
Once it has been decided that data can be moved, the challenge is how to deal with the hundreds of gigabytes in your on-premise systems. Our recommendation is to adopt a three-stage approach:
- Conduct a data discovery exercise to identify the sources of the organization's most critical data entities. In parallel, cloud and data architects should collaborate to define a common data model that can be used in the second and third stages.
- Data is extracted from the identified source systems into a hub, where it is normalized and cleaned, removing duplicates, redundancy, and outdated information.
- Another hub is created to load the clean data into the target SaaS system.
The complexity of loading the data is often overlooked. SaaS APIs can be very complex, so it is vital that whoever undertakes the migration has a sound understanding of how these APIs work and, ideally, has pre-built adaptors that will save time and effort.
Data Migration
Consolidation
Adopting cloud services offers plenty of opportunities for consolidating both applications and hardware. Such consolidation can significantly reduce administration, maintenance, and support costs.
Private vs. Public
As mentioned, existing legislation or industry compliance may be a hurdle to adopting public cloud solutions. However, that does not mean that companies cannot take advantage of the technologies involved.
It is perfectly possible in the Oracle Cloud for organizations to embrace cloud characteristics such as on-demand self-service, broad network access, resource pooling, rapid elasticity, and measured services internally as a private cloud. As a result, they can gain all the benefits of cloud computing, safe in the knowledge that they will be complying with regulatory demands.
High-performance Requirements
Companies with extreme performance requirements that can be satisfied only by such Oracle Engineered Systems as Oracle Exadata, Exalogic, or Exalytics should consider a hybrid cloud model, where production workloads are provisioned from a private cloud hosted on Oracle Engineered Systems and non-production workloads are provisioned from the public cloud.
Security
One of the key benefits of migrating enterprise applications to the cloud is that they typically allow companies to quickly and easily make them available in multiple locations and geographies, and on various mobile devices. As a result, organizations can empower employees to be more productive, collaborate better with partners and suppliers, and provide new services to customers. However, all these benefits also have security implications.
In putting together a cloud migration strategy, organizations should consider the security of:
- The service provider's data center (which, with any reputable service provider, should not be problem)
- The network between the service provider and their company locations
- Employees' mobile devices
- Customer access to web applications
Security (36%), cloud computing (31%) and mobile devices (28%) are the top 3 initiatives IT executives are planning to have their organizations focus on over the next 12 months. (Source: 2015 State of the Network Study.)
As stated earlier, the Oracle Cloud complies with several regulatory requirements, such as the ISO/IEC 27001:2005 security standards and Safe Harbor. Read the Oracle Cloud Hosting and Delivery Policies and the Oracle's Services Privacy Services for further information.
Integration
To provide a seamless user experience, applications will need to be integrated. Careful consideration needs to be given to the technologies to achieve this. As discussed earlier, I recommend using Oracle PaaS (Integration/SOA Cloud Services) and Oracle SOA Suite 12c for on-premise integrations.
It is vitally important to have a thorough understanding of the Oracle cloud solutions being adopted and how they integrate, what Integration Cloud Service (ICS) connectors are available, what APIs from the fusion apps enterprise repository can be used, and what limitations apply when consuming these APIs.
Implementation
One of the promises of Oracle Cloud solutions is that they are quick and easy to implement-and this is certainly true if a single application is being implemented from scratch in isolation. However, as described in the data section above, there is rather more to implementing an integrated cloud strategy. In fact, around 50% of all cloud adoptions fail due to issues related to integration, data migration, or SaaS customizations.
Vendors such as Oracle impose restrictions on how their products are configured, customized, extended and integrated. Unless companies are fully aware of these constraints and how to implement Oracle PaaS to deliver customizations, extensions, and integrations (e.g., Java Cloud Service for SaaS Extensions, Process Cloud Service, and Integration Cloud Service, etc.), the chances are they will encounter issues during or after adoption.
Consequently, companies will want to consider carefully whether they want to "go it alone" or partner with an organization that has developed tools and accelerators to help with the implementation process.
Expertise
Companies will also have to think about how they acquire the knowledge they need to undertake a successful cloud migration strategy. Clearly, they can develop expertise on the necessary technologies internally and, for large organizations, this almost certainly makes sense in the long term. However, to expedite adoption and reduce risk in the short term, it may make sense to turn to a partner that has both the expertise and experience required to avoid the pitfalls that can befall a cloud migration strategy.
Next Steps
Adopting Oracle Cloud solutions will help companies transform into digital businesses that can compete effectively in their chosen markets. However, for maximum success, cloud adoption has to be seen holistically and carefully considered before adoption starts. This article outlines my thoughts on how organizations should approach adoption and the factors they need to take into consideration.
References
[1] Source: Frank Palermo, "2015 Forecast: The Sun Is Out for Cloud Computing," CMSWire, December 16, 2014, http://cmswire.com/cms/information-management/2015-forecast-the-sun-is-out-for-cloud-computing-027501.php#null
file:///C:/Users/brhubart/Documents/Downloads/LuisWeir_OracleCloud4OTN_WhitePaper_V1_LBV_CLEAN.docx#_ftnref2[2] Source: North Bridge 2013 Future of Cloud Computing Survey http://www.northbridge.com/2013-future-cloud-computing-survey-reveals-business-driving-cloud-adoption-everything-service-era-it
About the Author
Luis Weir is an Oracle Ace Director and a Principal Architect for HCL technologies. With several years of experience implementing IT solutions across the globe, Luis has successfully delivered several large and complex Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) and API solutions for large organizations. He has led SOA and other middleware capabilities for such renowned SIs as CSC, Cognizant and Capgemini. Luis is currently focused in creating digital solutions and strategies that can help key HCL customers adopt and realize the full benefits that digital technologies such as APIs, Microservices, SOA, mobile frameworks, cloud integration platforms and IoT can bring to the business. Luis is the lead author of Oracle SOA Governance 11g Implementation (2013, Packt Publishing) and Oracle API Management 12c Implementation (2015, Packt Publishing). He is also an active blogger and regular speaker at major conferences and events.
This article represents the expertise, findings, and opinion of the author. It has been published by Oracle in this space as part of a larger effort to encourage the exchange of such information within this Community, and to promote evaluation and commentary by peers. This article has not been reviewed by the relevant Oracle product team for compliance with Oracle's standards and practices, and its publication should not be interpreted as an endorsement by Oracle of the statements expressed therein.