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Cloud Enthusiasts Worry About Data Security: Page 2 of 2

Thompson also cites a possible lack of education about the intricacies of cloud computing, adding that the industry should do a better job of educating customers that there are tools available to monitor and troubleshoot their cloud deployments.

According to a new InformationWeek report, Fundamentals: Cloud vs. In-House IT: Spend Smart in 2012, there are several factors that need to be taken into consideration when deciding whether an application is right for the cloud. Costs for hosted cloud services go beyond the monthly (or annual) fee linked to the subscription. When deciding to rent versus buy, IT must take into account additional cost factors like high availability, backups, Windows Server licensing, network and storage I/O, Internet bandwidth, staff training, and network monitoring and disaster recovery--all of which come with their own costs to the enterprise.

Having made the decision to go cloud, IT organizations must now deal with the added level of complexity involved in managing applications, according to Enterprise Management Associates'
Radar for Application Performance Management for Cloud Services: Q1 2012. Key challenges in terms of managing cloud applications include being able to drill down and understand as many as 30 to 40 components supporting the application to determine the origin of a slowdown, for example.

As to the performance of cloud-delivered IT, some companies have introduced technology to reduce noticeable latency in some SaaS offerings. Recently, application delivery platform provider Akamai Technologies partnered with WAN optimization provider Riverbed Technology to offer a dual solution to reduce SaaS latency.

Learn more about Research: 2012 State of Cloud Computing by subscribing to Network Computing Pro Reports (free, registration required).