Managing and optimising your cloud environment
Moving workloads to the cloud is an important step, but cloud adoption does not end once migration is complete. Businesses also need to manage their cloud environment and ensure that it continues to meet their operational requirements.
For SMEs that are still preparing for cloud adoption, our previous article, Preparing your SME for cloud adoption, covers key considerations for assessing infrastructure, defining business objectives, choosing suitable cloud services, and planning the migration process.
Once workloads have been migrated, security, cost management, and ongoing optimisation become important parts of maintaining the environment.
Build security into your cloud environment
Cloud security is a shared responsibility between cloud providers and the businesses using their services. The specific responsibilities of each party vary depending on the cloud service model and provider.
Singapore’s Cyber Security Agency (CSA) provides Cloud Security Companion Guides to help organisations understand the cloud security measures to pay attention to when adopting cloud computing. The guides are aligned with Singapore’s Cyber Essentials and Cyber Trust standards. CSA also explains the Shared Responsibility Model, which describes the responsibilities of the cloud user and cloud provider in securing the cloud environment.
The Cloud Security Companion Guide for Cyber Essentials is targeted at organisations using Software as a Service (SaaS), while the Cloud Security Companion Guide for Cyber Trust is intended for organisations using other cloud service models.
For businesses looking for support with cloud environments, MyRepublic Managed Cloud Services include security features designed to help businesses manage their cloud infrastructure. The service provides managed infrastructure performance and security alerts, as well as managed patching of the latest security updates.
Monitor costs and optimise resources
Moving to the cloud does not automatically mean lower costs. Without proper monitoring, businesses may pay for resources that are no longer required or use more resources than their workloads need.
Regularly reviewing cloud usage and spending can help SMEs understand whether their resources remain aligned with business requirements.
- Monitor usage and spending: Review cloud consumption and costs regularly to understand where resources are being used.
- Identify unused resources: Check for resources that are no longer required and remove them where appropriate.
- Review resource allocation: Assess whether computing, storage, and other resources are appropriately sized for current workloads.
- Scale according to demand: Adjust resources as workloads and business requirements change.
- Review storage requirements: Assess stored data regularly and determine whether current storage arrangements remain appropriate.
- Set spending controls:Where available, use budgets, alerts or other controls to help monitor cloud expenditure.
The goal is not simply to reduce cloud spending, but to make sure cloud resources are being used effectively and remain aligned with business requirements.
MyRepublic Managed Cloud Services also provides cost optimisation support. Its cloud experts can help businesses understand the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of running their infrastructure and identify opportunities to optimise cloud costs.
Manage your cloud environment
- Monitor infrastructure: Keep track of the cloud environment to identify performance or security issues that may require attention.
- Address issues proactively: Identify and resolve infrastructure issues before they have a greater impact on business operations.
- Manage incidents and service requests: Establish an appropriate process for responding to incidents and service requests when issues arise.
- Access specialist support: Ensure IT teams can get the technical assistance they need when managing or troubleshooting the cloud environment.
These activities help businesses maintain a cloud environment that is monitored, maintained, and supported as operational requirements evolve.
MyRepublic’s Managed Cloud Services provide ongoing management and support for cloud environments, with features including proactive monitoring and remediation, managed backups through automation and monitoring, management of the latest security updates, and bi-annual resource optimisation reviews for its Standard and Premium packages. It also provides access to skilled and certified cloud support, with SLA-based response to incidents and service requests.
Getting more from your cloud environment
Cloud adoption is an ongoing process. After workloads have been migrated, businesses need to continue managing security, costs, and resources to ensure their cloud environment remains aligned with business requirements.
Regular reviews can help businesses identify where adjustments may be needed as workloads and business needs change. By keeping security, resource usage, and costs under review, businesses can continue to make effective use of the cloud services they have adopted.
MyRepublic Managed Cloud is designed to support businesses beyond the migration stage, with ongoing cloud management, monitoring, maintenance, security updates, backup management, and resource optimisation support. This can help businesses maintain their cloud environment as operational requirements evolve.
Explore MyRepublic Cloud Services to learn more about how MyRepublic can support your business throughout its cloud adoption journey.
