Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/195525
42 Information Technology maltatoday, SUNDAY, 13 OCTOBER 2013 Enterprise Cloud Solutions: public, private or hybrid? Andrea Muscat 'Cloud' is the latest catchword in the world of information technology, referring to the next stage of the internet revolution. It is a way for businesses to increase capabilities and increase capacity without incurring great costs such as hardware, user training and software licenses. Over the years, we have gradually embraced cloud technology without really being fully aware of it. It started when we created our Hotmail and Yahoo email accounts and evolved further when we started to access our bank accounts online through online banking. More recently, our use of cloud technology intensified through the use of social media, through services such as Fa- cebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram. Today, we not only store and access our emails and bank transactions online through the cloud, but we also share our latest relationship status and family vacation photos. In the enterprise world, the level of trust in such technology can be seen on two main models; these are commonly referred to us a public cloud and a private cloud. There is a third option, the hybrid cloud, which is still relatively new to enterprises, and involves mixing the two together. Finding the right mix of cloud models is the key starting point for such enterprises looking to invest in cloud. A private cloud, on one hand, is a single-tenant environment where the hardware, storage and network are dedicated to a single client or company. In our case, Alert Group can offer hosted solutions in our own data centre. The public cloud, on the other hand, is a multi-tenant environment, where one buys a "server slice" or an "application slice" in a cloud computing environment that is shared with a number of other clients or tenants. This would be hosted more often than not by the vendor, such as SAP. Whether private or public, all solutions would be accessed via the internet. Why private cloud? The main driver for investing in a private cloud would be control. This is brought about by the need to tailor your solution to accurately map your business processes. Alert and SAP can offer a managed solution in a controlled environment, also using the latest in-memory technology (SAP HANA Cloud platform). SAP already has many clients running core solutions on a private cloud, which illustrates the robustness of such solutions. Making use of a private cloud solution can also help overcome skill shortages in an organisation's IT departments. The question therefore arises; is private cloud better than public cloud? The answer is not what is better or worse, it is about your business, and what is right and cost effective for your business. A public cloud service makes more sense when you want to change or adapt your business quickly. One must ensure best practices are implemented in this scenario. Despite this, one must try adapt to these best practices as quickly as possible for maximum success. SAP can also offer a private cloud service which is tailored to your needs and owned by your IT department. This can be combined with a public cloud to enable rapid change, to those business areas which you deem necessary. Such a solution can be based o n the latest SAP HANA platform, where the latest in-memory technology offers organisations the option to go that extra mile, by configuring or extending their needs such as workflows or enhancements. Whatever the solution, the SAP platform guarantees data integration. Irrespective of the solutions, whether public, private or hybrid SAP has the resources to ensure effective security as one of the solution's main priorities. This means, one can be assured that whatever the cloud, SAP's security measures are of the very best. Essentially, cloud technology will bring innovation and ultimately responsiveness to an enterprise. Business will be transformed, and as a result, it will bring benefits of cloud technology such as minimizing infrastructure costs (such as servers), risk reductions and most importantly freeing up internal resources to focus more on the company's core business. Andrea Muscat is the Business Development Executive for Alert Solutions. Alert is the sole value-added reseller of SAP in Malta, as well as VAR partner in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). For more information on SAP and Alert cloud solutions, contact us on info@alert.com.mt Events The Spanish-Maltese Cultural Centre is 'saved' The Spanish-Maltese Cultural Centre, which was set up in 1984, was saved from the brink of closure by four organisations, Middlesea Insurance, MSV Life, Bank of Valletta and the ADRC Trust. Closure of the centre was imminent as it was unable to finance its annual rent costs, were it not for these four companies, who agreed to cover these costs for the forthcoming year. During a signing of an agreement between all the parties involved, measures to improve the sustainability of the Spanish-Maltese Centre were also discussed. Thanks to this assistance, the Spanish-Maltese Cultural Centre remains open, offering a wide variety of Spanish Language courses for all levels, including conversation classes, classes for children and classes about Spanish culture. Since it was set up, 5,000 students have already studied at the Spanish-Maltese Cultural centre. "As a member of the MAPFRE Group, in which Spanish is one of the official languages, it was impossible for Middlesea Insurance to ignore the plight of the Spanish Maltese Centre. In fact, the company in the past year had been utilising the services of the Centre as our employees were being supported to study the Spanish language. We believe it would have been terrible to deny the opportunity to learn such a widely spoken language to the public in general," said Alfredo Munoz, President and CEO of Middlesea Insurance p.l.c. David Curmi, MSV Life CEO, added that supporting such initiatives is in line with the organisation's commitment to corporate social responsibility. "We are very proud to support an organisation which makes such a valuable input to society in terms of education," he added. "Education is one of the main pillars of BOV's community program. It is the key to improve individuals' potential by providing them with the necessary tools to build a better future. Therefore we are committed to support educational initiatives such as the Spanish Maltese Centre," said Charles Borg, CEO of Bank of Valletta. "The ADRC Trust has been established by the Chalmers family in memory of our son and brother Alistair David Robert Chalmers, who died in 2012, aged just 31. The aim of this trust is to support those causes which were important to him. As a first-class-honours graduate in Seated (from left): Charles Borg, BOV; Mary Rose Chalmers, the ADRC Trust; Chiara Felice, the Spanish-Maltese Cultural Centre; Afredo Munoz, Middlesea Insurance. Standing (from left): Roderick Chalmers, the ADRC Trust; David Curmi, MSV Life; Mario Felice, the Spanish-Maltese Cultural Centre Hispanic Studies from Bristol University, the Spanish language had a very special place in his heart. Above all, he was always a strong believer in providing opportunities to the young and in encouraging them to use their talents. The Spanish-Maltese Cultural Centre serves both the purposes of promoting Hispanic studies as well as opening a world of opportunities to young people, as any new language does, so we are happy to support such an organisation," said Mrs Mary Rose Chalmers, a member of the Board of Protectors of The ADRC Trust. Chiara Felice, director at the Spanish Maltese Centre expressed her delight and gratitude. "This support, from these four organisations has given us the confidence to continue investing and promoting the Centre and the Spanish language in Malta. The centre prides itself on offering the best standards of education, fully qualified teachers, small groups of students and above all a love for the language which we hope to transmit to others."