Always On: Considerations When Adopting the Cloud

As organizations look to differentiate in the marketplace, they are increasingly shifting their focus to the cloud as a preferred model for developing and hosting their solutions. The use of application programming interfaces (APIs) in the API economy is accelerating the rate by which organizations can deliver their solutions.

Although the business value of the use of cloud computing and the API economy can be understood, the operational requirements to realize the business value are not understood; specifically, the operational expectation of the cloud being Always On.

We assert that organizations hold an implicit expectation that services that are delivered via the cloud are always available because that is what they believe the cloud offers. Although we agree that cloud computing can enable an Always On solution, it is only with the explicit understanding that achieving Always On is a function of design and practice, and not something that is inherited.

In this IBM® Redguide™, we explore the contemporary business need for Always On, the evolution of key organizational roles and responsibilities that are necessary to achieve Always On in the cloud, and a set of key capabilities that are required to ensure that Always On can be realized with cloud solutions.