Demystifying the challenges and principles of cloud governance frameworks

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the possibilities and complexities of moving your business operations to the cloud? You’re not alone. As organizations worldwide race to modernize their IT infrastructure, cloud adoption is gaining popularity for its promises of improving business agility, driving innovation, and boosting competitive edge.

However, this digital transformation comes with challenges, primarily in effectively managing and regulating the sprawling array of cloud resources. That’s why cloud governance is essential for maintaining control over IT spending, ensuring security compliance, and optimizing the operational performance of cloud environments.

This article will cover all you need to know about cloud governance frameworks. From identifying the key benefits and best practices to outlining the challenges and strategies for successful implementation, let’s demystify the principles of effective cloud governance and empower you to make informed decisions.

What is cloud governance?

Cloud governance is a framework designed to ensure the effective and efficient use of cloud computing resources. It plays a crucial role in managing resources and mitigating risks associated with cloud environments. 

This governance framework ensures that all cloud activities align with the organization’s broader business goals and strategies, providing a structured way to systematically evaluate and optimize cloud operations.

Why is cloud governance important?

Cloud governance is particularly vital for organizations that leverage hybrid and multi-cloud solutions. Here’s why:

• Improved cloud resource management: Effective governance frameworks help organizations keep track of their cloud assets and utilization. This oversight reduces the prevalence of “shadow IT,” where employees use cloud services without proper approval, thus exposing the organization to potential security and compliance risks.
• Cost management: By controlling and optimizing cloud resource allocation, cloud governance can help organizations avoid unnecessary costs. This oversight ensures that resources are not underutilized or overprovisioned, which can lead to significant savings.
• Risk mitigation: Cloud governance frameworks help identify and address risks associated with cloud computing, including security vulnerabilities and data breaches. By defining and enforcing appropriate security policies and controls, organizations can protect their data and resources from external threats and internal mishaps.
• Regulatory compliance: For many organizations, regulatory compliance is a critical concern. Cloud governance ensures that all cloud operations adhere to relevant laws, regulations, and standards, helping to avoid legal and financial penalties.

The 6 key principles of cloud governance

1. Financial management

Managing cloud costs is necessary for maintaining budget adherence and maximizing return on investment (ROI). This principle involves meticulous cost monitoring and optimization to ensure the financial aspects of cloud technology are cost-effective.

The tools and strategies under this pillar help forecast expenses, analyze spending patterns, and identify opportunities to reduce costs without compromising performance or security.

2. Performance management

This pillar focuses on the technological aspects of cloud resources, including their performance and scalability. It’s important to monitor and optimize cloud service performance to meet predefined Service Level Objectives (SLOs). Performance management includes tasks like resource tuning, load balancing, and capacity planning, all aimed at delivering a seamless and consistent user experience.

3. Operational management

Operational management entails establishing processes that improve the efficiency and smooth running of cloud operations. This includes routine tasks such as provisioning, ongoing monitoring, automation of repetitive tasks, and swift incident response. Effective operational management ensures that cloud environments are stable, responsive, and adaptable to changing demands.

4. Asset and configuration management

Proper management of cloud resources and configurations is essential for ensuring security, compliance, and operational efficiency. Asset management ensures a clear inventory and visibility into the utilization and performance of all cloud assets. On the other hand, configuration management is concerned with maintaining the consistency and security standards of these assets, aligning them with organizational policies and industry best practices.

5. Data and privacy

As organizations increasingly collect, store, and analyze vast amounts of data, effective data management becomes essential. This governance aspect covers the entire data lifecycle – from acquisition to disposal – including stringent controls on data storage, access, and processing to ensure security, confidentiality, and compliance with privacy regulations. It helps organizations prevent data breaches and other privacy-related violations.

6. Security, compliance, and risk management

Security and compliance are at the forefront of cloud governance. This pillar protects cloud-based systems, data, and applications from external threats, internal vulnerabilities, and compliance failures. 

It encompasses implementing robust security measures, ongoing compliance assessments, and proactive risk management strategies. These efforts are crucial for maintaining the integrity and trustworthiness of cloud services and ensuring that they meet rigorous regulatory standards.

“Together, these six pillars provide a structured and strategic framework for governing cloud environments. They help organizations leverage the benefits of cloud computing while managing potential risks and ensuring that their cloud strategies contribute positively to their overall business objectives.”
– Ken Wallace, VMware Private Cloud Product Manager at Liquid Web.

Navigating common challenges of cloud governance

A survey of technical professionals across a spectrum of organizations revealed that 84 percent identified cloud governance as a top challenge in their cloud adoption efforts. Here are some of the common challenges businesses face with cloud governance and how to navigate them.

Multiple stakeholders

In a typical organization, IT teams, financial officers, operational managers, and compliance experts all have stakes in how cloud resources are managed. These differing priorities can lead to conflicts and inefficiencies unless carefully managed. Effective cloud governance requires a balanced approach that accommodates diverse objectives while promoting a unified strategy that aligns with the organization’s goals.

Lack of expertise

Many organizations struggle with the expertise gap necessary to implement robust cloud governance. This includes a deep understanding of cloud technologies, best practices, and a familiarity with the regulatory requirements pertinent to the organization’s industry.

Additionally, the technical skills required to configure, manage, and secure cloud resources are often in short supply. Bridging this skills gap involves targeted training, hiring skilled personnel, or partnering with cloud governance experts to ensure that the governance framework is effectively implemented.

Security risks

Security and compliance are among the most pressing concerns in cloud governance. The diverse and dynamic nature of cloud environments can exacerbate these issues, making it challenging to protect sensitive data and secure cloud resources against threats. 

Also, ensuring compliance with various industry regulations and standards can overwhelm organizations, especially those operating across multiple jurisdictions or sectors. To mitigate these risks, it’s crucial to adopt a security-first approach to cloud governance, incorporating stringent security measures, regular compliance checks, and proactive risk management strategies.

Defining and implementing a cloud governance framework

Organizations must align their strategy closely with broader business objectives to effectively define and implement a cloud governance framework. This alignment ensures that the governance efforts support key business goals such as agility, cost-efficiency, compliance, and risk management.

Here are some best practices for effective cloud governance:

• Transparency in policy creation: Engage all stakeholders in the governance policy creation process to ensure that their needs and concerns are addressed. This transparency helps build trust and ensure widespread compliance with the governance framework.
• Regular updates and revisions: As business needs and technologies evolve, so should the cloud governance framework. Regular reviews and updates are necessary to adapt to changes and incorporate new insights.
• Continuous monitoring and enforcement: Continuous monitoring and enforcement are critical to ensure that the policies are effectively followed and that they continue to meet the organization’s objectives.

Identifying and selecting appropriate tools and technologies is essential to support these efforts. These tools provide the necessary automation and insights to maintain oversight and control over complex cloud environments, ensuring governance strategies are effectively enacted and maintained.

Anchoring your cloud governance strategy with Liquid Web’s VMware private cloud

For companies looking to anchor their cloud governance strategies effectively, selecting the right tools is crucial. These tools should simplify the management of cloud resources and align with the organization’s security, compliance, and operational needs. Liquid Web’s private cloud powered by VMware offers a robust solution tailored to support comprehensive cloud governance strategies.

Here’s how it addresses various aspects of cloud governance.

Customizable infrastructure

VMware private cloud offers a hassle-free approach to private cloud hosting by eliminating the complexities of managing virtual data centers. Liquid Web monitors and manages the hardware and virtual machines (VMs) and oversees the entire cloud platform.

This allows businesses to focus more on their applications and less on the underlying infrastructure. Moreover, the infrastructure is fully customizable, enabling organizations to adjust configurations, security settings, and compliance controls to meet specific governance requirements and adhere to industry regulations.

Enhanced security

Liquid Web’s VMware private cloud provides a secure, isolated environment ideal for hosting sensitive data and critical workloads. With dedicated resources and robust security measures like firewalls, DDoS protection, and encryption, businesses can significantly reduce their vulnerability to security threats and ensure their data is well-protected.

Scalability and flexibility

VMware private cloud provides the necessary scalability and flexibility to adjust to evolving business needs and governance requirements. Whether it’s scaling resources up or down in response to workload demands, budget constraints, regulatory changes, or organizational growth, Liquid Web’s solution can accommodate.

Centralized management

VMware private cloud offers centralized management tools and dashboards that allow organizations to easily provision, monitor, and manage their cloud resources. This centralization streamlines administrative processes and ensures consistency and compliance across the entire infrastructure.

Dedicated support

Liquid Web offers dedicated support from experienced administrators and specialists committed to helping businesses overcome governance challenges. With 24/7 technical support and managed services, organizations can leverage expert assistance to adhere to governance best practices, resolve issues, and optimize their private cloud environments for enhanced compliance and security.

Your next step toward effective cloud governance

An effective cloud governance strategy requires careful planning and the right tools. It’s about aligning your cloud operations with broader business objectives and leveraging technologies that enhance efficiency, security, and compliance.

VMware private cloud simplifies the complexities of cloud governance. This powerful solution offers businesses a secure, customizable, and compliant cloud environment tailored to support robust cloud governance frameworks. Its dedicated infrastructure and advanced security features provide the control organizations need to manage their cloud resources effectively.

Liquid Web helps organizations achieve their governance objectives through:

• Dedicated infrastructure: Customizable options that align with business and governance requirements.
• Enhanced security features: Including firewalls, DDoS protection, and encryption to safeguard sensitive data and applications.
• Compliance support: Ensures operations adhere to regulatory standards and best practices.
• Centralized management tools: Simplify monitoring and management of cloud resources, ensuring consistency and reducing administrative overhead.
• Scalability and flexibility: Easily adapt to changing governance needs, business growth, or varying workloads.
• Dedicated support: 24/7 access to expert assistance for optimizing cloud governance strategies.

Liquid Web’s VMware private cloud serves as a solid foundation for meeting current governance needs and scaling operations seamlessly as requirements evolve.

Discover more about Liquid Web’s VMware private cloud and how it can transform your cloud governance into an asset, not a challenge.