Your personal guide to true hybrid architecture designed for serious cloud performance, security and compliance.

Cloud PowerPrivate Peace of Mind

Contents

Why is hybrid cloud important

to business performance? 3

Industry challenges 4

How does high performance

hybrid cloud benefit your business? 4

Benefits of adopting a

hybrid cloud model with Harbour IT 5

Stakeholder mindsets 6

Q&A: A rock-solid footing in the cloud - Ricki Gavazis 8

Why choose Harbour IT? 10

Next steps – free expert consultation 10

Why is hybrid cloud important to business performance?

A hybrid cloud solution is one of the more versatile and scalable solutions a business can adopt. And while each business’ use of the cloud will differ, its overall growth is undeniable.

Gartner reports that over 90% of enterprise organisations expect to deploy hybrid cloud architecture in IT departments by the year 2020, and more than $1.3 trillion in IT spending will be affected by the shift to the cloud by 2022. This shows the versatility of the hybrid cloud model.

Adopting a hybrid architecture empowers a business to take advantage of the best of every environment based on the unique risks and benefits their business or industry faces. As a result, the business is always in control of where workloads sit. The below diagram illustrates the trade-off between risk and benefits that a hybrid cloud enables a business to manage.

Do you need to and are you ready to adopt hybrid cloud? Ask your self the questions below, if your answer is yes to any of them then you could benefit from adopting a hybrid cloud architecture:

• Do you have aging infrastructure but aren’t quite ready for a full move to Public Cloud?

• Are you using Public Cloud and looking for greater control over costs and data security?

• Are you trying to balance innovation with regulatory compliance and other non-technical concerns?

• Do you need greater control over where and how your applications are run?

• Is your dev team developing on-premise to deploy code to a Public Cloud at a rapid rate?

• Are you looking to build cloud skills and capability in a more secure environment?

3

How does high performance hybrid cloud benefit your business?

Your organisations IT infrastructure is the underlying vehicle that drives the tools you leverage to complete a myriad of processes and tasks. How your infrastructure runs can often be an indication of how your organisation is performing. Having a flexible, scalable and high-performance environment in place enables your staff to deliver optimal services and outcomes to your customers.

Cost Predictability

Greater visibility and cost-predictability ensures your organisation can control costs, ensuring you remain clear on your cloud bill and avoid unexpected costs.

Accelerate Road to Cloud

Accelerate the establishment of your cloud strategy without having to build capability, worry about capacity or make CapEx investments.

Speed to Market

Deliver products and services quicker with IT focused on business initiatives rather than IT operations.

Security & Control

A private cloud environment delivers solidified control over your security posture and compliance requirements.

With Hybrid Cloud, your digital transformation

takes on minimised risk, enabling IT to better execute

on business demands.

Industry challenges

Businesses across all industries face increasing pressure to balance the requirements for control and compliance with commercial needs for innovation and speed to market. For example the Finance, Superannuation and Insurance sectors face a high level of tension between the following challenges:

Securely handle large volumes of personal and sensitive information.

Compliance and regulatory standards that must be met across industry, government and internal policies.

Customer demands for innovative products/services and a streamlined customer experience.

Juggling speed to market for critical business demands with time to develop new and innovative solutions.

4

Key Benefits include:

• Start with single workload, scale as you grow, keeping you

in control and minimising risk.

• Ability to control where datasets and workloads sit (private

or public cloud).

• Ability to move safely to the cloud, as you’re always in

control of where workloads reside.

• All sensitive datasets and workloads remain secure

courtesy of a resolute security posture, aligned correctly

with regulatory and compliancy standards. You know

Benefits of adopting a hybrid cloud model with Harbour IT

Work with a reputable managed service provider ensures rapid implementation of your hybrid cloud strategy without the large capital outlay and long lead times associated with building internal cloud capabilities and infrastructure.

Harbour IT offers customers the freedom to choose the best performing environment for their workload requirements. Delivered as a managed service on a peruse, per month basis, allowing your organisation to start small with one workload and scale as needed they are able to select either;

Cloud Metro, ensures delivery of continuous availability, high secure, reliable storage with high-performance computing and 99.99% uptime. PCI-DSS compliant, meeting APRA CPS234 guidelines and hosted in Tier 3 data centre, Cloud Metro is an Ultra Secure Private cloud Infrastructure-as-a-Service, with rapid disaster recovery. Meaning you get back to focusing on your customers.

Azure Stack, with an Azure consistent environment, enables you to harness the agility of the public cloud alongside its flexibility and Scalability. Freeing you up to focus on driving value for your customers and delivering business outcomes, instead of being handcuffed by slow IT operations.

5

where they are, and that you have control and sovereignty

over them at all times. This is as opposed to a strictly Public

Cloud, where data can reside anywhere.

• High potential for the customer experience to improve

exponentially courtesy of the IT team’s increased time

for innovation.

• Accelerated enterprise app development which improves

the delivery of services and products at an unprecedented

rate to customers.

Stakeholder mindsets

When it comes to implementing new IT platforms and refining overall IT strategy, priorities vary across stakeholders and industries. Something that is important for an IT Manager may not necessarily be important for a Chief Financial Officer.

We answer the question “why does cloud infrastructure matter to me?” across key stakeholders in the modern organisation.

Considerations for the IT Department

The days of IT existing as a cost-centre, entrusted to simply “keep the lights on” are nothing more than a memory. To grow and remain competitive in the digital age, IT must be seen as a business enabler, assembled with the resources and ability to drive digital experiences, create new products and services, and expand into new markets. But with the IT environment becoming more and more complex, coupled with a skills shortage and rising wage demands for talent, finding the time to innovate can be challenging.

Considerations for the Boardroom/Executive Team

Business leaders want to see legitimate value from the technology investment. Will the solution solidify our security posture, ensure the protection of our sensitive datasets and workloads, while also allowing us to comply with changing regulatory standards? Will it deliver improved levels of organisational efficiency? Will it enable employees to focus their energy more intently on innovation? How much will it cost us? Without having a developed and mature understanding of IT, executives want the assurance their data and reputation are secure, and that there’s legitimate business value and opportunities for growth in the investment.

Key Priorities include:

6

Time: When consumed as a Managed

Service, gives IT teams the necessary time

to focus on business initiatives.

Efficiency: The powerful benefits

of agility, flexibility and scalability to

continuously develop innovative

products and services.

Consistency: A clear on or off ramp

to the public cloud, ensuring you have

the ability to manage each workload

and optimise for the benefits of each

environment.

Risk mitigation: High levels of security

and control to maintain the integrity of

business-critical data.

Agility: Increased agility and go-to-

market speed courtesy of the Azure

consistent environment, framework

and tools.

Shareholder growth: Technology that can drive shareholder

growth through improved time to market

and innovation.

Key Priorities include:

7

Considerations for the End User

End users are the backbone of any organisation, performing the processes and tasks that define an organisations success. Staff need the right systems and security posture in place for them to perform at optimal levels of productivity and efficiency. Frontline staff are much happier and at their most productive when they’re using and have access to systems that are secure and streamlined, allowing them to perfectly execute their role.

Considerations for the Financial Officer

Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) often act as the bridge between the executive team and the internal IT team, they must effectively liaise with all parties. When evaluating the value in a new solution they must assess the costs of maintaining the current environment (these are often the biggest IT expenses in terms of wages and upkeep hours), and what cost will be incurred in rolling out new technology? If so, what is the payback period on the technology before it becomes a successful cost cutting reduction strategy?

By keeping your stakeholders front

of mind, we can deliver solutions that suit your

business needs.

Measurable ROI: Cost transparency

and predictability as a managed service.

Streamlined execution: A more

streamlined and innovative platform for

service delivery.

Proof of concept: Develop and

deliver services through a subscription

model that enables cloud innovation to fuel

further growth and measurably deliver on

business outcomes.

Customer experience: Continued development of

innovative tools.

Organisational outcomes: Pay-as-you-grow service model that

ensures your cloud environment is up and

running quickly, without the burden of

capital expenditure.

Security: Peace of mind in the

knowledge that data is secure and private.

Key Priorities include: Key Priorities include:

Q&A: A rock-solid footing in the cloud – Ricki Gavazis

Ricki Gavazis, Head of Pre-Sales & Architecture, is responsible for leading Harbour IT’s team of technical experts and consultants, advising on IT strategy to drive business strategy and overcome IT capability and capacity challenges.

Q. Hi Ricki, thanks for taking the time to sit down with us today. The momentum behind hybrid cloud continues to grow, why?

Ricki: Roughly 18 months ago, there was a big push for

everything to be in the public cloud because of the promised

benefits around scale, flexibility and the cost factor (CapEx to

OpEx). But in the midst of this migration, organisations weren’t

developing defined understandings of the associated risks and

benefits, the move garnered new challenges for cost

and security.

OpEx cost models created a new budget line that was

often unpredictable, which if not managed correctly lead to

significant unexpected costs.

Issues of security, compliance, regulation and the need for data

sovereignty had previously been under the watchful eye of the

IT department. But with data no longer housed on-premise

or within a private environment, concerns began to be

raised about access and the risks for sensitive and

customer-specific information.

So, while the benefits of public cloud were very promising,

many IT and business leaders were apprehensive considering

the associated risks. Hence the growth in hybrid infrastructures

began as a result of this tension. Organisations want to embrace

the innovation, flexibility and power of the public cloud

while simultaneously maintaining security and compliancy

requirements through on-premise environments.

Q. Harbour IT have been offering Private Cloud for over 15 years’ now with Cloud Metro, what’s the difference between that core offering and your new go-to market; Stack-as-a-Service?

Ricki: CloudMetro continues to be an ultra-secure private

cloud Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) solution supporting

number of Australia’s leading organisations facing security,

compliance and regulatory challenges. It is a unique offer in the

Australian market being PCI-DSS compliant, meeting APRA

CPS234 guidelines and hosted in Tier 3 data centre.

Naturally it’s the choice of many finance, superannuation

and insurance clients.

Azure Stack-as-a-Service strengthens our hybrid portfolio, with

a more sophisticated and advanced version of hybrid cloud.

The Azure consistent environment simplifies IT operations and

provides a clear pivot point for organisations wishing to move to

the public cloud but still needing to manage security, as well as

those already on Azure public but in need of a retreat strategy

to better manage costs.

Q. When discussing hybrid cloud and Azure Stack, you’ve mentioned consistency in the past, and again just then, would you care to elaborate a little more on that?

Ricki: Sure. So, hybrid cloud architectures are traditionally

achieved through network connections to various public cloud

environments, typically using virtual machines and express

routes. Now, while these create a connection to the public

cloud environment, each environment in the cloud is unique to

its respective cloud provider. The impact of this is twofold.

1. Your workloads need to be optimised to work in

each environment.

2. Development teams require different tools and processes

for each environment, which multiplies the complexity of

the environment, and is very time consuming.

But Stack is Azure consistent, which means that it runs the

exact same operating environment in the public cloud.

Which delivers ease of movement for workloads between

environments. Your development team can develop once

and deploy in either private, public or a combination of

environments. So, less time spent orchestrating IT

operations, more time to focus on innovation and

delivering business demands.

8

Q. Being first to the Australian market with this solution, what are the key business benefits that customers can expect to see?

Ricki: I believe there has been similar solutions available in New

Zealand and Norway, but you are right, this will be the first Stack

multi-tenant solution of this nature available in the Australian

market. Harbour IT is offering it as a managed service, allowing

organisations to start small, with what’s manageable and then

scale as needed. The key benefits

are four-fold.

1. Security, control and compliance.

2. Accelerate Road to Cloud – With Harbour IT managing the

environment, organisations have the ability to accelerate

the establishment of their cloud approach without the

need to build capability, worry about capacity or make any

CapEx investments.

3. Speed to Market – Organisations take advantage of faster

speed to market courtesy of IT having sufficient time to

focus on what differentiates and drives their business

forward, rather than IT operations.

4. Cost – Delivered as-a-Service delivers greater visibility

and predictability, hence ensuring IT teams and business

leaders have control over costs, eliminating the potential

bill shock that public cloud can bring.

Q. From an industry perspective, when considering the finance, superannuation and insurance sectors, they have a lot of compliance and regulatory standards to meet – does Hybrid assist in meeting those?

Ricki: In short, yes. this Hybrid model is a very strong solution

for those particular sectors. All three-face tension between a

number of challenges that include:

1. Handling of large volumes of personal and

sensitive information.

2. Customer demands for innovative products/services and

a streamlined customer experience.

3. Compliance and regulatory standards that must be met

across industry, government and internal policies.

Models that are consumed as-a-Service enable organisations

to leverage the expertise of a trusted managed service provider

to assist them in meeting competitive demands of regulation

and innovation. Access to industry leading talent and expertise

ensures they are ahead of the curve with respect to security

and compliance while also affording their internal teams the

necessary freedom to focus on the innovative initiatives that

drive the customer experience.

High performing organisations like to focus on building and

retaining their competitive intellectual property in house,

so as-a-Service models are justified because the focus on

operations and support functions is taken out of their hands.

Q. That’s fantastic, do you forecast an increase in uptake for these models? And where do you see hybrid cloud in 12-24 months’ time do you think?

Ricki: Absolutely, IT is becoming more complex, and there’s

a clear skills shortage in terms of talent across the market.

Savvy organisations are partnering with integrators such as

Harbour IT as a direct strategy to meet the demand for skills and

capabilities, as well as ensuring they remain competitive.

In terms of hybrid cloud, it’s quickly become the new standard,

and companies will require the security private cloud delivers

but market pressure will continue to the push the need for

public cloud. Over time, hybrid will evolve to be very much

multi-cloud, where the most innovative customers will demand

the flexibility to move workloads between the various public

cloud providers, and private.

Whether you’re new to cloud services or a seasoned

professional, a conversation with one of our cloud experts is the

best way to get clarity for your project. Our expert consultations

are designed to ensure the right cloud fit for your organisation,

no matter where you are on your cloud journey. We’ll work

alongside you to see how Azure Stack fits with

your organisation.

Visit harbourit.com.au for more information.

9

Why choose Harbour IT?

At Harbour IT, our reputation is founded on ensuring the security, control and compliance of our customers most sensitive workloads. Known for our knowledgeable, personable service, we offer the most secure and flexible hosted and managed cloud offerings available in the market – helping our customers to transform the way their businesses are run.

We have provided cloud hosting solutions and managed services for nearly 2 decades. You’ll benefit from the expertise of the best engineers in the industry and enjoy a level of security and reliability that’s second to none.

Next steps – free expert consultation

Whether you’re new to cloud services or a seasoned professional, a conversation with one of our cloud experts is the best way to get clarity for your project and move forward.

Our expert consultations are designed to ensure the right cloud fit for your organisation, no matter where you are on your cloud journey. We’ll work alongside you to understand your business goals and determine how our hybrid cloud can help you achieve them.

For more information, call 1300 785 942 or visit harbourit.com.au.

10

Unlock Cloud Power, with Private Peace of Mind

For more information, call 1300 785 942 or visit harbourit.com.au.