Cloud 101: Developing a Cloud-Computing Strategy for Higher

Introduction

In 2010, the University of Texas at Austin migrated to a

brand-new $32 million data center. Roughly twice the size

of the university’s previous data center — and the result of

two years of intensive planning and design — the new facility

features a consolidated network architecture and eco-friendly

power and cooling systems. It is expected to reach full

capacity in just three to five years.

At that point, the university

will need to expand or migrate its data center yet again.

Not coincidentally, 2010 also marked the first year in which

more data traveled across the Internet than during all the

previous years combined.

With such an exponential increase

in data traffic, university IT teams will need to spend an

ever-increasing share of their time simply preparing to

handle projected capacity requirements. Year over year, the

challenge of long-term scalability will only become more

acute. And with university IT budgets sometimes falling behind

the pace of change, schools need to find smart, secure ways

to meet growing demand while controlling costs.

1. Information Technology Services at the University of Texas at Austin, “UDC:

Frequently Asked Questions.”

2. James Temple, “Web 2.0 Summit: Data Explosion Creates Revolution,”

SFGate.com, October 19, 2011.

In the search for a more scalable approach to IT infrastructure,

a growing number of schools see cloud-based computing as

a tremendous opportunity to achieve large-scale efficiencies

without sacrificing performance. Yet in order to realize these

benefits and get the maximum return on their investment,

colleges and universities must take into account the various

challenges and considerations unique to each particular

environment. No cloud solution should be one-size-fits-all.

In the following pages, you will learn how you can take the first

steps toward a custom-built cloud-computing solution by:

• Creating a comprehensive cloud strategy

• Designing a cloud-based architectural model

• Making the transition to the cloud

Competing Demands in an Increasingly

Complex Environment

College and university IT organizations are expected to keep

up with a long list of competing demands, such as:

• Deploying applications and delivering web-based student

services at a rapidly accelerating rate, often without a

proportionate increase in budget for hardware, software,

and personnel

Cloud 101: Developing a

Cloud-Computing Strategy

for Higher Education

White Paper

• Drastically reducing CapEx and OpEx costs while

maintaining the highest levels of security and privacy

• Maintaining a traditional IT infrastructure increasingly unable

to accommodate the growing number of personal devices —

including tablets, smartphones, and laptops — that students

bring into the campus environment

• Offering sufficient bandwidth to accommodate huge swings

in network usage, from the high activity of autumn to the lull

of summer

• Competing against other universities, many of which

attempt to differentiate themselves in the market based on

the services they offer to students

Security is an especially pressing issue for institutions of

higher education. With many faculty members pursuing

patent-pending research, and with student privacy

safeguarded by strict regulations, colleges and universities

must be careful to minimize exposure to legal risk and

compliance risk. A secure and reliable networking

infrastructure is therefore a flat-out requirement.

Fortunately, many higher education institutions have found a

way to meet these competing demands — for greater agility,

less risk, and lower cost — by migrating much of their IT

infrastructure to the cloud.

Increased Adoption, Proven Benefits

The trend in higher education is clearly toward cloud services

adoption. According to a 2011 study by CDW, only 5

percent of U.S. college and university respondents were not

considering a cloud migration. 29 percent had developed a

written strategic plan for the adoption of cloud computing,

with 28 percent in the midst of implementation.

In February

2011, the Higher Education Funding Council for England

(HEFCE) developed a new program that would invest up

to £10 million in cloud computing, shared IT infrastructure,

and support to deliver virtual servers, storage, and data

management applications for universities and colleges.

This should come as no surprise when considering the many

advantages that cloud computing can offer to institutions of

higher education:

3. “From Tactic to Strategy: The CDW 2011 Cloud Computing Tracking Poll,”

July 2011.

4. http://www.hefce.ac.uk/news/hefce/2011/cloud.htm.

• Fiscal advantages. The 2011 CDW survey reports that for

U.S.-based institutions of higher education, the average

savings from migrating applications to the cloud is 21

percent. This makes perfect sense when you consider that

underutilized infrastructure — especially during off-peak

times of the school year — represents a considerable waste

of hardware, power, management, and cooling resources.

By using a virtualization model and shared infrastructure,

cloud implementations promise greatly reduced expenses

in these areas. This increases long-run capital efficiency,

while allowing university IT departments to bypass complex

provisioning processes, minimize “shelfware,” avoid

Cloud 101: Developing a Cloud-Computing

Strategy for Higher Education

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The Cloud and Cloud Services Defined

What is the cloud?

A model for delivering on-demand services,

infrastructure, and application software using the

network.

What are the different types of cloud

deployment models?

• Public cloud: Cloud infrastructure shared or

accessible by all, with applications and services

delivered through the Internet.

• Private cloud: Restricted cloud infrastructure

operated by or on behalf of a specic organization,

available exclusively to approved users aliated with

that organization; cloud services are delivered using

a private network.

• Community cloud: Multitenant, private cloud

infrastructure that supports a specic community,

consisting of two or more organizations.

• Hybrid cloud: Combination of two or more of the

preceding cloud types.

Why opt for cloud services?

The value of cloud services is to help manage — and

make immediately available and useful — information

rather than infrastructure. Since universities are,

after all, centers for the dissemination of information,

this emphasis enables university IT departments to

focus on their unique priorities within the educational

environment.

equipment-obsolescence traps, and comply with green

computing expectations and initiatives.

• Increased efficiency and availability. The cloud model

provides the ability to rapidly acquire, provision, and

deploy new IT platforms, services, applications, and test

environments. With cloud capabilities, months-long IT

hardware procurement processes can be eliminated,

reducing time spent on such tasks to a matter of hours

or even minutes. The cloud model also helps ensure that

university networks are available and secure, regardless

of the circumstances. The result is a more agile and

efficient organization that can swiftly respond to changing

conditions and requirements.

• Simplification and standardization. The cloud consolidates

and simplifies data centers and facilities while standardizing

practices and improving compliance with regard to

security, as well as enhancing access to that most critical

of commodities: information. In addition, IT spending

and practices — which are not often understood or

easily defined — can be unified and clarified under the

cloud-computing model. Cloud implementations enable

universities to build a solution once and then use that

solution many times. This lowers costs, increases reliability,

and reduces time to implementation.

• Innovation. In higher education, the primary purpose of

technology should be to enable and inspire innovation

in the classroom and lab. That means giving educators,

administrators, and students both the applications and the

freedom they need to do their work. With the agility of the

cloud model, IT organizations can try out new applications

with minimal commitment, pay for as much as they use,

and adjust as necessary. The cloud can also offer new

ways for institutions of higher education to explore up-

to-the-minute research opportunities by sharing cloud-

computing resources with other universities.

Management at a Reduced Cost

Considerations Unique to Higher Education

Many higher education IT organizations design migrations

to cloud computing with only their in-house resources and

expertise to guide them. In most cases, this means that

colleges and universities are making the transition without the

benefit of the best practices required for the wide variety of

technologies involved. In fact, a 2011 study shows that only

15 percent of university campuses report having a strategic

plan for cloud computing.

This lack of overall strategy is especially surprising when you

consider the importance of security within the campus IT

environment. Security becomes even more of a challenge

as universities begin to use video and wireless to extend

their domestic and global reach so that they can attract new

students to their schools. Nearly one-third of IT professionals

in higher education identified potential security breaches as

the single biggest barrier to cloud adoption.

With so many

concerns around security, privacy, and compliance in the

higher education realm, why trust a cloud implementation to a

nonspecialized in-house team?

5.“Colleges Unite to Drive Down Cost of ‘Cloud Computing,’” The Chronicle of

Higher Education, October 16, 2011.

6. Campus Technology, “Higher Ed Optimistic About Cloud Use,” June 2011.

Cloud 101: Developing a Cloud-Computing

Strategy for Higher Education

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Cloud Case Study: Enhanced Scalability and Simplified

Management at a Reduced Cost

Berlin’s University of Technology (TU) virtualized

much of its IT infrastructure using the Cisco Unified

Computing System

™

(Cisco UCS

™

). As a result, TU

realizes high scalability through maximum utilization of

resources while simplifying management and gaining a

clear edge over international competitors. Cost savings

have been particularly impressive. For example, TU now

requires only eight cables per blade chassis, achieving

a 90 percent reduction in cabling-related costs.

If institutions of higher education choose to take an in-

house approach, they risk facing common cloud-computing

challenges, including:

• Limited virtualization around the endpoint

computing resources

• Failure to exploit innovative, cost-saving initiatives, such as

business continuity or disaster recovery based in the cloud

• Security inadequately focused at the application or server

layer only

• Lack of customer isolation using secure, scalable,

multitenant services

Some cloud-computing requirements are the same across

all industries. But colleges and universities face particularly

challenging circumstances in the following areas:

• Robust security is critical. Security and data privacy impli-

cations are the foremost concern for many higher education

IT organizations. In the last few years, security has taken on

an added dimension of complexity, due in part to the prolif-

eration of so-called BYOD (bring your own device) programs

at many universities. Many IT teams find themselves simply

overwhelmed by the sheer range of devices requiring at

least some level of on-campus protection.

• The right balance between public and private. Universities

must first determine the right balance between the public

and private cloud, taking all relevant legal and security

issues into consideration, and then pursue a change-

management strategy so that students can understand why

the university favors some applications over others.

• Any strategy should firmly position education as the

university’s number-one priority. In the higher education

space, the goal of cloud computing isn’t necessarily to

reduce headcount in IT. Rather, the goal is to give IT the

opportunity to support the university’s primary function of

educating students.

Every cloud implementation should be as unique as the

campus it serves. When undertaking any major technology

initiative, it is necessary to carefully define objectives and

requirements, aligning them with the business needs as

well as the technology architecture and strategy. It is also

imperative to understand the risks and develop plans for

mitigating them. This approach is critical in order to maximize

success and return on investment.

Designing a Custom Cloud-Computing

Strategy with Help from Seasoned Experts

Since an exclusively internal approach to building a cloud-

based system would use already stretched in-house

resources, one solution for ensuring a successful transition

to the cloud is to turn to a professional services group for

assistance in developing a strategy that best suits your

college or university’s needs.

This team of experts will work with university IT teams to

create a wish list for making the transition to the cloud easier.

Items on the wish list may include:

• Choice of vendors, partners, and cloud-computing solutions

• Alignment with business strategy and goals

• A comprehensive, architectural approach

• A full service and solution offering with robust security

• Measurable benefits such as time-to-market

Cloud 101: Developing a Cloud-Computing

Strategy for Higher Education

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Cloud Security Checklist

Here is a checklist of security issues and capabilities

to consider when it comes to optimizing the security of

your cloud implementation:

Data safety

Data condentiality

Data privacy

XML signature

Browser security

Cloud integrity and binding

Network security

Flooding and denial-of-service attacks

Regulatory compliance

Data center location

Dedicated security team to ease transition

With a clearly defined wish list, organizations must then

approach the cloud transition in the following four phases:

1. Strategic Preparation

In this initial phase, IT decision makers will determine the

appropriate cloud computing strategy, asking questions

about architecture and security, as well as about objectives.

Colleges and universities should work with experts who have

extensive experience in multiple technology areas, such as

virtualization, service orchestration, automated provisioning,

and the security that underpins network architectures.

The costs, benefits, and operational changes required to

successfully migrate to a cloud–computing model should

also be evaluated, including both the current and desired

services management approach. A thorough analysis helps

align business results with subsequent cloud architectural

development, tools, process integration, and implementation.

Strategic preparation should also target security. University IT

experts should evaluate their cloud services and architecture

security risks, focusing on protecting access and providing

on-demand security options within a services catalog for their

users. In addition, your strategy should take into account your

cloud-computing evolution and post-deployment activities in

every stage: strategy, planning and design, implementation,

and optimization.

2. Planning and Design

When undertaking a transition to cloud computing, strategic

planning and design can help reduce the time to successful

deployment and operation of complex cloud models. This

phase requires expert coordination among the members of

your team, your partners, and other vendors, as well as a

detailed architecture design, data-center–specific expertise,

and security designed from end to end.

The resulting designs and plans — including, for example, an

end-to-end architecture blueprint, a migration roadmap, a

common control framework, a security technology framework,

physical safety and security, and your future cloud services

evolution — should link back to your strategy and lay the

foundation for subsequent implementation and integration.

3. Implementation

In order to reduce risk during a transition to cloud computing,

college and university IT organizations need to have someone

with experience in providing a virtualized architecture, as well

as integrated tools, a facilities plan, orchestration integration,

workload migration, and staging and validation activities

prior to full-scale implementation. This phase also involves

implementing the security technology architecture, the

security portal design, automated audit, and physical safety

and security designs.

Proven methodologies, best practices, and deep knowledge

of the core systems within the cloud environment can facilitate

a smooth migration from your existing environment to a cloud

utility computing architecture, while helping ensure adherence

to plans and enabling on-time delivery of a fully implemented

cloud-computing model. During this implementation stage,

knowledge transfer should be an ongoing process, providing

operational confidence for in-house experts.

4. Optimization

Optimization of the cloud model, which can accelerate

adoption, is the point where you can maximize the true benefits

of cloud computing: lower operating and capital expenses,

increased business agility and responsiveness, and scalability.

This is done through activities such as:

• Architectural reviews

• Security audits

• Cost-reduction exercises

• Process improvements

• Tool customization

• Post-deployment or Day 2 support

Cloud 101: Developing a Cloud-Computing

Strategy for Higher Education

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Cloud Case Study: Expanded Capabilities with

Virtualized Infrastructure

At the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), the

IT team required faster and more flexible provisioning

of resources. By virtualizing operations with Cisco

Data Center Business Advantage Architecture, CUHK

achieved more efficient allocation of computing

resources and significant expansion of data center

capability within a constrained physical space.

Applying Best Practices for a

Seamless Transition

Experts you trust can help you navigate these phases, help-

ing you to decide on the appropriate cloud-computing strat-

egy. These experts can also guide you through architecture

and security planning, design, implementation, and optimiza-

tion techniques.

The Cisco

Services approach draws on expansive data

center and virtualization expertise, proven best practice

methodologies, and Cisco’s unique intellectual property

to support cloud-enabling technologies. As a leader in

networking products and solutions, Cisco can help your IT

team develop the secure, high-performance network designs

required for cloud services delivery.

Cisco Cloud Enablement Services help:

• Accelerate the development of a financially justified cloud

strategy with a measurable ROI

• Help ensure that infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS)

infrastructure, management, people, and processes

maximize the success of the transition to cloud computing

• Accelerate the development and implementation of an IaaS

architecture, integrated tool design, and chargeback and

security mechanisms validated by Cisco

• Create a phased migration plan to help ensure the

successful adoption of the new cloud operational model

• Accelerate time-to-value of a data center architecture for

cloud services creation and delivery

Cisco provides a complete set of service offerings to help

your college or university through each step of its cloud

transition. Figure 1 illustrates the specific areas of focus that

Cisco Cloud Enablement Services offer.

Cloud 101: Developing a Cloud-Computing

Strategy for Higher Education

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Assess Strategy

Technology and Security

Management Tools

Operational Readiness

Business Case

Chargeback Approach

Program and Architecture

Infrastructure as a Service

(laaS) Design

Technology and Security

Tools Architecture

Service-Level Agreement (SLA)

Design

Chargeback Design

Program and Architecture

Implement

Technology, Security, Tools,

Facilities

Orchestration Integration

Workload Migration

Staging and Validation

Program and Architecture

Accelerate

Time to Value

Worldwide Expertise

Worldwide Presence

Proven Delivery

Capability

Cisco Services for Cloud Enablement

Cloud

Strategy

Service

Cloud

Planning

and Design

Service

Cloud

Implementation

Service

Figure 1 Cisco Services for Cloud Enablement

No matter what type of cloud model you want to deploy —

hybrid, community, private, or public — Cisco, and our pervasive

ecosystem of industry-leading partners, can support it. The

network is the fabric that links clouds and all their components

seamlessly and securely. With our reputation for integrity, our

focus on security, and our extensive suite of offerings, Cisco

can help your institution meet critical imperatives and make the

transition to cloud computing with confidence.

Conclusion

Innovative institutions of higher education seek to understand

why and how to deploy cloud platforms efficiently and

securely. Ultimately, their choices — regarding opportunities,

approaches, and partners — have the promise to transform the

role of IT in universities everywhere.

In the next five years, institutions of higher education expect

to cut 20 percent of their IT budget by moving applications

to the cloud.

That represents a major shift in approach

across the industry — and a major opportunity to increase

organizational efficiency, improve agility, and stimulate

innovation. However, to support a smooth transition and

optimal outcomes, college and university IT organizations

must first develop a comprehensive cloud-computing strategy

that addresses the challenges unique to each institution.

To learn how your university can accelerate its cloud initiative

with a comprehensive strategy informed by proven best

practices, schedule a discovery session with Cisco Cloud

Enablement Services today.

For More Information

Cisco Cloud Enablement Services:

www.cisco.com/go/cloudenablement

Cisco Cloud Computing for Higher Education:

www.cisco.com/web/strategy/docs/education/092111Cloud.pdf

7. “From Tactic to Strategy: The CDW 2011 Cloud Computing Tracking Poll,”

July 2011.

Cisco has more than 200 oces worldwide. Addresses, phone numbers, and fax numbers are listed on the Cisco Website at www.cisco.com/go/oces.

U.S. and other countries. A listing of Cisco’s trademarks can be found at www.cisco. com/go/trademarks. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective

owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. (1007R)

Americas Headquarters

Cisco Systems, Inc.

San Jose, CA

Asia Pacic Headquarters

Cisco Systems (USA) Pte. Ltd.

Singapore

Europe Headquarters

Cisco Systems International BV Amsterdam,

The Netherlands

Cloud 101: Developing a Cloud-Computing

Strategy for Higher Education

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