Cloud and As-a-Service Solutions: Bypassing IT hardware supply chain headaches.

• Author: Barbour, Tracy

Persistent supply chain problems are especially challenging for organizations that struggle to obtain information technology (IT) equipment. With IT hardware lead times, it can take months instead of the more traditional weeks to procure firewalls, servers, workstations, laptops, and other critical components. Gartner research indicates that lead times for network hardware will be prolonged until mid-2023 and then gradually decline during the rest of the year.

However, organizations can leverage various cloud and as-a-service options to avoid some technology-related supply chain issues. Unlike traditional IT, which requires upfront purchase or licensing, cloud and cloud-enabled as-a-service solutions can reduce the need to maintain physical servers. This can help companies save time and money while improving efficiency and competitiveness. It can also allow businesses to minimize the effects of supply chain disruptions and strengthen their IT resilience.

Cloud infrastructure provides almost instant access to computing and storage as well as a multitude of application services that can be leveraged to deliver business value, according to Roger Joys, vice president of Enterprise Cloud Platform at GCI. "The key here is that infrastructure is 'on-demand' and only limited by a company's budget," he says. Public cloud eliminates concerns over procuring, receiving, installing, and bringing on-premise services into service. With pricing being consumption-based, organizations do not have to go through forecasting exercises or other capacity exercises.

However. this technological advantage comes at a cost. "Public cloud is usually more costly to run and is treated as operating expenses as opposed to the traditional capitalization treatment given on premise hardware," Joys explains.

Public cloud is a type of architecture for implementing cloud services. Public clouds are owned and operated by third-party providers, which deliver computing resources like servers and storage over the internet. With public clouds, the provider manages all the hardware, software, and other supporting infrastructure.

In Joys' view, on-demand consumption is the most attractive model in the public cloud space to foster innovation and reduce or eliminate an on-premise lab or innovation center. "As business solutions become institutionalized, most public cloud providers will offer some form of subscription or similar to make a 'consumption commit' at both the micro and macro level," he says.

The kind of cloud an organization chooses comes down to its specific requirements. "Any company, including GCI. does face the reality of physics, where even with highspeed fiber connections to the Lower 48, there is inherent latency," Joys says. "Thus, public cloud is not always the right choice for a company such as GCI when real-time processing is required. The public cloud for infrastructure or hosted business solutions is, however, an excellent choice for business applications that are not as sensitive."

Businesses can also opt to deploy cloud services using private cloud and/or hybrid cloud. Private cloud is cloud computing that is...