Cloud Computing Mindset

The biggest challenge to cloud adoption is not technology but changing the “mindset” and “culture” within an organization.

The same thing has been happening with DevOps over the years. The realization over time has been that “DevOps” is not a technology or a job title but a “cultural shift” in a people and process model. To facilitate knowledge, this chapter will explain the terms, such as Capital Expenditure (CapEx) and Operating Expenditure (OpEx), referenced in the following section.

The next section explores different mindsets that have been helpful in the adoption of cloud computing.

What Is a Traditional Computing Model Mindset?

The following is an outline of the traditional computing model mindset:

• CapEx cost expenditure model
• Over-provision for peak demand and build in five-year growth from day one
• Fixed size and scaling approach
• Placing an order three months before you need it due to procurement lead times and project deployment times
• Monolithic, tightly coupled infrastructure stack approach
• Always-on 24/7 operation

The following section compares and contrasts the traditional computing model mindset with the cloud computing mindset.

What Is a Cloud Computing Mindset?

The following outlines a cloud computing model mindset that you can compare with a traditional computing mindset:

• OpEx cost expenditure model
• Usage versus provisioning; just-in-time, demand-driven provisioning
• Cloud computing is designed to be elastic, scale in and out, and burst to meet demand
• Consume and pay for what you use for as long as you need it when you need it; shut down or pause when you do not
• Microservices, loosely coupled, business logic-centric approach
• Cloud-agnostic thought pattern

Now that you have learned about the cloud computing mindset and how it differs from the traditional cloud computing mindset, the following section looks at the computing operating model, one of the key differentiators between traditional and cloud computing.