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Cloud integration

  • Glossary

Cloud collaboration

This glossary explains various keywords that will help you understand the mindset necessary for data utilization and successful DX.
This time, we will explain the concept of "cloud collaboration," which may be the key to success in the introduction and utilization of cloud computing, which is currently progressing as we enter the cloud era, and through this we will think about what kind of IT will be necessary in the future.

What is cloud integration?

Cloud integration refers to the integration of IT systems and cloud services on the cloud with external IT systems and cloud services.
Recently, there has been a surge in the introduction of new cloud services and the migration of IT systems to the cloud. However, in such efforts, the key to success is not just the introduction of the cloud itself, but also the creation of an environment that allows cloud services to be effectively linked to external parties.

"Going Cloud" is harder than you think

There was a time not long ago when there was debate as to whether the cloud was even acceptable for business use, but now it is no longer unusual to use the cloud for business systems. In fact, we are now in an era where "using the cloud" is encouraged and people are asking "why aren't you using the cloud?"

Utilizing the cloud has become commonplace, and I'm sure there are many people who are currently working on introducing the cloud into their companies. You might be thinking, "So why not just introduce it?", but the reality is that "going cloud" is not always a simple matter that can be solved by simply putting in the effort.

Struggling to "migrate everything to the cloud in one go"

What are some ways to "move to the cloud"? First, you can shut down your current IT system and replace it with a new system on the cloud all at once.

It's a simple concept, and it seems like it would be possible to achieve the desired state of completing the cloud migration in one go. For this reason, I think that people who are not familiar with IT, or external vendors or consultants who want to simplify things (because they don't have to deal with the client's existing systems), sometimes adopt this method without giving it sufficient consideration (or without allowing others to do so).

In some cases, this method can allow for a quick migration. However, because the changes involved in the migration are significant and the efforts required are often overwhelming, it can be difficult and prone to problems. Accidents can occur during the migration, existing functions and data cannot be migrated, or even the migration itself can fail, as operations cannot be maintained with the new system and operations have to be reverted to the old system.

Partially adopt cloud services, but don't go beyond that

If migrating all at once doesn't always work, what other approaches are there? The first thing to consider is migrating to the cloud in parts and in stages, rather than all at once.

For example, if you are introducing a cloud service in an area where you have not previously implemented an IT system, such as when introducing a new remote work system, there will be fewer migration issues.Alternatively, if you are introducing the cloud partially from "parts that are easy to migrate" or "parts you want to migrate," such as simply switching from an on-premise email server to a cloud service, the migration part will be small and limited, making it less likely that major problems will arise.

Because the migration is not done all at once, the difficulty of each step is reduced. However, because the migration is not done all at once, it is inevitable that situations will arise where both the parts migrated to the cloud and the existing system are used. As a result, users may have to go through unnecessary trouble to use the system, or the system may have to be managed twice, which increases the effort.

Also, will this approach really lead to a full migration to the cloud? If the essential difficulties of the migration can be broken down and resolved step by step, then it can be said to have gone smoothly, but if this is not possible, then the difficult part will just be postponed. If this is the case, then it may be better to migrate to the cloud all at once, even though it is more likely to cause problems and migration failure.

Moving existing systems to the cloud as is

As you can see, cloud migration, which involves migrating to a new system, can be difficult to carry out. However, there is another way to lower the hurdles to migration: first, move the IT system running on-premise (not on the cloud) to the cloud "as is" and run it there.

In other words, the idea is to "leave the software basically as is" and "move the hardware from on-premise to the cloud." By doing so, you can report the results of "migrating to the cloud" without taking the risk of migrating to a new system that operates differently.

This approach allows you to migrate to the cloud without making major changes to your existing systems, and in many cases can reduce operational costs. However, problems with the functions and specifications of the current system, such as "outdated functions" and "not being designed for the cloud era," will remain.

In addition, there are cases where migration to the cloud is not possible due to hardware reasons. For example, if you are using a mainframe or special hardware, migration becomes difficult if you cannot prepare an environment similar to that of your traditional IT system on the cloud service.

Other difficulties with "cloud deployment"

Concerns about vendor lock-in

There is also the concern of being locked into the cloud service vendor that is adopted.

Not only is there the risk of being inconvenienced by price increases later on, but after adopting the service, your company may not be provided with the services or additional features it wants, forcing you to continue using it in an inconvenient manner.

There are also more serious risks, such as the risk of cloud services failing and shutting down, the risk of serious damage caused by hacking, the risk of the cloud service itself being discontinued, or the risk of the organization providing the service going out of business altogether.

Unlike systems developed and operated in-house, cloud services are provided by other companies and used by many other companies, so not everything can be controlled by the company. It becomes necessary to consider the risks of what to do if a problem occurs with the cloud service.

They say they want to make it "multi-cloud," but it's difficult

There are concerns about relying on a specific cloud service, or it seems like more can be done by combining multiple clouds, or it's thought that this is an advanced style of cloud utilization, and for these reasons, there is a desire to combine and use multiple cloud services, a so-called "multi-cloud" approach.

However, cloud migration alone is difficult, and combining cloud services from different providers presents even greater challenges. Furthermore, you may end up using only the common features of each cloud. If it becomes difficult to use the superior features that are only available on a specific cloud, you may not be able to fully utilize the benefits of adopting the cloud.

There are people who don't want to/shouldn't use the cloud.

There are inevitably people who do not want to move to cloud services, such as those who use Excel to run their on-site work. These people are sometimes criticized as being part of the resistance, but from the perspective of the work site, there are situations in which very well-thought-out IT utilization is running smoothly, and they are trying to protect that.

If, after migrating to the cloud, you are only able to provide IT systems that are significantly different in functionality and convenience, and that are significantly inferior in functionality and usability to the previous system, it may result in a significant drop in business efficiency or even make it impossible to maintain business operations. If this is the case, no matter how much the world says that we are in the age of the cloud, it will be necessary to listen to their voices.

Solution: Make friends with "Barabara"

I think these kinds of worries are quite common. They often arise when people first consider introducing these or other cloud services, but some kind of "discrepancy" occurs between their existing IT and other clouds, and things don't go as planned.

For example, there is a problem with fragmentation between "on-premise systems" and "systems migrated to the cloud," and while you want to go multi-cloud, clouds A and B are mixed together, resulting in fragmentation and making it impossible to control. So, is it enough to just eliminate the fragmentation? If you are afraid of fragmentation and immediately discard the old system and migrate to the cloud, you are likely to end up with a major failure.

However, fragmentation itself should not be a bad thing. One could think of it this way: having both on-premise and cloud allows you to take advantage of the benefits of both, and having both clouds A and B allows you to combine and use the strengths of both. The problem is that "each system and cloud is 'separated', which causes inconvenience." If there were no inconveniences from the separation, "fragmentation" could actually be used as a strength.

"Connecting" technology makes "clouding" smooth

What if you could freely connect "that cloud" with various data, systems, and cloud services? The inconvenience of fragmentation would be eliminated, and instead, wouldn't you be able to take advantage of the advantages of fragmentation? And since there would be no need to fear that "introducing something will cause fragmentation," wouldn't the introduction of cloud computing itself be smoother?

For example, let's say you've found a good cloud service you want to use as your accounting system, but the system that manages your factory's material purchasing is still difficult to migrate. If you migrate only the accounting system to the cloud first, it will become disjointed, and if you try to migrate everything at once, it will cause inconvenience and difficulty in material purchasing operations. However, if you link the material purchasing system with the accounting cloud, you can avoid the inconvenience of having separate systems and enjoy the benefits of using separate systems.

If clouds A and B each have excellent features, for example, you may want to use AWS's features, but are also reluctant to give up Google Cloud's excellent DWH, BigQuery, and are having trouble deciding. By "connecting" AWS and Google Cloud with cloud integration, you can combine the strengths of both.

If there was an environment where clouds could be freely integrated, the very way we view cloud utilization and its strategies would change.

Before you even think about how to implement cloud computing, try thinking of it as first creating an environment that allows for free cloud integration. You'll be able to consider using cloud computing with most of the worries about implementation you've been thinking about resolved right from the start, and you'll be able to clearly consider what to do next.

In other words, if the conditions for sufficient cloud integration are in place, not only will worries and inconveniences be resolved, but the way you view cloud utilization itself will change. The vision and options for cloud utilization will become clearer, making it easier to think strategically, and it will become possible to consider flexible and thorough approaches that take into account various circumstances (as opposed to a forceful, all-at-once cloud migration effort).

Your company also has the means to "flexibly integrate and utilize the cloud"

You may understand the concept, but wonder how to achieve such an environment where cloud integration is possible. You may think that it would require serious programming, and that it would be difficult unless you have in-house engineers who can fully utilize the cloud and are willing to develop programs that can be integrated. Indeed, I think that this is the case in most companies.

However, there are already ways to fully achieve cloud integration even without such personnel."EAI"or" ETL"," iPaaS" called "DataSpider" and "HULFT SquareThese are technologies that connect things. By utilizing this, cloud integration can be achieved smoothly and efficiently.

Can be used with GUI only

Unlike regular programming, there is no need to write code. By placing icons on the GUI and configuring settings, you can achieve integration processing with a wide variety of systems, data, and cloud services.

Being able to develop using a GUI is also an advantage

No-code development using only a GUI may seem like a simple compromise compared to full-scale programming. However, being able to develop using only a GUI allows on-site personnel to proactively work on cloud integration themselves.

The people who understand the business best are the people on the front lines, and it can be said that having these "people who know best" themselves be able to steadily create what needs to be achieved in terms of cloud adoption and utilization, data utilization, and business automation is superior to a situation where development cannot be carried out without explaining things to engineers and asking them for help every time something needs to be done.

Full-scale processing can be implemented

Also, there are many products that claim to be able to "develop using only a GUI," but some people may have a negative impression of such products as being too simple.

It is true that things like "It's certainly easy to make, but it can only do simple things," "When I tried to execute a full-scale process, it couldn't process and crashed," or "It doesn't have the high reliability or stable operating capacity to support business operations, which caused problems" tend to occur.

"DataSpider" and "HULFT Square" are easy to use, but they also allow you to create processes at the same level as full-scale programming, and have the same high processing power as full-scale programming, as they are internally converted to Java and executed, and have a proven track record of supporting corporate IT for many years. They combine the benefits of "GUI only" with full-scale capabilities.

No need to operate in-house as it is iPaaS

DataSpider can be operated securely on a system under your own management. With HULFT Square, a cloud service (iPaaS), this "connecting" technology itself can be used as a cloud service without the need for in-house operation, eliminating the hassle of in-house implementation and system operation.

Related keywords (for further understanding)

  • EAI
    • It is a concept of "connecting" systems by data integration, and is a means of freely connecting various data and systems. It is a concept that has been used since long before the cloud era as a way to effectively utilize IT.
  • ETL
    • In the recent trend of actively working on data utilization, the majority of the work is not the data analysis itself, but rather the collection and preprocessing of data scattered in various places, from on-premise to cloud.
  • iPaaS
    • A cloud service that "connects" various clouds with external systems and data simply by operating on a GUI is called iPaaS.

Are you interested in "iPaaS" and "connecting" technologies?

Try out our products that allow you to freely connect various data and systems, from on-premise IT systems to cloud services, and make successful use of IT.

The ultimate "connecting" tool: data integration software "DataSpider" and data integration platform "HULFT Square"

"DataSpider," data integration tool developed and sold by our company, is a "connecting" tool with a long history of success. "HULFT Square," a data integration platform, is a "connecting" cloud service developed using DataSpider technology.

Another feature is that development can be done using only the GUI (no code) without writing code like in regular programming, so business staff who have a good understanding of their company's business can take the initiative to use it.

Try outDataSpider/ HULFT Square 's "connecting" technology:

There are many simple collaboration tools on the market, but this tool can be used with just a GUI, is easy enough for even non-programmers to use, and has "high development productivity" and "full-fledged performance that can serve as the foundation for business (professional use)."

It can smoothly solve the problem of "connecting disparate systems and data" that hinders successful IT utilization. We offer a free trial version and online seminars where you can try it out for free, so we hope you will give it a try.


Why not try a PoC to see if "HULFT Square" can transform your business?

Why not try verifying how "connecting" can be utilized in your business, the feasibility of solving problems using data integration, and the benefits that can be obtained?

  • I want to automate data integration with SaaS, but I want to confirm the feasibility of doing so.
  • We want to move forward with data utilization, but we have issues with system integration
  • I want to consider data integration platform to achieve DX.

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