Just recently, we found out that cloud computing is on the mind of quite a few businesses out there, even if those businesses weren't quite so quick to put cloud computing to use. One factor that might be weighing down businesses in terms of using cloud computing is the huge array of options that cloud computing offers. So the question becomes one of “how can I put together the right cloud for my business?”, a question that IBM (News - Alert) may have the answer to.

IBM poses a five-step process designed to figure out how to build the right cloud for a business, starting with considering strategy design. A series of questions should follow, and when answered, those answers will create a larger overarching strategy that will fuel development of just the right cloud setup. But after answering those questions, there will still be some potential pitfalls to consider that commonly hit businesses setting up a cloud. Knowing what these pitfalls are, in turn, will help the business avoid same.

Next, consider the workloads that need moved to the cloud; moving the right ones will provide success both now and in the future, while moving the wrong ones will hinder the efforts going forward. The rapidly changing technical environment ensures there will be new technologies coming up to consider, and failing to do so may leave the operation hamstrung at the starting line. Lastly, there's the issue of support; not support of technology, but support from the company. Getting the company behind the idea of the right cloud will go a long way toward not only getting it in place, but also getting it used fully. Few things are quite so painful as investing lots of time and money in a system no one uses, and proper support at the outset will help prevent just such a case.

IBM is already quite familiar with the sheer array of options offered up for cloud customers, as it offers the IBM SoftLayer line of products. Recently, it expanded its offerings up to add block storage and file storage services for both virtual cloud and bare-metal server storage to add to its object storage, mass storage servers and cloud backup. With the new services come new pricing tiers as well: the Endurance tier, a high-durability system that starts at $0.15 per gigabyte of data stored and the Performance tier, which focuses on providing the best in IOPS, asking $0.10 per gigabyte stored along with network charges.

That's a huge variety of options right there, so it's not surprising to see that there would be hesitation on the part of businesses to bring this tool into operation. Surely most reasonable business owners would see that, with so many different choices available, the chances of getting one that's less than optimal is fairly strong. Thus it becomes extremely important to consider all the various aspects involved to reduce the chances of getting a system that doesn't fit the organization's needs.

Those interested in getting in on the webinar, titled “Five Things to Know to Build the Right Cloud” can proceed to this link to sign up. But whether a business has a presence there or not, the sheer variety of cloud out there means that the right cloud is just a matter of time and careful consideration of needs away.