Understanding Cloud Foundations

 “Cloud foundations" generally refers to the fundamental building blocks or components of cloud computing infrastructure. There are a few key aspects typically included in cloud foundations, such as:

1. Virtualization: Cloud computing relies heavily on virtualization technology to provide a layer of abstraction between physical resources (like servers, storage devices, and networks) and the software applications that use those resources. Virtualization allows for more efficient use of resources, greater flexibility, and easier management of cloud environments.
2. Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS): IaaS is a cloud service model that provides virtualized computing resources over the internet, including servers, storage, and networking. Cloud providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) offer IaaS services that customers can use to build and deploy their own applications and services.
3. Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS): PaaS is another cloud service model that provides a platform for developing, testing, and deploying applications without having to worry about the underlying infrastructure. PaaS providers like Heroku, Google App Engine, and AWS Elastic Beanstalk offer preconfigured platforms that include operating systems, programming languages, databases, and other tools.
4. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS): SaaS is a cloud service model that allows users to access software applications over the internet, typically through a web browser or mobile app. Examples of SaaS applications include Google Workspace, Salesforce, and Microsoft Office 365.
5. Cloud security: As with any computing environment, security is a critical consideration in the cloud. Cloud providers offer various security features and services to help customers protect their data and applications, including encryption, access controls, firewalls, and threat detection.

Overall, cloud foundations are the underlying technologies, services, and practices that enable cloud computing to work effectively and efficiently.

If you want to learn more about cloud foundations and what a practical implementation entails, stay tuned here as I will be detailing the components that would go into a real-world cloud deployment.

What is a landing zone and why you should be using one

Cloud computing has become so common place that the question is no longer “should?”, but “why not?”. Now as you, like so many others, begin your journey to the cloud, trying to decipher the many technical terms and jargon, and ensuring you follow best practices for security, cost efficiency and operations, you will likely come across the term, “landing zone”. So what is a landing zone, and why would I need one? A landing zone is a best practice in cloud computing for establishing a secure and well-architected foundation that can help you scale and manage your cloud environment effectively. You can definitely get started without one, get your services up and running and be productive. But unless you are a one-person shop, you are more typically going to run into challenges at some point, and start asking questions like:

• How do I better isolate my environments for improved security and protection from mistakes?
• How do I provide the appropriate access to persons, making sure they have the right access level, to the right things?

There are several reasons why a landing zone is important when starting out in cloud computing:

1. Security: A landing zone provides a secure foundation for your cloud environment by establishing security controls and best practices from the outset. This helps to reduce the risk of security breaches, data leaks, and other security incidents.

2. Compliance: A landing zone can help you meet compliance requirements for your industry or region, by establishing policies and controls that are specific to your compliance needs.

3. Scalability: A landing zone provides a scalable foundation that can grow with your cloud environment. By establishing a set of repeatable patterns and configurations (or blueprints), you can reduce the time and effort required to deploy new workloads and applications in your cloud environment.

4. Cost optimization: A landing zone can help you optimize costs by establishing cost controls and best practices from the outset. By implementing cost optimization strategies early on, you can avoid common cost pitfalls and ensure that your cloud environment is cost-effective over the long term.

5. Management and governance: A landing zone can help you establish management and governance policies that are specific to your business needs. By creating a set of standardized practices for deploying and managing resources in your cloud environment, you can ensure that your environment is consistent, well-organized, and easy to manage.

Overall, a landing zone provides a foundation for a secure, compliant, scalable, and cost-effective cloud environment. It can help you get started with cloud computing on the right foot and avoid common pitfalls and challenges that can arise in cloud environments.

If you found this useful, please follow along as I will provide future posts on the details of a landing zone, such as AWS Control Tower, custom, third-party, and provide some lessons learned.