Cloud Computing and SOA Convergence in Your Enterprise: A Step ...

82 Chapter 5 Working from Your Data to the Clouds
presented in these next few chapters is based on existing approaches to defining
and designing information technology that are well covered in many
other books.
So, keep in mind as we go through this process that we are not interested
in reinventing the wheel. Where existing IT concepts will work just fine,
there is no need to change them. Indeed, the information presented here is
applicable when considering other types of information systems as well.
You may recognize concepts that have been part of IT for years, including
logical and physical database design, data dictionaries, and metadata.
However, there are some new approaches that work especially well with SOA
using cloud computing, including the use of ontologies and a common information
model that spans a domain made up of many systems. In other
words, create a common database that spans multiple on-premise and cloud
computing systems but is logically the same and could be physically distributed
in any number of ways, through on-premise or cloud computing.
Old or New
Another issue we have to deal with in this chapter and the next few that cover
services and processes is this: Are we looking to relocate an existing system
from on-premise to cloud computing, or are we defining a new system or systems
that will reside in the clouds
For the most part, the next few chapters are about analysis of existing information
systems (legacy systems). In most cases, we are looking at existing
resources and coming to a deeper level of understanding before considering
moving them to the clouds. Generally speaking, this is the most common use
of cloud computing: the relocation of core on-premise information systems
to cloud-based platforms to save some money or for other strategic reasons
that we defined in Chapter 4.
However, in some cases, the systems will be new. There is really no overall
change to the process other than that you do not have to start with existing
information because you will be defining the data, services, and processes
from scratch. However, you still need to apply all of the concepts in this
chapter and the next few, including how to leverage ontologies, define the
data, create core artifacts such as data dictionaries and data catalogs, and
build the core information model, which is the core deliverable out of this
part of the approach, as defined within this chapter.