What Can MSPs Learn from NASA’s Trip to the Cloud?
On the surface (pardon the pun), NASA’s recent move to the cloud would not seem to have much to do with MSPs who offer cloud-based file sharing. But a closer look into the high-profile project – as recently highlighted on GigaOm – proves otherwise.
Indeed, there are some things that all cloud transitions have in common, whether it’s the nation’s space program or a 10-person SMB. To illustrate our point, we wanted to examine this story through the lens of a managed service provider and their clients. Here we go…
Bureaucratic Resistance: Unsurprisingly, NASA’s move to the cloud was embraced by a great number of people within the organization, all of whom had been clamoring for such a move for years. However, others (who happened to be in high places) had their own doubts, and as a result, the launch was delayed. Ask any MSP and they’ll recount similar instances where a customer was long overdue to move to the cloud, but faced in-house resistance, often from management. Lucky for them, these organizations do not have the hierarchy of NASA, so by properly explaining the benefits, they can more easily overcome these objections.
Unexpected Delays: According to one report, it took a total of 22 weeks to migrate 110 NASA websites and applications to the cloud. In just one portal alone (which contained 150+ applications and 200,000 pages of content) it took a total of 13 weeks. While project was considered a success, all signs indicate that it experienced several delays. Here’s an interesting example:
NASA also had to sift through old applications on its system that were “probably not updated from a tech perspective for seven-to-ten years,” said Kadakia. Some of the older applications’ underlying architecture and security risks weren’t properly documented, so NASA had to do an audit of these applications to “mitigate all critical vulnerabilities,” some of which its users didn’t even know about.
“They didn’t know all of the functionalities of the app,” said Kadakia. “Do we assume it works [well]? That the algorithms are working well? That was a costly part of the migration.”
Such delays are unfortunately quite common for MSPs who deploy cloud-based file sharing solutions, through no fault of their own. While implementation often seems straightforward, companies tend to underestimate the complexity associated with updating legacy systems.
On-Ramping Woes: For an organization as tech-savvy as NASA (what with all the space exploration and such), one would think that transitioning to the cloud wouldn’t be too difficult. Think again. Like any organization, cloud implementation is only the beginning. No matter how deep an organization’s expertise – and no matter how basic the technology (e.g. file sharing) – employees will neither understand nor use the solution without proper training.
A Competitive Advantage: Like any organization, NASA wants to get the most out of their IT budget and improve efficiency where possible. And like almost every organization that has transitioned to the cloud, that’s precisely what they did:
Kadakia claimed that moving to the cloud has saved NASA money, especially as the agency cleaned out its system and took a hard look at how old applications were originally set up.
The agency is also looking at optimizing its applications to fit in with the more modern approach of coupled-together application development, she explained. This could include updating or developing applications that share the same data sets, which would have previously been a burden, if not impossible, to do.
While NASA has had no real competitor since the days of the Cold War, the customers of MSPs certainly do – so it’s important for them to view the cloud as a competitive advantage, not just a cost advantage.
What other lessons can MSPs learn from NASA’s recent cloud launch? Be sure to let us know in the comments section below.
