WHITE PAPER

Is Your Data Cloud Ready?

Of all the questions to be answered before taking

advantage of the cloud, this one is the most pertinent;
is my data cloud ready? The question is especially
important when you are making data and other
services available to external parties. In this paper, we
propose some answers.
This is the first in a series of papers in which we
examine the challenges and opportunities
associated with data in the cloud and effective
solutions for managing it.

cgi.com
2014 CGI GROUP INC.

INTRODUCTION
For years, organizations have been leveraging the Internet to find relevant information.
Today, there is an increasing use of data made available in the cloud (e.g., open data) to
enhance enterprise information systems for better analysis and decision-making.
Enterprise information systems can better leverage data in the cloud by implementing
enterprise search capabilities that are not limited to traditional information retrieval methods.
This is becoming critical as the cloud evolves into one of the largest sources of big data.
The volume, velocity, variety and veracity of data that an organization can end up having to
deal with require solutions that integrate cloud and enterprise data in an effective and
efficient manner. Enterprise search capabilities can then be used to enable data initiatives
that would not otherwise be possible.
Organizations with this viewpoint are investing in transforming their business architectures to
benefit from innovations in technology, applications and information. They know how they will
succeed and have a razor-sharp focus on being the best.

Optimized
Improved RealInnovation
Estate

Governance

Financial Management

Human Resources

Logistics
Management
Customer MarketingSupply Demand
Public Relations
intimacy Satisfaction Chain Retention
Business Planning
driver Billing
Brand
Loyalty
Tax
Improved
Order Fulfillment
Management
Growth Cross-Sell Flawless Management
Account Receivable
existing Business
Customer Attract
Optimization
Throughput Product Sales Service Up-Sell
Inventory
Retain
Advertising
geographic expansion
Supply Management Right Talent
Customer Service
Procurement

TRADITIONAL WEB SEARCH APPROACHES ARE MISSING THE MARK

Though it is often the first method people think of when looking to pull information from the
cloud, you cannot rely on a Web-like search engine to gather what you need. This is due to
the complicated characteristics of the data organizations work with today. These can be
summed up as the four Vs of big data:
x

Volume: As easy as it is to collect data from many different sources, the end result can
be an extremely high volume to manage.

Velocity: Automated scraping and user-generated content are just two examples of
trends driving the velocity of data processing in the cloud.

Variety: Consumers have also added to the variety of data. For example, social media
content creation has grown exponentially and resulted in text-, video- and audio-based
data. All of this moves at a velocity that renders it unmanageable.

Veracity: Finally, in cases where data will be used to drive business value, its veracity
takes on special importance, creating the need for powerful, discriminating tools.

Every time users search for specific information and get results far beyond what they require,
time is required to sort through the irrelevant data. This wasted time is not avoided even
when the content is properly taggedhow many man-hours were invested in this
administrative task? How many more will have to be invested to keep up with content
creation? Do you have conformity across the organization in how this is done?

Big data: When do you

have it?
As soon as you start
collecting and interfacing
with data from the cloud,
including non-structured
data such as images,
videos, etc., thats when
you reach big data levels.

There may be no way to plan for an end to the process, and subsequently, all that gets
accomplished is giving users more context-free keywords to search through. Even contentdriven searches using tags will eventually grow beyond usability, and were back at square
one.

Find what youre looking

for?
Every time users search
for specific information and
get results far beyond
what they require, time is
required to sort through
the irrelevant data. This
wasted time is not avoided
even when the content is
properly tagged.

The cloud addresses infrastructure requirements resulting from the explosion of data. Its
success in meeting these requirements has positioned it as a strategic alternative for
enterprise data storage.

Getting the right slice of data to drive business value is an increasing challenge
organizations face. A basic, traditional search engine approach will increasingly fail to
provide sufficient information to meet your information needs.

WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT FROM SEARCH RESULTS?

The quality of search capabilities can be determined by precision and recall metrics, which
measure the relevance of accessible and available information.
x

Precision is the fraction of retrieved data that is relevant.

Recall is the fraction of relevant data that is retrieved.

Improvements in terms of both precision and recall will have a material impact on the
outcomes an organization is seeking to generate.
PUBLIC SECTOR
For example, it is essential for government organizations to provide services to the right
individuals. Precision and recall capabilities are vital. They allow government departments to
reach individuals with the highest need at the right time. Recall helps to ensure no individuals
are missed, while precision ensures services are provided to those who would benefit the
most.
PRIVATE SECTOR
Private sector firms enjoy similar benefits by understanding who their potential customers are
and the probability of converting them into actual customers. In the absence of search
capabilities that are strong in terms of precision and recall, firms can overestimate or
underestimate the market potential of their products and services.
ENTERPRISE DATA IS NOT AUTOMATICALLY CLOUD READYAND WHAT ABOUT
YOUR ORGANIZATION ITSELF?
Large organizations often dont realize the implications of producing data for or consuming
data from the cloud, particularly when this production or consumption is associated with big
data. A common reply when (and if) the issue of cloud readiness is brought up is, Our
3

databases arent that big! For this kind of planner, cloud hosting means hosting elsewhere
and paying for a Software as a Service (SaaS) or Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), reflecting
an out-of-sight, out-of-mind attitude.
Yes, traditional databases arent that big, but, as discussed above, as soon as you start
collecting and interfacing with data from the cloud, including non-structured data such as
images, videos, etc., thats when you reach big data levels.
Additionally, there is no benefit to a data integration and/or migration of any size unless your
organization has made the necessary preparations to deal with the results. It is imperative to
have a set of clear business drivers and requirements from the start that address the
following:
x

How will the content be used as we go forward?

What are the expected benefits from this use?

Who needs to access it, and how will this be accomplished efficiently yet safely?

Decision-makers within the organization also must have the flexibility and motivation to use
cloud-based data sources to drive their business. Adopting a cloud-based approach means
being ready to tailor your strategies using the insights gleaned from the data you wield.
Proper social media monitoring, for example, can help you keep abreast of forums and
conversations relevant to your organization and even shape it to an extent.
IS YOUR ORGANIZATION READY TO SEED THE CLOUD TO INFLUENCE ITS VALUE
POTENTIAL?
There can be no return on your investment unless you have a plan for creating Web visibility
for your content and influencing the content that is already in the cloud. Because traditional
search methods are failing to adequately perform, you need to lay out an effective way of
connecting to users, customers, suppliers, etc.

How will you maintain your visibility?

After all, organizations that fail to offer relevant content and keep it accurate, up to date
and accessible are quick to drop off the radar.

You may need to look at different content ingestion and collection models. For example:
x

You may choose to integrate new content from your enterprise information systems to
the cloud using a "push model" approach.

Or, you may want to take a "pull model" approach and make your data available for a
web crawler to find it and then make it accessible through search engines.

Another alternative is disseminating your content through a rich site summary (RSS)
feed, with full or summarized text plus metadata.

Finally, perhaps your organization itself is simply not there yet. Stakeholders may be having
trouble clearly defining who is going to own the cloud-based data initiative. There may be
different priorities competing for top spot in which case something will have to be deferred.
Or, perhaps the way your content is currently organized opens the door to issues of
noncompliance with existing privacy policies/regulations or infrastructure concerns?
Supply chains, for example, need to be agile enough to adapt to real-time data. Cloud data
also needs to be of high enough quality and secure enough to be useful. Breaches are
disastrous to image, without even getting into the more concrete losses incurred.
There are a few ways to ensure successful outcomes, starting with insight into whether this is
even right for your needs. Know what tools are at your disposal, when its appropriate to
4

How do I know the cloud

is right for me?
There are several ways to
ensure a smooth evolution
to harnessing the clouds
value potential:
x

Start with insight into

whether this is even
rig for your needs.

Know what tools are

at your disposal

Find out when its

appropriate to move to
each step

Scout around for who

can lend you their prior
expertise.

move to each step, and who you can lend you their prior expertise for a smooth evolution to
harnessing the clouds value potential.
WORKING YOUR WAY TO A SUCCESSFUL INTEGRATION, MIGRATION AND
ADOPTION PROCESS
An inventory of the data handling measures available to you should figure in your game plan
as early as possible in order to have a clearer view of your objective. For example, several
successes have been built on using data mash-ups to communicate with end users.

Mash-ups are Web applications or pages that use and combine data, presentation or
functionality from two or more sources to create new services.

By having different parts of your data intersect or correlate in meaningful ways with other
publically available sources, you can create tremendous value. Or, use Pipes, a powerful
composition tool to aggregate, manipulate and mash-up content from the Web so that you
can produce the all-important original content/associations that justify managing your data in
the cloud.
Top off the previous methods with search engine capabilities and thats when you arrive at a
searchable high-level content store. This will facilitate making relevant content available and
could translate into higher precision and recall in contrast with traditional search approaches.

You also have to ensure, pre-transition, that your data is shaped properly for cloud readiness.
Get experts involved and run a checklist with points covering topics such as the following:
DATA GOVERNANCE
x
How are you handling data quality and privacy/security?
x

What is your need for metadata, and what is your strategy for generating it?

OPPORTUNITY IDENTIFICATION
x
How are you mapping business value creation opportunities to big data and the cloud?
Traditional business acumen modernizes quite easily here with the proper guidance.

Ensuring a successful
transition
By having different parts of
your data intersect or
correlate in meaningful
ways with other publically
available sources, you can
create tremendous value.

ASSET PROTECTION
x
How are you protecting your assets from threats that exist in the cloud? Once again
enlist expert opinions and conduct a review of potential providers policies and
infrastructures.
VALUE INGESTION
x
How are you changing in response to the value that is being created? Are you
fundamentally equipped to change? What would you view as a proper choice to follow at
hypothetical crossroads reached through the advances of widely disseminated and
judiciously nourished data? This is an essential part of your long-term plan because
keeping the cloud management team in a silo defeats the entire purpose.
It all comes down to a basic point; a cloud-based initiative must be legitimized by its
contributions to business outcomes. Carefully consider its many potential pitfalls, as well as
its potential rewards. You need proper analysis, planning and execution to pull it off to
maximum effect. Luckily, there is expertise in the field thats available to help you through the
process.
OUR CASE-BY-CASE SOLUTIONS
The scope of information management challenges that organizations face has changed.
There is more information, more potential uses and, as presented in this paper, more
methods to address today's challenges and to be ready for tomorrows opportunities.
CGI offers an ABC solution. We apply Analytics to your situation and integrate them into
your future content management plan. We then leverage the core characteristics of Big Data
and the Cloud to maximize your datas potential, no matter your value-adding goals.

CGI experts will work with your organization to identify where to start your successful cloudbased data initiative and determine the potential value of integrating cloud services with your
enterprise systems.

What should I look out

for?
It all comes down to a
basic point; a cloud-based
initiative must be
legitimized by its
contributions to business
outcomes. Carefully
consider its many potential
pitfalls, as well as its
potential rewards.

In the initial planning phase and through ongoing progress monitoring, we ensure adoption
and benefits realization through the following:
x

Providing business consulting services to define the business case

Implementing and tracking the benefit realization roadmap

Establishing a governance model

Developing and implementing the organizational structure

Supporting the organizational change management (OCM) initiative

Our basic toolkit includes a platform selection framework so that your migration and adoption
process is tailored to your organization from start to finish. We also deliver systems
integration services to ensure that correct, relevant, and complete data is available to support
your initiatives.
In addition, our analytical solution development services help to build insight-generating
models and information delivery solutions that will support your business initiatives. Should
you already own products for enterprise search, we can leverage them as needed to
maximize your cloud-enabled solution.
Lastly, we ensure the initiative is maintained and drives value over time through managed
services. These services involve managing the infrastructure, enterprise information
management systems and analytical solutions. Our clients have a choice of self-hosted
solutions or CGIs cloud-based offering, all set up in collaboration with our experts.
Getting your data cloud ready will increase the value potential of the cloud to your
organization. It will maximize your return on investment for information assets by creating
capabilities to manage enterprise and cloud-based data that is relevant to your business
outcomes.

To discuss in more detail the topics addressed in this white paper, please contact CGIs
cloud computing expert at info@cgi.com.

cgi.com
2014 CGI GROUP INC.
Founded in 1976, CGI is a global IT and business process services provider delivering high-quality business consulting,
systems integration and outsourcing services. With 68,000 professionals in 40 countries, CGI has an industry-leading
track record of on-time, on-budget projects, aligning our teams with clients business strategies to achieve top-to-bottom
line results. For more information about CGI, visit www.cgi.com or contact us at info@cgi.com.
.

Finding the right expert

CGI experts will work with
your organization to
identify where to start your
successful cloud-based
data initiative and
determine the potential
value of integrating cloud
services with your
enterprise systems.