Optimising your SAS cloud environment
When my kids were young, they had an interesting habit.
Every day, they would take one particular car toy and clean it. It was the same one every day, they would wipe it down with a wet tissue napkin, inspect the tires, open the bonnet and check the engine, before putting it back on the shelf. It was an unusual habit to have, but it wasn’t a particularly bad one, so I wasn’t fussed about it. Until one day, they asked me an unusual question.
One day, they came to me asking for engine oil. “Engine oil?” I asked. “Whatever for?” “To keep the engine in good condition!” they said. “It’s important, right? You always say that you need to change the engine oil, and it sounds important.” I have been talking about changing the engine oil for some time, but it was always one of those tasks that got put off to another date.
“That’s true, but why do you two need engine oil?” “To keep the car in good condition,” was the reply. I couldn’t help it, I laughed, needless to say, the kids were not pleased. “What’s so funny?” I remember them demanding, “The toy doesn’t need oil!” I said, “These aren’t toys!” they snapped. “It’s our future cars! We are going to own a car just like these, and we are going to take good care of them, we are going to change the oil, check the tyres and make sure it’s in perfect condition.”
So, why am I bringing up a story about a toy car and my kids when the topic is about optimising your SAS cloud environment? Well, you see, when my children owned cars of their own, they lasted for a long time, delivering smooth rides, giving them little to no trouble, and they never spent a fortune trying to fix their cars.
Likewise, if you want your SAS cloud environment to deliver optimal findings while cutting costs, then you are going to have to optimise the environment. The terms may be different, but the goal is the same.
Optimising the SAS cloud environment
If you want to optimise your SAS cloud environment, then there are several factors to consider. Optimising SAS cloud means due consideration to several factors, like data size, memory usage and CPU performance. You will also need to discuss the possibility of optimising the I/O and system performance.
Then, there is the business side to consider. Depending on the stakeholder of the project, optimisation could have very different terms. For example, for a business executive, optimisation means getting that report as soon as possible, while a CIO will care more about reliability, scalability, availability (RAS). So, before you invest resources, you need to clearly define what optimisation is and have the stats to back it up.
Some of the challenges you will encounter and what you can do about it
Optimisation of the SAS cloud platform is a challenging task because there are so many variables to consider. Not only do you have to think about business requirements, but you also have to consider other factors like hardware, number of users, the current cost of the hardware, along with a host of other variables that could affect performance.
To meet these challenges, you should consult with a specialist from outside your organisation. In my experience, specialists bring the technical knowledge of a SAS platform, without any of the politics that often derail business projects. It’s the type of value my team at Selerity brings to its clients.
So, if you are looking to optimise your SAS cloud infrastructure for operational efficiency, consider working with a specialist. When done right, an optimised SAS cloud will deliver the results, reliably, efficiently and well within your budget, much like a well-maintained car.
