Building a cloud computing environment with on-demand access to compute, network, and storage resources requires an elastic infrastructure at multiple levels. Virtualization combined with x86 servers has transformed the way we scale out compute resources. Unfortunately, legacy Fibre Channel and iSCSI storage architectures are rooted in rigid mainframe-era designs, and are fundamentally mismatched with the dynamic, shared modern data center.
In his session at the 10th International Cloud Expo, ...| By Maureen O'Gara | Article Rating: |
|
| August 18, 2008 10:15 PM EDT | Reads: |
15,426 |
Since Microsoft’s forecast – and its margin implications – is nothing to sneeze at, we asked industry analyst and cloud spotter Amy Wohl what she has been seeing.
“The first thing to keep in mind is that we have some semantic confusion, as is usual at this stage of a new market, around just what is a cloud. We are now pretty sure that what we used to call grids and what we now call clouds is the same thing. But we also have things called “platforms” that seem to be very much like a
kind of cloud (and are sometimes called clouds) and then there is SaaS itself which looks very much like a cloud with some application software (and some SaaS vendors describe their offering just that way). I’d say we can agree that a cloud is managed computing power, often with applications, accessed across the Internet. And I’ll agree that a company can have its own cloud, if it wants one.
“IBM has finally enunciated a vision for its cloud computing that makes sense for IBM and its customers. It offers a very high-end version of cloud computing (virtually unlimited amounts of power, up to and including mainframe systems, backed by its
“IBM actually offers even more choices that may be less obvious. IBM provides a platform to ISVs who want to offer SaaS applications. In that it is very much like other platform vendors like Salesforce.com, eBay, Google or Amazon. A major difference here is whether the platform owner is also an application provider (like Salesforce.com), whose ISVs are related to his application offering or whether the platform provider is simply offering managed computing, perhaps with some technical assistance and/or some marketing oomph. (IBM offers both.)
“It was reported last week that Microsoft is moving to the cloud. In this case, Microsoft means it is going to offer at least one of its applications, Exchange, as a hosted application (SaaS) from its own cloud. Microsoft intends to continue on the road of “software-plus-service,” meaning that you to use a PC on your desk with Office to make use of the Internet-based services that Microsoft also provides. What seems to be moving to Microsoft Clouds are not personal productivity apps (a la Google or Yahoo’s Zimbra), but shared services (mail, collaboration, customer relationship management). Microsoft has been quick to note that this is a big initiative and that in five years they would expect half their customers to use Exchange as a service. This is not just something for smaller customers, either. Microsoft already has some large enterprise like Coke, with 75,000 seats.
“Microsoft has other online (perhaps cloud) services such as its Live services and new Live Mesh service for synchronizing devices of every kind. It is also testing a consumer version of Office that will combine a basic version of desktop Office with an array of online services.
“Last Friday, I spoke with Workday, a SaaS ERP company I’ve been tracking since its start. It’s stirred up quite a bit of attention, boldly claiming last April that its feature set would be at parity with SAP by next fall. So far, it’s on schedule with its product plans, with hefty HR offerings, including payroll and expenses, and a substantial portion of its financial offerings. Look at its latest Workday 4.0 offering at its web site. More interesting is the fact that although it didn’t expect to move beyond the mid-market into the enterprise until more of its product was completed, it already has a number of large enterprises and more in their pipeline.
“Recently I attended a Digital Transformation Forum at
“Think of it this way:
- “You can access a cloud as pure computing power, a place to load an application that needs lots of computing or requires cyclical peaks
- “You can find a cloud that provides a platform with APIs to support an ecosystem of ISVs who provide software that you find appealing
- “You can choose a cloud whose platform includes an application (Salesforce.com) that attracts other ISVs to surround it
- “You can simply find a SaaS vendor whose application is appealing – you don’t care about the cloud behind it, just the application
- “You can build your own cloud, managed by a vendor or your own IT staff for some large-scale purpose
“And no doubt, someone, somewhere, is dreaming up some other things to do with clouds.
“I sense several likely outcomes:
- “A messy period with many clouds, many of them not interoperable because they’re not build to the same standards
- “An interim period of standardization
- “A period of consolidation because we really want to buy our applications in a way that they can be aware of each other and use them in a common environment. The easiest way to do this is for each of several vendors to provide a cloud with all of the applications you need and some level of integration. Remember that nothing keeps a cloud/platform vendor from being one of several vendors who offers a popular application if the ISV agrees
- “A higher level of standardization where (just as we do on the Internet today) any application can be used with any other application on the platform and through the portal of your choice.”
Published August 18, 2008 Reads 15,426
Copyright © 2008 SYS-CON Media, Inc. — All Rights Reserved.
Syndicated stories and blog feeds, all rights reserved by the author.
More Stories By Maureen O'Gara
Maureen O'Gara the most read technology reporter for the past 20 years, is the Cloud Computing and Virtualization News Desk editor of SYS-CON Media. She is the publisher of famous "Billygrams" and the editor-in-chief of "Client/Server News" for more than a decade. One of the most respected technology reporters in the business, Maureen can be reached by email at maureen(at)sys-con.com or paperboy(at)g2news.com, and by phone at 516 759-7025. Twitter: @MaureenOGara
Building a cloud computing environment with on-demand access to compute, network, and storage resources requires an elastic infrastructure at multiple levels. Virtualization combined with x86 servers has transformed the way we scale out compute resources. Unfortunately, legacy Fibre Channel and iSCSI storage architectures are rooted in rigid mainframe-era designs, and are fundamentally mismatched with the dynamic, shared modern data center.
In his session at the 10th International Cloud Expo, ...Feb. 16, 2012 05:30 AM EST Reads: 2,350 |
By Jeremy Geelan With Cloud Expo 2012 New York (10th Cloud Expo) just four months away, what better time to start introducing you in greater detail to the distinguished individuals in our incredible Speaker Faculty for the technical and strategy sessions at the conference...
We have technical and strategy sessions for you every day from June 11 through June 14 dealing with every nook and cranny of Cloud Computing and Big Data, but what of those who are presenting? Who are they, where do they work, what else h...Feb. 16, 2012 05:30 AM EST Reads: 806 |
By Jeremy Geelan With Cloud Expo 2012 New York (10th Cloud Expo) now under four months away, what better time to start introducing you in greater detail to the distinguished individuals in our incredible Speaker Faculty for the technical and strategy sessions at the conference...
We have technical and strategy sessions for you every day from June 11 through June 14 dealing with every nook and cranny of Cloud Computing and Big Data, but what of those who are presenting? Who are they, where do they work, what e...Feb. 15, 2012 03:15 PM EST Reads: 443 |
By Jeremy Geelan With Cloud Expo 2012 New York (10th Cloud Expo) now under four months away, what better time to start introducing you in greater detail to the distinguished individuals in our incredible Speaker Faculty for the technical and strategy sessions at the conference...
We have technical and strategy sessions for you every day from June 11 through June 14 dealing with every nook and cranny of Cloud Computing and Big Data, but what of those who are presenting? Who are they, where do they work, what e...Feb. 15, 2012 03:00 PM EST Reads: 732 |
By Pat Romanski 2011 was a year of rapid adoption for public and private cloud services. Instant and on-demand server provisioning was the driving force behind the massive growth. On top, cloud server templates and script automation simplified application installation for simple and pre-defined application stacks, but have not targeted more complex enterprise application environments.
In his session at the 10th International Cloud Expo, John Yung, CEO of Appcara, will discuss how 2012 will be the year for app...Feb. 15, 2012 02:45 PM EST Reads: 1,969 |
By Liz McMillan As more enterprises are adopting clouds, the nature of cloud computing is changing. Previously, clouds were used to test applications or for non-mission critical applications. Today, enterprises are using clouds for cost-saving advantages and launching more mission critical applications that have defined performance needs.
In his session at the 10th International Cloud Expo, Eric Shepcaro, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Telx, will discuss how distributed computing has many advantages. It wou...Feb. 15, 2012 02:30 PM EST Reads: 1,765 |
By Jeremy Geelan With Big Data Expo 2012 New York (co-located with 10th Cloud Expo) now under four months away, what better time to start introducing you in greater detail to the distinguished individuals in our incredible Speaker Faculty for the technical and strategy sessions at the conference...
We have technical and strategy sessions for you every day from June 11 through June 14 dealing with every nook and cranny of Cloud Computing and Big Data, but what of those who are presenting? Who are they, where ...Feb. 15, 2012 11:45 AM EST Reads: 361 |
By Jeremy Geelan With Big Data Expo 2012 New York (co-located with 10th Cloud Expo) just four months away, what better time to start introducing you in greater detail to the distinguished individuals in our incredible Speaker Faculty for the technical and strategy sessions at the conference...
Feb. 15, 2012 11:30 AM EST Reads: 908 |
By Elizabeth White Can you bring services from the cloud to your customers faster and have them adopt it with ease of use or bring the power of bundled services to the fingertips of your clients without creating new rigid ‘apps stove pipes'? Do you want to prevent your business running away to public and unmanageably immature cloud services?
In his session at the 10th International Cloud Expo, Hans van de Koppel, Sr. Enterprise Architect at Capgemini, will take Cloud Expo delegates to the developing world of clou...Feb. 15, 2012 10:45 AM EST Reads: 626 |
By Liz McMillan Many organizations have embraced, or are considering, the benefits of cloud computing – speed, flexibility, increased expertise, shared workload, reduced costs, etc. The benefits are many – but so are the risks. What are the threats to cloud security? Which parties assume responsibility for securing the environment? What about the data? Which type of cloud deployment offers superior security benefits?
In her session at the 10th International Cloud Expo, Kristin Lovejoy, Vice President of Infor...Feb. 15, 2012 10:00 AM EST Reads: 523 |
- How Are You Building Your Cloud?
- Cloud Expo New York Speaker Profile: Dave Asprey – Trend Micro
- Big Data in Telecom: The Need for Analytics
- Big Data Gold Mine in Cloud Governance and Automation
- Microsoft Tries Hadoop on Azure
- Thoughts on Big Data and Data Virtualization
- Drool, Britannia? Is the UK Failing the Cloud?
- Cloud Expo New York Speaker Profile: Mårten Mickos – Eucalyptus Systems
- Cloud Expo New York Speaker Profile: Bernard Golden – HyperStratus
- What Motivates Open Standards in the Cloud?
- StorSimple Supports OpenStack
- What to Expect in 2012: Cloud Computing and Open Source Software
- The Future of Cloud Computing: Industry Predictions for 2012
- HP Puts Activist Shareholder on Board
- Gartner Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies 2011
- How Are You Building Your Cloud?
- Cloud Expo New York Speaker Profile: Dave Asprey – Trend Micro
- Big Data in Telecom: The Need for Analytics
- i-Technology in 2012: Five Industry Predictions
- Big Data Gold Mine in Cloud Governance and Automation
- 9th International Cloud Expo | Cloud Expo Silicon Valley – Photo Album
- Microsoft Tries Hadoop on Azure
- Thoughts on Big Data and Data Virtualization
- Drool, Britannia? Is the UK Failing the Cloud?
- What is Cloud Computing?
- The Top 150 Players in Cloud Computing
- Six Benefits of Cloud Computing
- Virtualization Conference Keynote Webcast Live on SYS-CON.TV
- What's the Difference Between Cloud Computing and SaaS?
- GDS International: Global Warming Scam?
- Twenty-One Experts Define Cloud Computing
- The Future of Cloud Computing
- The Top 250 Players in the Cloud Computing Ecosystem
- SOA 2 Point Oh No!
- Cloud Expo Europe 2009 in Prague: Themes & Topics
- A Brief History of Cloud Computing: Is the Cloud There Yet?








With Cloud Expo 2012 New York (10th Cloud Expo) just four months away, what better time to start introducing you in greater detail to the distinguished individuals in our incredible Speaker Faculty for the technical and strategy sessions at the conference...
We have technical and strategy sessions for you every day from June 11 through June 14 dealing with every nook and cranny of Cloud Computing and Big Data, but what of those who are presenting? Who are they, where do they work, what else h...
With Cloud Expo 2012 New York (10th Cloud Expo) now under four months away, what better time to start introducing you in greater detail to the distinguished individuals in our incredible Speaker Faculty for the technical and strategy sessions at the conference...
We have technical and strategy sessions for you every day from June 11 through June 14 dealing with every nook and cranny of Cloud Computing and Big Data, but what of those who are presenting? Who are they, where do they work, what e...
With Cloud Expo 2012 New York (10th Cloud Expo) now under four months away, what better time to start introducing you in greater detail to the distinguished individuals in our incredible Speaker Faculty for the technical and strategy sessions at the conference...
We have technical and strategy sessions for you every day from June 11 through June 14 dealing with every nook and cranny of Cloud Computing and Big Data, but what of those who are presenting? Who are they, where do they work, what e...
2011 was a year of rapid adoption for public and private cloud services. Instant and on-demand server provisioning was the driving force behind the massive growth. On top, cloud server templates and script automation simplified application installation for simple and pre-defined application stacks, but have not targeted more complex enterprise application environments.
In his session at the 10th International Cloud Expo, John Yung, CEO of Appcara, will discuss how 2012 will be the year for app...
As more enterprises are adopting clouds, the nature of cloud computing is changing. Previously, clouds were used to test applications or for non-mission critical applications. Today, enterprises are using clouds for cost-saving advantages and launching more mission critical applications that have defined performance needs.
In his session at the 10th International Cloud Expo, Eric Shepcaro, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Telx, will discuss how distributed computing has many advantages. It wou...
With Big Data Expo 2012 New York (co-located with 10th Cloud Expo) now under four months away, what better time to start introducing you in greater detail to the distinguished individuals in our incredible Speaker Faculty for the technical and strategy sessions at the conference...
We have technical and strategy sessions for you every day from June 11 through June 14 dealing with every nook and cranny of Cloud Computing and Big Data, but what of those who are presenting? Who are they, where ...
With Big Data Expo 2012 New York (co-located with 10th Cloud Expo) just four months away, what better time to start introducing you in greater detail to the distinguished individuals in our incredible Speaker Faculty for the technical and strategy sessions at the conference...
Can you bring services from the cloud to your customers faster and have them adopt it with ease of use or bring the power of bundled services to the fingertips of your clients without creating new rigid ‘apps stove pipes'? Do you want to prevent your business running away to public and unmanageably immature cloud services?
In his session at the 10th International Cloud Expo, Hans van de Koppel, Sr. Enterprise Architect at Capgemini, will take Cloud Expo delegates to the developing world of clou...
Many organizations have embraced, or are considering, the benefits of cloud computing – speed, flexibility, increased expertise, shared workload, reduced costs, etc. The benefits are many – but so are the risks. What are the threats to cloud security? Which parties assume responsibility for securing the environment? What about the data? Which type of cloud deployment offers superior security benefits?
In her session at the 10th International Cloud Expo, Kristin Lovejoy, Vice President of Infor...
Statistics matter, not only in business, but increasingly also in our social life - well, at least in our social media life. Some of the statistics I noticed this week were round numbers, like 1000. With 1000 representing both the number now showing under "followers" in Twitter and the revenue numbe...
Let's face it right now the cloud is pretty immature. The level of automation and management of these environments are analogous to the early assembly lines, but it won't be this way long. This is not the industrial revolution and it moves at a wicked fast pace. Before we know it the next generation...
In previous posts such as Cloud Computing: Hype, Vision or Reality?, Hyped Cloud Technologies, PAAS is not Mainstream yet, SaaS is going Mainstream, Future applications: SaaS or traditional? I discussed Cloud Computing.
Recently I read Joe McKendrick's interesting article titled:Cloud Computing Mar...
Having covered Cloud Foundry, Force.com, Google App Engine and Red Hat OpenShift, we now take a look at Microsoft’s PaaS offering, Windows Azure.
Microsoft Windows Azure Platform is a Platform as a Service offering from Microsoft. It was announced in 2008 and became available in 2010. Since then Mi...
Many virtualization vendors offer certifications. With that in mind, is there really any value in pursuing these certifications from Microsoft and VMware? Is one more "valuable" than the other?
First, let me say that I am a big proponent of technical certifications. That is the reason why I have my...
There are – according to about a bazillion studies - 4 billion mobile devices in use around the globe.
It is interesting to note that nearly everyone who notes this statistic and then attempts to break it down into useful data (usually for marketing) that they almost always do so based on OS or dev...
What are some good reasons to adopt cloud storage? Cost, durability and flexibility.
So let me talk about performance, instead.
As part of our daily testing, we do routine performance measurements across a broad swath of cloud storage providers. It gives us a check to ensure that the various Cloud...
Is Big Data destined for only the top 3,000 companies worldwide? What about medium or small companies who are equally as data-driven? Is there a place for Big Data in SMB markets? When I talk to SMB companies about their use of public cloud services, it’s a no-brainer. Pay as you go, lower costs up...
They all automatically combine disaster recovery with backup, since the backups are stored offsite at the cloud provider’s data center.
The better cloud backup options completely automate both backup and restore, removing what historically has been a complex, order-and process-intensive, manual tas...
Tokens are at the center of API access control in the Enterprise. Token management, the process through which the lifecycle of these tokens is governed emerges as an important aspect of Enterprise API Management.
While some of this information is created during OAuth handshakes, some of it continue...








