Cloud computing is all the rage."It's become the phrase du jour," says
Gartner senior analyst Ben Pring, echoing many of his peers. The
problem is that (as with Web 2.0) everyone seems to have a different
definition.
As a metaphor for the Internet,"the cloud" is a familiar cliché, but
when combined with "computing," the meaning gets bigger and fuzzier.
Some analysts and vendors define cloud computing narrowly as an
updated version of utility computing: basically virtual servers
available over the Internet. Others go very broad, arguing anything
you consume outside the firewall is "inthe cloud," including
conventional outsourcing.
Cloud computing comes into focus only when you think about what IT
always needs: a way to increase capacity or add capabilities on the
fly without investing in new infrastructure, training new personnel,
or licensing new software. Cloud computing encompasses any
subscription-based or pay-per-use service that, in real time overthe
Internet, extends IT's existingcapabilities.
Cloud computing is at an early stage, with a motley crew of providers
large and small delivering a slew of cloud-based services, from
full-blown applications to storage services to spam filtering. Yes,
utility-styleinfrastructure providers are partof the mix, but so are
SaaS (software as a service) providers such as Salesforce.com. Today,
for the most part, IT must plug into cloud-based services
individually, but cloud computing aggregators and integrators are
already emerging.
InfoWorld talked to dozens of vendors, analysts, and IT customers to
tease out the various components of cloud computing. Based on those
discussions, here's a rough breakdown of what cloud computing is all
about:
1. SaaS
This type of cloud computing delivers a single application through the
browser to thousands of customers using a multitenant architecture. On
the customer side, it means no upfront investment in servers or
software licensing; on the provider side, with just one app to
maintain, costs are low compared to conventional
hosting.Salesforce.comis by far the best-known example among
enterprise applications, but SaaS is also common for HR apps and has
even worked its way up the food chain to ERP, with players such as
Workday. And who could have predicted the sudden rise ofSaaS "desktop"
applications , such as Google Apps and Zoho Office?
2. Utility computing
The idea is not new, but this formof cloud computing is getting new
life from Amazon.com, Sun, IBM, and others who now offer storage and
virtual servers that IT can access on demand. Early enterprise
adopters mainly use utility computing for
supplemental,non-mission-critical needs, but one day, they may replace
parts of the datacenter. Other providers offer solutions that help IT
create virtual datacentersfrom commodity servers, such as 3Tera's
AppLogic and Cohesive Flexible Technologies' Elastic Server on Demand.
Liquid Computing's LiquidQ offers similar capabilities, enabling IT to
stitch together memory, I/O, storage, and computational capacity as a
virtualized resource pool availableover the network.
3. Web services in the cloud
Closely related to SaaS, Web service providers offer APIs that enable
developers to exploit functionality over the Internet, rather than
delivering full-blown applications. They range from providers offering
discrete business services -- such as Strike Iron and Xignite -- to
the full range of APIs offered by Google Maps, ADP payroll processing,
the U.S. Postal Service, Bloomberg, and even conventional credit card
processing services.
4. Platform as a service
Another SaaS variation, this form of cloud computing delivers
development environments as a service. You build your own applications
that run on the provider's infrastructure and are delivered to your
users via the Internet from the provider's servers. Like Legos, these
services are constrained by the vendor's design and capabilities, so
you don't get complete freedom, but you do get predictability and
pre-integration.Prime examples include Salesforce.com's Force.com ,
Coghead and the new Google App Engine . For extremely lightweight
development, cloud-based mashup platforms abound, such as Yahoo Pipes
or Dapper.net.
5. MSP (managed service providers)
One of the oldest forms of cloud computing, a managed service is
basically an application exposed toIT rather than to end-users, suchas
a virus scanning service for e-mail or an application
monitoringservice (which Mercury, among others, provides). Managed
security services delivered by SecureWorks, IBM, and Verizon fallinto
this category, as do such cloud-based anti-spam services asPostini,
recently acquired by Google. Other offerings include desktop
management services, such as those offered by CenterBeam or Everdream.
6. Service commerce platforms
A hybrid of SaaS and MSP, this cloud computing service offers a
service hub that users interact with. They're most common in trading
environments, such as expense management systems that allow users to
order travel or secretarial services from a common platform that then
coordinates the service delivery and pricing within the specifications
set by the user. Think of it as an automated service bureau.
Well-known examples include Rearden Commerce and Ariba.
7. Internet integration
The integration of cloud-based services is in its early days.
OpSource, which mainly concerns itself with serving SaaS
providers,recently introduced the OpSourceServices Bus, which employs
in-the-cloud integration technology from a little startup called
Boomi. SaaS provider Workday recently acquired another player in this
space, CapeClear, an ESB (enterprise service bus) provider that was
edging toward b-to-b integration.Way ahead of its time, Grand Central
-- which wanted to be a universal "bus in the cloud" to connect SaaS
providers and provide integrated solutions to customers -- flamed out
in 2005.
Today, with such cloud-based interconnection seldom in evidence, cloud
computing might be more accurately described as"sky computing," with
many isolated clouds of services which IT customers must plug into
individually. On the other hand, asvirtualization and SOA permeate the
enterprise, the idea of looselycoupled services running on an agile,
scalable infrastructure should eventually make every enterprise a node
in the cloud. It'sa long-running trend with a far-out horizon. But
among big metatrends, cloud computing is the hardest one to argue with
in the long term.
Gartner senior analyst Ben Pring, echoing many of his peers. The
problem is that (as with Web 2.0) everyone seems to have a different
definition.
As a metaphor for the Internet,"the cloud" is a familiar cliché, but
when combined with "computing," the meaning gets bigger and fuzzier.
Some analysts and vendors define cloud computing narrowly as an
updated version of utility computing: basically virtual servers
available over the Internet. Others go very broad, arguing anything
you consume outside the firewall is "inthe cloud," including
conventional outsourcing.
Cloud computing comes into focus only when you think about what IT
always needs: a way to increase capacity or add capabilities on the
fly without investing in new infrastructure, training new personnel,
or licensing new software. Cloud computing encompasses any
subscription-based or pay-per-use service that, in real time overthe
Internet, extends IT's existingcapabilities.
Cloud computing is at an early stage, with a motley crew of providers
large and small delivering a slew of cloud-based services, from
full-blown applications to storage services to spam filtering. Yes,
utility-styleinfrastructure providers are partof the mix, but so are
SaaS (software as a service) providers such as Salesforce.com. Today,
for the most part, IT must plug into cloud-based services
individually, but cloud computing aggregators and integrators are
already emerging.
InfoWorld talked to dozens of vendors, analysts, and IT customers to
tease out the various components of cloud computing. Based on those
discussions, here's a rough breakdown of what cloud computing is all
about:
1. SaaS
This type of cloud computing delivers a single application through the
browser to thousands of customers using a multitenant architecture. On
the customer side, it means no upfront investment in servers or
software licensing; on the provider side, with just one app to
maintain, costs are low compared to conventional
hosting.Salesforce.comis by far the best-known example among
enterprise applications, but SaaS is also common for HR apps and has
even worked its way up the food chain to ERP, with players such as
Workday. And who could have predicted the sudden rise ofSaaS "desktop"
applications , such as Google Apps and Zoho Office?
2. Utility computing
The idea is not new, but this formof cloud computing is getting new
life from Amazon.com, Sun, IBM, and others who now offer storage and
virtual servers that IT can access on demand. Early enterprise
adopters mainly use utility computing for
supplemental,non-mission-critical needs, but one day, they may replace
parts of the datacenter. Other providers offer solutions that help IT
create virtual datacentersfrom commodity servers, such as 3Tera's
AppLogic and Cohesive Flexible Technologies' Elastic Server on Demand.
Liquid Computing's LiquidQ offers similar capabilities, enabling IT to
stitch together memory, I/O, storage, and computational capacity as a
virtualized resource pool availableover the network.
3. Web services in the cloud
Closely related to SaaS, Web service providers offer APIs that enable
developers to exploit functionality over the Internet, rather than
delivering full-blown applications. They range from providers offering
discrete business services -- such as Strike Iron and Xignite -- to
the full range of APIs offered by Google Maps, ADP payroll processing,
the U.S. Postal Service, Bloomberg, and even conventional credit card
processing services.
4. Platform as a service
Another SaaS variation, this form of cloud computing delivers
development environments as a service. You build your own applications
that run on the provider's infrastructure and are delivered to your
users via the Internet from the provider's servers. Like Legos, these
services are constrained by the vendor's design and capabilities, so
you don't get complete freedom, but you do get predictability and
pre-integration.Prime examples include Salesforce.com's Force.com ,
Coghead and the new Google App Engine . For extremely lightweight
development, cloud-based mashup platforms abound, such as Yahoo Pipes
or Dapper.net.
5. MSP (managed service providers)
One of the oldest forms of cloud computing, a managed service is
basically an application exposed toIT rather than to end-users, suchas
a virus scanning service for e-mail or an application
monitoringservice (which Mercury, among others, provides). Managed
security services delivered by SecureWorks, IBM, and Verizon fallinto
this category, as do such cloud-based anti-spam services asPostini,
recently acquired by Google. Other offerings include desktop
management services, such as those offered by CenterBeam or Everdream.
6. Service commerce platforms
A hybrid of SaaS and MSP, this cloud computing service offers a
service hub that users interact with. They're most common in trading
environments, such as expense management systems that allow users to
order travel or secretarial services from a common platform that then
coordinates the service delivery and pricing within the specifications
set by the user. Think of it as an automated service bureau.
Well-known examples include Rearden Commerce and Ariba.
7. Internet integration
The integration of cloud-based services is in its early days.
OpSource, which mainly concerns itself with serving SaaS
providers,recently introduced the OpSourceServices Bus, which employs
in-the-cloud integration technology from a little startup called
Boomi. SaaS provider Workday recently acquired another player in this
space, CapeClear, an ESB (enterprise service bus) provider that was
edging toward b-to-b integration.Way ahead of its time, Grand Central
-- which wanted to be a universal "bus in the cloud" to connect SaaS
providers and provide integrated solutions to customers -- flamed out
in 2005.
Today, with such cloud-based interconnection seldom in evidence, cloud
computing might be more accurately described as"sky computing," with
many isolated clouds of services which IT customers must plug into
individually. On the other hand, asvirtualization and SOA permeate the
enterprise, the idea of looselycoupled services running on an agile,
scalable infrastructure should eventually make every enterprise a node
in the cloud. It'sa long-running trend with a far-out horizon. But
among big metatrends, cloud computing is the hardest one to argue with
in the long term.
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