Is Cloud Computing Outsourced Server Virtualization?
I ran across a nifty slide presentation from Jon Collins today, which showed how early the Cloud market is, and how little adoption has been made of it by business in general. As a partner in ENKI, I gulped when I saw the small adoption percentages. Then I realized that in hundred-billion-plus IT industry, these percentages are still a multibillion dollar market that is growing fast from near-zero a few years ago. No wonder Cloud Computing is so hyped and oversold, with hosting companies regularly "cloud-washing" their existing products!
The IT industry has traditionally been composed of a bunch of miracle-cure salesmen chasing patients with terminal disease, and this is no different. If Cloud is oversold now, just wait another year! No wonder it's a "most-irritating" term, according to Jon's presentation. But the silver lining to the Cloud is that it does represent an opportunity for cloud vendors to make a break from the manipulation and offer services that can make a real difference to their customers which will bring great mutual benefit.
There are many definitions of Cloud Computing out there, but Jon's presentation offers another one: one of his "most inspiring" terms was Server Virtualization. Most companies want to do this, but face significant obstacles, including lack of expertise, requirements for new hardware, and budget restrictions. Infrastructure-as-a-Service Cloud providers essentially provide Server Virtualization as an outsourced, managed service on an on-demand, pay-as-you-go-basis. With this definition, Cloud Computing can be seen as offering true value to businesses - both vendors and customers - but only if it is done impeccably.
I know I promised this would be a technical article, but I wanted to share Jon's presentation with you.
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