The lowdown on Oracle’s new IaaS

Oracle is a company that specializes in the development of both hardware and software. They’re a multinational and have been known to “dip their toes” into virtually everything you can imagine where computers, software, networking or database systems are involved. So, it only makes sense that they would be poised to take advantage of cloud computing technology, even perhaps adapting it in slightly new ways. This organization isn’t just trying to compete in cloud computing markets; they’re actually seeking to make a significant impact. They are reportedly providing enterprise-level services to upwards of around 25 million customers as well, so they must be doing something right.  Oracles new IaaS

Up until now, Oracle didn’t really have a dedicated IaaS product to offer, they mostly dealt with applications (SaaS) and various forms of PaaS. Recently, CEO Larry Ellison announced Oracle’s move to establish an IaaS offering. Apparently their goal is not simply to expand and/or create competition in the marketplace, but to actually (and openly) challenge other big-time providers like Amazon.

So what is it that makes this new IaaS offering from Oracle so special, you ask? Well, first off, there are actually two completely different ways that this particular IaaS product can be deployed, apparently. Since Oracle is a database / storage provider it makes sense that they would eventually start hosting IaaS-style cloud offerings in their own data center(s); this new service will allow for two distinct “modes of operation”, if you will. One mode is your standard vendor-hosted IaaS, where they actually provide remote cloud computing service. The other way this IaaS offering can be used is as software; which would allow customers to build services in their own data centers. What makes this arrangement special is the fact that applications and workloads can be migrated to and from one’s own datacenter and Oracle’s. That’s right; it’s basically a hybrid IaaS solution that allows for quick transition between public and private clouds.

Being able to transfer workloads from your cloud to Oracle’s might actually offer certain companies some distinct benefits and tools. For example, some organizations might opt to build strategies around creating useful applications in a private setting which can later be deployed in a more public manner for all branches of their organization. This might also permit for certain applications to be developed in a more secure environment that allows for a quick and easy transfer to a public setting. One thing is for certain, the possibilities offered by Oracle’s new upcoming IaaS are many and only limited to one’s own creative use of it.  

With the formation of this new IaaS division, Oracle is now officially a multi-level cloud vendor; they have SaaS, PaaS, (and now) IaaS offerings “on the table”. The idea to allow for IaaS / PaaS compatibility however, is a pretty revolutionary one. What we’re really talking about here is creating a link between all three cloud computing service models. For instance, if infrastructure can be created with software which is similar to what Oracle is offering through IaaS, then what we really have is SaaS reinforcing IaaS (and vice-versa). Likewise, Oracle’s PaaS offering(s), which are mostly used to aid in development, might also be used in tandem with other types of services. In other words, it seems that Oracle is actually fostering some type of IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS synergy. All three types of models seem to be coming together to create a more dynamic, versatile and open-ended cloud computing experience for businesses.

Speaking of IaaS and Cloud Computing, what’s your company’s long-term “game plan”?  
If your business is eager to leverage the immense power of cloud computing and take advantage of the seemingly endless barrage of useful applications which are pouring out in all directions, you’re going to have to be prepared. What does it mean to be “prepared” to implement IaaS or cloud computing in general? One of the first (and perhaps most important) steps you should take is to purchase certification, training and educational materials for your IT personnel.

Complete certification packages for both IaaS and cloud are extremely affordable right now and in very high demand. Having IT employees become more intimately acquainted with IaaS in particular, is a very good idea for businesses which are both highly independent and technologically solvent. If you’re ready to take your company’s technological capability to the next level, start with your employees and their knowledge base. Visit theartofservice.com for more information.

The Cloud tradeoff:

Ownership vs. Leasing

(Increased Costs vs. Reduced Costs)

While it does seem to endorse complete non-ownership of software, storage and hardware, cloud computing gives us tremendous savings in return, along with some other perks

One of the most hyped (and often pointed out) topics among those who might be wary of cloud computing (or an outright detractor) is non-ownership. The argument goes something like this; cloud computing is pushing us away from owning our own software / hardware, and our data is controlled as well. While it would be foolish to assume that all future cloud providers will follow the rules perfectly and hold high ethical standards, it’s also a bit irrational to jump to conclusions with sweeping statements and theories. The truth is, most cloud providers are going to provide their clients with excellent service(s), security, and savings; but there will likely always be an exception to the rule.

Some people who are banking heavily in the conspiracy theorist camp have come right out and stated that they see cloud technology as something which removes user rights to tangible / physical items / data. It’s actually great that some people are throwing these concepts out right now (as cloud computing is really starting to come into its own), because this will help to shape future legal agreements and / or compliance documents. In other words, it’s good that some people are thinking ahead, their concerns can be used to help forge better regulations with regards to data sovereignty and consumer rights in the cloud.

However, the single biggest issue (among those who see the cloud as a step toward something more sinister) is that of ownership vs. non-ownership. The fear seems to be that we are moving toward a type of society where your average citizen becomes acclimated to the idea of not actually physically owning anything. While this is a valid concern, it is not particularly in line with history and could be considered “reaching”.

For example, just think about all the software that you have personally purchased over the years for a second. How much money have you spent on hardware / individual machines and devices in the last 5-10 years? For most people, it’s probably not out of line to assume that thousands of dollars have been sunk into software and hardware that is now hopelessly obsolete. Likewise, if any personal data has remained intact from one upgrade year to the next, it was likely transferred to an internet storage site (or external drive) before being re-downloaded onto the new hard drive(s), right? The question is, how is this technically any different from cloud computing?

In truth, by not having to purchase new hardware and software, you’re actually saving an enormous amount of capital which could likely be put to use in another area. Additionally, because it wasn’t exactly intuitive for the average person to transfer data and settings (in previous times) from one system to the next, you were actually paying more for less, in a way.

Then there’s the issue of usability; sure, you can own something, but if it only has a shelf life of around 6 months to a year, is it really a good investment? Because cloud computing providers often do global upgrades automatically (even offering their clientele a choice of new applications / components as they become available), the need for shelling out exorbitant sums for self-contained systems is not necessary. In fact, it’s actually a liability and sort of like “taking a chance” when large corporations actually purchase software these days, because they can get so much more out of the cloud at a cheaper price. For instance, if a large business were to purchase some type of software, they are probably planning on using it for an extended period of time. The costs associated with multiple licenses are likely to be well above that of the monthly service fees tied to a comparable type of SaaS.

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Then you have the argument that cloud computing is a step toward a society where authoritative entities have complete control over your data at all times, etc… Whether or not people realize it, there are no such things as completely secure computer systems. Regardless of whether you think the cloud is a step forward or backward, the system you’re using right now can be compromised just as easily. Perhaps it’s a bit paranoid to think that there’s always someone “trying to acquire your data” and that the cloud represents an end to freedom? If anything, the newer forms of security which are emerging thanks to cloud research are vastly superior to methods which are currently used to protect sensitive data.

Lastly, there’s the reality that significant amounts of money are often saved by organizations who move into cloud computing. At the same time, overall capability isn’t being compromised either; businesses tend to gain new capabilities and powers by adopting a cloud model. Moreover, it’s a great leap in logic to assume that self-contained systems and individual software purchases will fall by the wayside and become a thing of the past. It’s extremely likely that there will still be companies who will sell independent systems, components and software after cloud computing takes over. To put it another way, cloud computing will not completely eradicate the market for non-cloud machines and devices; you’re still going to be able to buy machines containing their own storage and hardware. Also, it’s very likely that individual pieces of software will still be available for purchase, assuming that you want to go that route. Cloud computing is helping to bring advanced functionality to a much larger portion of the world’s population at prices they will be able to afford.

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The Cloud Computing Comedy Cavalcade

Here are some entertaining and humorous bits which demonstrate the immense social effect that cloud computing seems to be producing

One of the surest signs that any new type of technology and/or groundbreaking concept is taking hold is its effect on the public at large. Simply put, if you’re important enough that the denizens want to parody you or poke fun at some element of your character, you’re probably making a significant impact in one or more ways. Naturally, if it’s an idea or inanimate object we’re talking about that’s stirring up people’s humorous attitudes, then it’s safe to say that it has deeply burrowed its way into the consciousness of the public.

No doubt there are plenty of reasons why we shouldn’t make jokes about cloud computing, or even engage in some lighthearted degradation, but there is something to be said for the power of a good joke. Also, it’s particularly easy to make fun of something or someone if they are extremely serious all the time. Given that those of us in the cloud community are among some of the most tech-savvy individuals you’ll find anywhere, a good laugh or two is well-deserved.

Anyway, without further ado, here are some esoteric bits of cloud computing humor rounded up from around the web which poke fun at what is essentially the replacement for our current way of computing and networking. Viva la Cloud!

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Images culled from:

www.agent-x.au

quickmeme.com

www.motifake.com

www.toondoo.com

Facebook.com

Cloudtweaks.com

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Recent Gartner report shows demand for public cloud computing services rising

Whether or not it’s Windows Azure, Amazon EC2, or something like Google’s AppEngine we’re talking about, one thing is certain – public cloud services are highly sought-after right now. Of course the next question is, why not? After all, there are some very specific and extremely sophisticated things that a dedicated public cloud can achieve through its infrastructure and applications.

Likewise, the ongoing list of capabilities is increasing exponentially all the time. Newer forms of hybrid services are also springing up left and right; most of them end up being deployed on public clouds as well. All incoming data seems to indicate that the world is poised for continued growth and expansion in virtually all public cloud areas and arenas.

From a Gartner press release dated September 18th, 2012:  

“The public cloud services market is forecast to grow 19.6 percent in 2012 to total $109 billion worldwide.”  

The thing about public clouds is that they have an almost limitless number of potential uses for both businesses as well as individuals. In other words, on the same public cloud you might have a fairly large corporation along with an individual who runs their own business through various cloud services. Also, there’s been a great push in recent years to explore the addition and deployment of specific services aimed at entertainment, for example.

What’s interesting about this is the fact that you might have people paying for a specific type of media delivery system (think Netflix) and the company that’s delivering the service is working through a public cloud which is essentially helping them to leverage their concept. Basically, the old model where a company is more-or-less completely “self-contained” is falling by the wayside when it comes to computing, networking, web services and application delivery. Now it’s considered normal, even preferable, for companies to lean on 3rd party (cloud computing) providers who are acting as technical intermediaries between the actual business and the consumer.

In terms of specific segments of the public cloud market, IaaS is being hailed as a clear leader and is currently experiencing rapid growth. Why is IaaS doing so well?
IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-Service) is by all accounts, clearly a type of public cloud computing model which offers businesses the greatest range of choices and control.

If you have IT employees that are actually certified in IaaS and truly understand how to use it, you’ll quickly discover that you’re not really losing anything at all by switching over to a cloud computing system at all. In fact, you’re going to gain the capabilities inherent to the system itself while at the same time drastically cutting costs down to insignificant levels. Most of the potential savings will come in the form of monies not spent on hardware, software or extensive energy consumption, but there’s also something to be said for the ability of IaaS (and cloud computing) to allow for near instantaneous implementation of new apps and services.

From the same Gartner release noted earlier:

“…infrastructure as a service (IaaS) is the fastest-growing segment of the public cloud services market and is expected to grow 45.4 percent in 2012.”

There is actually hard data out there which perfectly illustrates the viability and growing popularity of public cloud services; the question is, just how far is adoption going to go? In other words, are we actually going to see traditional infrastructure replaced entirely by cloud computing? Will most organizations and businesses opt to continue pushing everything they have (and perhaps do) into the cloud? The answer for both of those questions apparently seems to be a resounding, yes.

A good comparison between the older grid networking / computing model and the cloud would be (from a corporate standpoint) delivering one’s own mail vs. using the post office or a delivery service. In this example, the post office/delivery service would represent cloud computing and hiring your own couriers and buying your own transportation would be akin to the older method of establishing IT services. Clearly, it’s cheaper to simply pay an upfront fee which completely covers the cost of delivery of various sized packages, right? Having to deal with the costs associated with fuel, labor and perhaps time lost in performing your own deliveries will be much more substantial than if you simply relied on an established service.  

The aforementioned example perfectly demonstrates why public cloud computing has taken off; basically, it’s cost-effective, already in place and much more sensible for companies to rely on in the long run from a technical standpoint. When you combine all of these perks with the control of IaaS, the question becomes, why haven’t more businesses adopted cloud computing? 

Public Cloud Computing and IaaS

A closer look at what effects IaaS may or may not be having on new growth in this sector

In spite of the fact that some very well-known characters have openly declared that cloud computing is a bad idea, something that will never work, it is flourishing. That’s right, things are looking so good for public cloud providers (particularly those with IaaS products to sell) that very soon, cloud computing might actually be more of a household / mainstream concept. It’s not just businesses that have helped to propel cloud technologies forward though (but they’ve played an enormous role), individuals have been embracing it in record numbers as well. However, the biggest areas of growth have been in public cloud computing and IaaS, which hints at the importance that larger organizations are placing on this technology, since they tend to be more avid users of IaaS.  

The writing is on the wall, we’ve currently got all the major tech companies implementing their own varieties of public cloud and IaaS. Microsoft, Apple, Google and others are not only promoting their services or trying to increase their profit margins, they’re actually helping to spread the influence of cloud computing itself. This is part of the magic of the cloud. Unlike any previous form of computing and networking technologies, cloud computing is really about being connected. Concepts can be more easily shared, applications moved from one provider to another, services can be combined from disparate vendors; the possibilities are endless, really.

But at the end of the day, cloud computing is really about attempting to find more efficient ways of doing things. This is where IaaS comes into play; because it is perhaps the best approach to cloud computing for most businesses that simply need a greater degree of control over their public cloud services. Statistics gathered from research organizations like Gartner seem to indicate that more growth is a certainty. Already this year we’ve seen enormous growth in both public clouds and IaaS, with IaaS leading the charge.

However, the recent outpouring of IaaS services from the big heavy-hitting companies seems to have instilled a greater sense of purpose and confidence in this area. It makes sense that more businesses would turn to IaaS given that there are more options available and all the most well-known institutions are promoting their own types of services, don’t you think? For those of us who like cloud computing and want to see it adopted on a larger scale, the thanks should really be going out to these large companies like Microsoft, Google, Amazon, etc…who jumped into the technology head-first knowing that they might fall flat. Luckily, their respective investments seem to be paying off if the cloud adoption figures are a testament to anything at all.

Perhaps the main reason IaaS is driving public cloud adoption has to do with the actual relationship the two share. For example, though IaaS can be deployed via a public cloud offering, it is usually something that is set up like a private cloud service. Since IaaS might be generally used to establish a remote IT operation, it makes sense that it should be segregated in one or more ways.

One of the things that businesses like to do is establish their IaaS via a private cloud setup and then leverage public cloud capabilities for certain data storage applications (or perhaps tap into some service(s) offered through the public cloud). This is one of the things that make current types of IaaS such powerful tools for organizations; they have the ability to quickly shift resources to and from public / private cloud configurations. In other words, PaaS and SaaS offerings can easily be deployed on public clouds (and often are), but IaaS is something more, it is able to forge a connection between public and private cloud computing. For businesses that have been using PaaS or SaaS via a public cloud, being able to take their builds and more-or-less instantly transfer them into IaaS is a big plus, and makes their cloud transition more streamlined and painless.

IaaS is really about taking control over the technical aspects of what any cloud is actually capable of, both PaaS and SaaS are tailored toward those who want pre-packaged services or apps that perform specific tasks. In this way, IaaS is helping to push the upper end of development for cloud computing for organizations who are seeking to truly leverage the power of these systems. If IaaS had never caught on (as it has) we would likely still have various forms of cloud services available to us, but you wouldn’t see nearly as much interest from IT professionals. This is very important because businesses need to be able to maintain their own tech personnel while at the same time, taking advantage of what cloud computing has to offer.

For cloud vendors, being able to hand over more control to their IaaS users is also a good thing because it takes some of the pressure off of them. Another hidden truth in IaaS is that more and more individual organizations are going to develop their own components, apps and business solutions. Why is this important? Well, imagine how quickly the entire field of cloud computing will develop (technologically speaking) if more and more individual organizations are building and exploring simultaneously. We’re talking about greater diversity and exploration in all directions within the context of systems and infrastructure which are largely compatible with one another.