A short while ago, Microsoft announced their plans to create a stack platform appliance for Azure. This was done, presumably, to deal with the competitive threat from VMware, which is part of the V-Block-centered Acadia business venture. Sorry Microsoft, but IMHO, this is a clear signal that the cloud stack has been catapulted to the stratosphere of hype.
There are a couple assumptions about clouds in a can that show the ready-fire-aim nature of these types of solutions.
The first is that clouds in a can will provide an on-ramp for private cloud infrastructures to to use public cloud infrastructures in the future. Oh yes, and how exactly will that work? Vaporware drawn on white boards with clouds in the middle? The allure of an easier future through stacks rivals any of the malarkey that our industry has ever produced.
The second assumption is that customers will save money with stacks and appliances. There are too many vendors involved, all of them hoping to increase revenues. Most of these integrated solutions will have surprisingly high price tags. Of course, there will be loss-leader infrastructure in a can products too. THAT should be interesting to watch.
The idea of a turn key infrastructure is appealing as a concept, but the real cost of operating an infrastructure is where the advantages lie. Some customers will be happy with expensive mediocrity that traps them.
In contrast, Best of breed products today are those that are powerful, flexible and easy to use. These are the products to build a private cloud with. Take your infrastructure where it needs to go instead of driving somebody else's vehicle down their highway.
A short while ago, Microsoft announced their plans to create a stack platform appliance for Azure. This was done, presumably, to deal with the competitive threat from VMware, which is part of the V-Block-centered Acadia business venture. Sorry Microsoft, but IMHO, this is a clear signal that the cloud stack has been catapulted to the stratosphere of hype.
There are a couple assumptions about clouds in a can that show the ready-fire-aim nature of these types of solutions.
The first is that clouds in a can will provide an on-ramp for private cloud infrastructures to to use public cloud infrastructures in the future. Oh yes, and how exactly will that work? Vaporware drawn on white boards with clouds in the middle? The allure of an easier future through stacks rivals any of the malarkey that our industry has ever produced.
The second assumption is that customers will save money with stacks and appliances. There are too many vendors involved, all of them hoping to increase revenues. Most of these integrated solutions will have surprisingly high price tags. Of course, there will be loss-leader infrastructure in a can products too. THAT should be interesting to watch.
The idea of a turn key infrastructure is appealing as a concept, but the real cost of operating an infrastructure is where the advantages lie. Some customers will be happy with expensive mediocrity that traps them.
In contrast, Best of breed products today are those that are powerful, flexible and easy to use. These are the products to build a private cloud with. Take your infrastructure where it needs to go instead of driving somebody else's vehicle down their highway.