Arvid Fossen, director product management & marketing at DAAS.com looks at the different options that face potential cloud users

Many people still view cloud computing as another industry hype that will eventually fizzle out to nothing. However, in theory cloud computing could disrupt the rise of the traditional data centre model. Even in the credit crunch, large IT vendors such as Microsoft, Google and Oracle (Sun) are still increasing data centre capacity as they march towards offering software and services directly to end users via the cloud.

The key difference is the move to a utility model like the modern electricity grid. Instead of buying, maintaining and feeding your own generator with fuel to generate electricity, the cloud acts like the national grid to deliver a universal service. Although many may chose to believe that this utopia has arrived, the reality is somewhat different. Information technology is not like the transmission of electricity, it is far more complex.

Software Cloud
The cloud computing industry is split along three lines. The first is an application cloud for ready-made software delivery or Software as a Service (SaaS). In this category, you can add Salesforce, Microsoft, Skype, SAP, Google and almost every other major IT vendor with some existing software product that is now available via the cloud. The advantages claimed are rapid implementation and less capital expenditure as the servers are already up and running, configured with software and just waiting for you to add your users and data. Cost is often downplayed and trying to find a definitive impartial cost analysis is difficult.

Platform Cloud
An environment for developers to create their own web based applications. Again, the big fish in this pond are Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Sun now part of Oracle. The advantages promised are extremely low capital expenditure as developers don’t need to get involved with all that messy hardware while scaling to meet user demand is made much easier. However, each vendor has a different architecture and a number of notable failures have put question marks over reliability.

Infrastructure Cloud
The other broad definition is an infrastructure cloud (Infrastructure as a Service or IaaS). Within this category are companies like Amazon, DAAS.com (using SUN architecture) and RightScale. For these vendors, the cloud is more like a big box of Lego – how you chose to arrange the pieces and what you want to make is up to you – or in many cases, the third party you choose to build your cloud requirements on your behalf. While vendors such as Amazon and RightScale target end user organisations, DAAS.com targets system integrators, data centres and hosted service providers offering a solution to allow them build their own cloud computing offerings. 

Infrastructure clouds are similar to web hosted but offer better flexibility with the ability for clients to create a true virtual data centre. For end users, there is lower CAPEX and the ability to scale quickly while costs are somewhat easier to compare as the hardware elements of gigahertz of processing power, terabytes of storage and Mbps of connectivity are quantifiable. Potential downsides include a lack of control over exact hardware specifications and restriction on customisation at a physical level as the hardware is effectively rented and never owned.

Cutting out the middle man
With the exception of vendors like DAAS.com and VMware’s vsphere product, most cloud computing vendors are aiming to go direct and bypass traditional data centre hosting, smaller service providers and local system integrators, Unfortunately, the millions of businesses out there that can benefit from cloud computing don’t have inhouse ‘cloud’ expertise and instead rely on trusted relationships with these same local IT suppliers. This change is reminiscent of the emergence of direct touch suppliers like Dell in the PC and server market, and ultimately, the cloud concept may well bring about commoditisation of software delivery with potentially lower costs.  

In essence, the cloud is still effectively delivering application and data from large data centres and that is a task the IT industry has managed to perform well over the last two decades. Although cloud computing may well change the data centre environment, the shift might be a subtle one.

More information on Data Centre as a Service is available at www.DAAS.com