Leveraging Information and Intelligence
David Linthicum
Why Data Integration is Critical to Cloud Computing
While the interest in cloud computing is at a fever pitch, the use of cloud computing brings up some fundamental questions, such as how we're going to drive data integration between the on-premise systems and the emerging use of the cloud. You can either be proactive, and reactive.
Truth-be-told data integration is often an afterthought, and cloud computing is no exception to that. Typically, those moving to cloud computing understand the need once the data is now housed on remote cloud computing platforms, and there is a desire to share or synchronous data between them. This is usually followed by a quick tactical solution, which has no long term value, usually replaced at some point in time.
You approach data integration with cloud computing in one of two ways.
First, the understanding that integration is systemic to the solution, thus you need to design integration into the architecture. This is the optimal approach, but often an approach that enterprises don't employ, due to budget and resource limitations, and I've heard many other excuses as well.
Second, is the ability to design and create a data integration solution that is retrofitted into the cloud computing solution. Again, not optimal, but many approach integration this way and it's just a matter of understanding the source and target data, how to deal with semantic mediation, connections, and the right integration technology to make this happen. Often overlook here are security and governance which needs to be part of the data integration solution.
The fact of the matter is that without data integration cloud-based systems won't provide the value you're seeking, indeed they may not be cost effective at all. Processes span on premise and cloud-delivered systems, and if the integration with the data does not exist, those processes can't exist either.
Many of the enterprises out there moving quickly to cloud computing need to get a clue.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Virtualization and the cloud: Tech, talk to converge
SAN FRANCISCO--The claim has been made in the last couple of weeks that cloud computing has reached the top of analyst firms' famous hype cycle and is a top-of-mind issue for most IT organizations.
That's a bit misleading, as the interest in cloud computing is often taken out of context, and when you bring virtualization into the picture, that interest seems to remain exploratory rather than strategic.
Amazing innovation is happening in both public- and private-cloud offerings, and the overwhelmingly positive response to cloud computing--in particular to Amazon's top-notch Elastic Compute Cloud, Simple Storage Service, and related offerings, as well as Google Apps and the first generation of software-as-a-service superstars, such as Salesforce.com.
But the critical truth--that interest in virtualization technologies currently outweighs interest in the cloud-computing model--has been evident at trade shows I've attended over the the last several months targeting subjects ranging from networking to next-generation data centers to cloud computing itself, and it has hit home here at VMworld this week. The bottom line is that virtualization is where the money is this summer; cloud computing isn't.
Technology trends follow the patterns described by the science of complex adaptive systems. There is constant change and mutation, and there is a feedback loop that encourages stronger innovations to survive and grow while killing weaker ones, yet somehow, the system maintains a working balance that doesn't get too chaotic to manage or too ordered to allow innovation.
As with any complex adaptive system, traits that eventually come to dominate the system tend to start small: a single mutation, or the introduction of a small number of invasive foreign entities, for example. In the case of the "invasive" cloud computing model, the "DNA" is strong.
Amazon Web Services proves that you can get your infrastructure over the Internet. Salesforce.com proves you can run your business relationships through a browser. Both public and private clouds introduce flexibility and efficiency into IT services.
Cloud-computing bellwethers
Cloud computing is definitely in your future, in one form or another. It probably already plays a strong role in your day-to-day computing experience. That said, when you measure audiences at technology trade shows such as Cisco Live and Interop, you see where the real interest of the everyday IT professional is. At VMworld, the audiences at virtualization-related sessions have been consistently larger than those at cloud-centric sessions.
Recent cloud-only conferences have remained quite small--typically in the tens or hundreds of participants--in comparison to their brethren, and cloud-focused sessions at larger shows have been attended by fewer people their virtualization peers. Several of my cloud-focused colleagues have even noted that some shows end up with the same vendors pitching to each other over and over again.
Without a doubt, this is simply an indication of the current stage in which we find ourselves in the long evolution from internal data centers to cloud-centric operations. The ratio of interest will change (or, more appropriately, converge). But if you want to get into the head of most IT tech geeks today, you need to address the subject of virtualization first, then acknowledge cloud computing as a future target.
The best evidence I can personally attest to are the breakout sessions and panels in which I've participated. I have been giving two basic talks this summer, one focused on cloud computing's future ("Achieving the Intercloud"), and one about the journey from virtualization to cloud computing. Without a doubt, sessions with the term "virtualization" in the title have seen the best attendance, whether measured by room capacity or interaction after the talk.
Transitions ahead
What does that mean to the average cloud enthusiast? Well, for one thing, it remains important to see cloud computing as a transition--an operations model that requires addressing technology and cultural issues before widespread adoption. The good news here? Current trends in virtualization, automation, and early cloud offerings are forcing most of those issues to be faced head-on.
It also highlights how much work is ahead of us in helping those responsible for application operations see the value in cloud environments. This education will be greatly accelerated this year, thanks to the amazing work that customers large and small are doing, especially in public clouds. However, it will also require technologies that address the concerns that many have about moving virtualized workloads into someone else's infrastructure.
I'm betting that at this time next year (or the following year, at the latest), most of the convergence of virtualization and cloud interest will have happened, with the exception of the continued interest that service providers and enterprise data center operators will have in the physical infrastructure and management systems needed to provide cloud services.
It will be harder and harder to tell the difference between a talk discussing how to manage an application running in a virtual machine and one discussing how to manage a cloud workload. Many management vendors will demonstrate tools that manage virtualization (such as VMware vSphere) and public cloud services (especially Amazon's EC2 and S3) at the same time, with the same interfaces. Long lines will be form for topics that will have little to do with who owns the infrastructure or how it is paid.
At that point, the decoupling of physical infrastructure management and virtual workload management will nearly be complete--and the cloud-computing DNA will really begin to take over.
That's a bit misleading, as the interest in cloud computing is often taken out of context, and when you bring virtualization into the picture, that interest seems to remain exploratory rather than strategic.
Amazing innovation is happening in both public- and private-cloud offerings, and the overwhelmingly positive response to cloud computing--in particular to Amazon's top-notch Elastic Compute Cloud, Simple Storage Service, and related offerings, as well as Google Apps and the first generation of software-as-a-service superstars, such as Salesforce.com.
But the critical truth--that interest in virtualization technologies currently outweighs interest in the cloud-computing model--has been evident at trade shows I've attended over the the last several months targeting subjects ranging from networking to next-generation data centers to cloud computing itself, and it has hit home here at VMworld this week. The bottom line is that virtualization is where the money is this summer; cloud computing isn't.
Technology trends follow the patterns described by the science of complex adaptive systems. There is constant change and mutation, and there is a feedback loop that encourages stronger innovations to survive and grow while killing weaker ones, yet somehow, the system maintains a working balance that doesn't get too chaotic to manage or too ordered to allow innovation.
As with any complex adaptive system, traits that eventually come to dominate the system tend to start small: a single mutation, or the introduction of a small number of invasive foreign entities, for example. In the case of the "invasive" cloud computing model, the "DNA" is strong.
Amazon Web Services proves that you can get your infrastructure over the Internet. Salesforce.com proves you can run your business relationships through a browser. Both public and private clouds introduce flexibility and efficiency into IT services.
Cloud-computing bellwethers
Cloud computing is definitely in your future, in one form or another. It probably already plays a strong role in your day-to-day computing experience. That said, when you measure audiences at technology trade shows such as Cisco Live and Interop, you see where the real interest of the everyday IT professional is. At VMworld, the audiences at virtualization-related sessions have been consistently larger than those at cloud-centric sessions.
Recent cloud-only conferences have remained quite small--typically in the tens or hundreds of participants--in comparison to their brethren, and cloud-focused sessions at larger shows have been attended by fewer people their virtualization peers. Several of my cloud-focused colleagues have even noted that some shows end up with the same vendors pitching to each other over and over again.
Without a doubt, this is simply an indication of the current stage in which we find ourselves in the long evolution from internal data centers to cloud-centric operations. The ratio of interest will change (or, more appropriately, converge). But if you want to get into the head of most IT tech geeks today, you need to address the subject of virtualization first, then acknowledge cloud computing as a future target.
The best evidence I can personally attest to are the breakout sessions and panels in which I've participated. I have been giving two basic talks this summer, one focused on cloud computing's future ("Achieving the Intercloud"), and one about the journey from virtualization to cloud computing. Without a doubt, sessions with the term "virtualization" in the title have seen the best attendance, whether measured by room capacity or interaction after the talk.
Transitions ahead
What does that mean to the average cloud enthusiast? Well, for one thing, it remains important to see cloud computing as a transition--an operations model that requires addressing technology and cultural issues before widespread adoption. The good news here? Current trends in virtualization, automation, and early cloud offerings are forcing most of those issues to be faced head-on.
It also highlights how much work is ahead of us in helping those responsible for application operations see the value in cloud environments. This education will be greatly accelerated this year, thanks to the amazing work that customers large and small are doing, especially in public clouds. However, it will also require technologies that address the concerns that many have about moving virtualized workloads into someone else's infrastructure.
I'm betting that at this time next year (or the following year, at the latest), most of the convergence of virtualization and cloud interest will have happened, with the exception of the continued interest that service providers and enterprise data center operators will have in the physical infrastructure and management systems needed to provide cloud services.
It will be harder and harder to tell the difference between a talk discussing how to manage an application running in a virtual machine and one discussing how to manage a cloud workload. Many management vendors will demonstrate tools that manage virtualization (such as VMware vSphere) and public cloud services (especially Amazon's EC2 and S3) at the same time, with the same interfaces. Long lines will be form for topics that will have little to do with who owns the infrastructure or how it is paid.
At that point, the decoupling of physical infrastructure management and virtual workload management will nearly be complete--and the cloud-computing DNA will really begin to take over.
Cloud computing: Amazon, Salesforce.com and Rackspace
Posted Sep 1st 2009 2:30PM by Steven Halpern
Filed under: Amazon.com (AMZN), salesforce.com inc (CRM)
"The term cloud computing is nothing particularly new or complicated; it simply means that instead of having software on your home, office or notebook computer, you run applications over the Internet," explains Gregg Early.
In Personal Finance says, "It's the way of the future as computing becomes increasingly mobile." Here, he looks at a trio of plays on this trend: Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN), Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM), and Rackspace Hosting (NYSE: RAX).
"I would point out that I'm writing this article on Google Docs. This document is stored on a Google server farm, not on my office computer.
"When I want to access this document -- from my house, office, laptop or mobile phone -- I simply go to my Google account and it shows up. This kind of computing has gone from quixotic concept to ubiquitous reality.
"From a business standpoint cloud computing is compelling because it means a business doesn't have to buy software or licenses for each of its employees or hire additional IT staff to maintain and upgrade software packages or train staff on how to use them.
"Some cloud computing giants got there as a happenstance to their original business models. Amazon.com, for example, is known as a leading online retailer.
"But because it had to build up enormous amounts of data storage for all its records and then began to build relational databases among its customer profiles, an entire new business sprung up.
"Amazon can 'sell' its excess storage capacity and also works with businesses on their marketing and customer relationship management (CRM) protocols.
"Now Amazon-the-online-bookstore is also Amazon-the-cloud-computing-storage-vendor-and-management-consultant-to-online-businesses. It's this kind of adaptive business acumen that we like so much about this company.
"Another pioneer in this space is Salesforce.com, a CRM and sales site that's removed the software from your desktop and stuck it in the cloud. Sales teams can now coordinate and interact while on the road from any computer, wherever they are.
"It's also much more cost effective for business to go with a cloud CRM provider. And in this kind of economy, you have to leverage every dime.
"A new player that's generating a lot of buzz is Rackspace. Two web developers were sitting around a Wendy's in 2004 talking about the clustering, load-balancing, and virtualization.
"They analyzed what the large enterprise customers were using to stay online. They set out to bring that sort of redundancy and scalability to web applications, regardless of whether it was for an individual or business.
"By 2005 the company was off and running. Basically, it rents cloud space to businesses and individuals--and it's the world's leader in hosting.
"It delivers websites, web-based IT systems, and computing as a service. This is where the online world is trending and where long-term growth opportunities are huge."
Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers a free daily overview of the favorite stock picks and investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.
Filed under: Amazon.com (AMZN), salesforce.com inc (CRM)
"The term cloud computing is nothing particularly new or complicated; it simply means that instead of having software on your home, office or notebook computer, you run applications over the Internet," explains Gregg Early.
In Personal Finance says, "It's the way of the future as computing becomes increasingly mobile." Here, he looks at a trio of plays on this trend: Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN), Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM), and Rackspace Hosting (NYSE: RAX).
"I would point out that I'm writing this article on Google Docs. This document is stored on a Google server farm, not on my office computer.
"When I want to access this document -- from my house, office, laptop or mobile phone -- I simply go to my Google account and it shows up. This kind of computing has gone from quixotic concept to ubiquitous reality.
"From a business standpoint cloud computing is compelling because it means a business doesn't have to buy software or licenses for each of its employees or hire additional IT staff to maintain and upgrade software packages or train staff on how to use them.
"Some cloud computing giants got there as a happenstance to their original business models. Amazon.com, for example, is known as a leading online retailer.
"But because it had to build up enormous amounts of data storage for all its records and then began to build relational databases among its customer profiles, an entire new business sprung up.
"Amazon can 'sell' its excess storage capacity and also works with businesses on their marketing and customer relationship management (CRM) protocols.
"Now Amazon-the-online-bookstore is also Amazon-the-cloud-computing-storage-vendor-and-management-consultant-to-online-businesses. It's this kind of adaptive business acumen that we like so much about this company.
"Another pioneer in this space is Salesforce.com, a CRM and sales site that's removed the software from your desktop and stuck it in the cloud. Sales teams can now coordinate and interact while on the road from any computer, wherever they are.
"It's also much more cost effective for business to go with a cloud CRM provider. And in this kind of economy, you have to leverage every dime.
"A new player that's generating a lot of buzz is Rackspace. Two web developers were sitting around a Wendy's in 2004 talking about the clustering, load-balancing, and virtualization.
"They analyzed what the large enterprise customers were using to stay online. They set out to bring that sort of redundancy and scalability to web applications, regardless of whether it was for an individual or business.
"By 2005 the company was off and running. Basically, it rents cloud space to businesses and individuals--and it's the world's leader in hosting.
"It delivers websites, web-based IT systems, and computing as a service. This is where the online world is trending and where long-term growth opportunities are huge."
Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers a free daily overview of the favorite stock picks and investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.