Trying to understand the basics of cloud computing is one matter but getting a grasp on the technologies across the different platforms is another issue entirely.
To try and simplify things just a bit, Appirio is offering a map that shows the cloud ecosystem. The map breaks out 70 different layers of technology across applications, platforms and infrastructure. The map is pretty sophisticated with the ability to drill down to understand the underlying technologies.
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Appirio is in the business of helping companies get into the cloud computing world so it is no surprise that the map has its own viewpoints on matters of the cloud.
From the Appirio blog:
"It (the map) distinguishes between offerings that are true cloud offerings vs. those that are "hosted" (single tenant / multi-instance) vs. those that are on-premise "private cloud"....not really a cloud at all.
Not really a cloud at all? Hmmm. There may be some who disagree with this view on cloud computing. Here's the take from Gartner's Tom Bittman:
That aside, the map will be pretty helpful to almost everyone with an interest in the cloud computing world. Here are a few of Appirio's conclusions:
You Want Hype, We Have Hype: Man, It's almost reminiscent of the podcasting hype a few years ago. Look at the map and you see that almost every tech company you can find has some take on the cloud. Cloud computing is at the top of Gartner's Hype Cycle. And, of course, we have Larry Ellison, who is having a blast poking fun at the world of cloud computing. Hmm....when the clouds clear, what companies in the ecosystem will turn to vapor?
The More You Share, The Better You Will Be: The name of the game is multi-tenancy. "This results in more than just economies of scale: multi-tenancy enables agility and innovation since there's only one code base to work off of, and customer behavior can be observed realtime."
It's Really Not That Clear At All: The lines are blurring out there. It's difficult to tell what's a cloud service and what is not. IBM, for instance, looks like it cuts across the spectrum. Where does it fit?
Kudos to Appirio. This is the kind of clarification that we need to get a better grasp on cloud computing and what it all means.
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