Cloud Use Changing – Bursting?
Paul Zikopoulos of IBM has been talking about both the "now" of cloud usage and the future look at how things will lean on the cloud for different types or modes of functionality. The concept is started here in this article, but I think there are a few interesting and important takeaways in this whole discussion.
1. Cloud Portability
I think this is something that just really isn’t there yet. Being able to move about between different technology stacks is getting more and more important. I think too that the other kind of portability – that of moving between providers – is critical, but not often considered.
2. "Hybrid" solutions
Hybrid solutions won’t really be a "thing," they’ll be assumed. I have to agree with this. I think a hybrid solution where you have on-premise computing power along with power in the cloud is clearly going to be the norm. I also think it won’t replace on-premise. I do think we’ll get better about bursting to the cloud – having our applications scale in real-time to take advantage of part-time and scaleable resources in the cloud when needed, then backing off (and therefore saving money) when not needed.
I think there is a fundamental change underfoot – and I think it’s coming faster than we anticipate. It starts with SAAS solutions and IAAS solutions. Pieces and parts that supplement or enable your networks, services and applications to do more in this burstable environment. Then you look at your applications, the ability to have more functionality for lower costs and it makes sense to make the moves, make the updates and make the changes needed to get to the new functionality.
What started as a "yeah, I can host there for cheaper, but what a pain," becomes "I need to be there because of the change it will bring – everyone wins."