What do Virtualization and Cloud executives think about 2011?  Find out in this VMblog.com series exclusive.

One of the many things I love about my job here at AMD is that I get to meet and talk with a very diverse group of industry leaders who are tasked with analyzing, planning and implementing the latest and greatest in IT solutions and technologies.  I've watched virtualization as both a technology and a strategy evolve and transform how datacenters and even desktops are managed.  I've watched the dramatic change in how we evaluate x86 server platforms in terms of performance, power efficiency and overall value and how virtualization has played a key role in this transformation.

The advancement in virtualization technology has now led us to cloud computing.  Recently, I was fortunate to contribute, along with Margaret Lewis, in the writing of the AMD sponsored Cloud Computing Clusters for Dummies book.  In the book we discuss cloud computing in general, what some of the unique server requirements are for cloud computing, and how AMD is driving the adoption of cloud computing as an IT infrastructure.

There is no question now that cloud computing is real - though I wonder sometimes if the real question isn't "just what is cloud computing"?  It seems to me that the definition of the cloud depends on who you talk to.

Today it is difficult to open a trade journal, read a blog, or even watch TV without finding some reference to "the cloud".  Mothers are creating, editing and sharing family pictures via "the cloud".  Business men and women are collaborating on documents, spreadsheets and presentations all through "the cloud".

We defined "the cloud" in our Cloud Computing Clusters for Dummies book as "the next stage in the evolution of the Internet;  the means through which everything - from computing power to computing infrastructure and applications, from business processes to personal collaboration - can be delivered as a service wherever and whenever needed".  The cloud is a set of approaches that can help organizations quickly and effectively add and subtract resources in almost real time.  Cloud Computing is about both the business model and the technology.

Some would lead us to believe that in the near future everything will be in the cloud -that the cloud is in fact a replacement for today's traditional data center.  Prominent industry leaders have predicted that in the future the traditional data center will be replaced by a small number of very large cloud-based datacenters.

Still others are more cautious and are voicing concerns about security, privacy, and regulatory compliance.   

Traditionally, Cloud Computing is said to have two distinct models.  The public cloud, like those you hear about from Amazon, Google, Microsoft and others where services are offered on a per use basis and the underlying infrastructure is shared amongst all customers.  And the private cloud, the cloud infrastructure that sits behind the firewall but provides cloud-like services to its select set of internal customers.  More recently we have been hearing talk about a third model - a hybrid model, or the Hybrid Cloud.

According an Information Week interview of HP's Russ Daniels, CTO for cloud computing and VP of Cloud Strategy, HP's take is that "virtually every enterprise will operate in hybrid mode, with some of its operations on-premises and some in the cloud".  Daniels went on to say that contrary to some theories put forth, cloud computing is not a replacement for the data center.

This seems to be a much more practical approach to me.  Yes, some small businesses may find it practical and cost-effective to move all of their IT processing to the cloud, and certainly all of us will use cloud-based services (think social media and email) at an increasing rate.

But the enterprise is a much more complex environment. 

I found this definition from TechTarget's website SearchCloudComputing.com:

A hybrid cloud is a cloud computing environment in which an organization provides and manages some resources in-house and has others provided externally. For example, an organization might use a public cloud service, such as Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) for archived data but continue to maintain in-house storage for operational customer data. Ideally, the hybrid approach allows a business to take advantage of the scalability and cost-effectiveness that a public cloud computing environment offers without exposing mission-critical applications and data to third-party vulnerabilities.

Both Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Paul Maritz, president and CEO of VMware appear to agree on this concept.  In a recent interview with ITworld, Mr. Ballmer was quoted as saying "I think the new solutions that get pioneered in the cloud will also get retrofitted so they can be run on-premises by customers, because no customer is going to have everything in the cloud. People are going to have these kinds of mixed environments".

Similarly, Mr. Maritz recently noted, "The new service based on VMware vCloud Datacenter enables enterprises to not only improve efficiency internally, but also be in a position to tap into external resources in a non-disruptive way when it makes business sense to do so."

The cloud is indeed real, and my guess is that in the future most if not all enterprises will realize the benefits of some form of hybrid model.

I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on cloud computing and the hybrid cloud model specifically.  Are you moving any of your enterprise applications to the cloud?

Tim Mueting is a Product Marketing Manager at AMD.  His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD's positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites, and references to third party trademarks, are provided for convenience and illustrative purposes only.  Unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such links, and no third party endorsement of AMD or any of its products is implied.