Virtualization and Cloud executives share their predictions for 2014. Read them in this VMblog.com series exclusive.
Contributed article by Ditlev Bredahl, CEO, OnApp
OnApp 2014 Predictions: cloud becomes everything as a service
Most people are
sick of the hype around ‘cloud', but the good news this year has been a shift
away from cloudwashing to focus on the real value that cloud can deliver. While
the hype will probably be with us for a few years yet, I think the cloud
as-a-service model will slowly but surely become the standard mode of operation
for all aspects of IT. I think we'll make good progress on this next year, in
all kinds of ways - here are a few of the most important.
Cloud
evolves
I think 2014 will
see "cloud" services expand to comprise other service types too. We'll move away
from the silos of infrastructure we have today, where your application stack
uses different types of IT (some in-house, some delivered as a service, some on
traditional dedicated hardware - with no integration) towards a more fluid
environment where everything is delivered as a service, and you can run your
workloads where they work best, with one pane of glass for management and
provisioning.
Federation
Cloud abstracted
the workload from the hardware it runs on, and the second change I think we'll
see is that abstraction being extended to location, too. Service providers will
begin to federate their resources so anyone can access "cloud services" - that
will encompass virtual and dedicated, public and private - from any provider
they choose, and get access to IT resources in any location they need.
Security
The "Summer of
Snowden" has brought security back into the spotlight for everyone, consumers
and businesses alike. Snowden's NSA exposé has highlighted the fact that there
really is no certainty about who has access to your data once it leaves your
hands. If it isn't the government that's looking at your data, you can be sure
that marketers are, or any of the vendors you work and share your information
with.
People will have to
change how they think about security and start working on the assumption that
all data is insecure, unless they take steps to secure it. Making it secure will
also begin to evolve into a service, just like applications and hardware have: I
think people will pay for security-as-a-service to keep some or all of their
data secret, though how such a service will be delivered and priced, remains to
be seen.
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About the Author
Ditlev Bredahl is
an Internet and hosting industry veteran, with more than 15 years' experience
leading hosting and related technology companies. Ditlev is CEO of OnApp, a
software company that helps hosts, telcos and other service providers to build
their own clouds.
Before founding
OnApp, Ditlev led UK2 Group's hosting companies as MD and CEO. He has founded
many successful web hosting brands and is an active 'angel investor' in
technology start-ups. Ditlev is Danish, lives in the UK but travels frequently
to visit clients and speak at events around the world.