Virtualization and Cloud executives share their predictions for 2016. Read them in this 8th Annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
Contributed by Chris Patterson, Senior Director, Product Management, NaviSite
The cloud gets a tailored fit
Most of us in the service provider space have spent half a
dozen years starting customer conversations with a thorough explanation of what
cloud is and how it can help their business; this looks to be the year when
that comes to an end and 2016 will be different. Cloud has become such a
well-known quantity that it no longer requires exposition. This is not to say
that cloud is no longer important, the business benefits are well documented
through case studies and testimonials at every corner of the internet, cloud
has now gone mainstream. Going into 2016, the question has shifted from "How
does cloud enhance my business strategy?" to "Which cloud best fits my business
strategy?"
There is a pretty well accepted definition of what a "car"
is; a machine with four wheels and an engine that carries people and cargo on
roads. That very simple definition leaves a lot of room for interpretation and
as a result there are dozens of automobile manufacturers each building products
with different features and abilities to meet the diverse requirements of the
car-buying market. Similarly, the basic cloud computing model is simple enough:
virtualized infrastructure that can be easily provisioned and accessed across
the Internet and is billed via a metered model. All of the cloud providers
start with this very basic definition and add their own flavor via the features
and design philosophy. As with buying a car, price is certainly a factor, but
is secondary to requirements. A sub-compact car is generally cheaper than a
pickup truck, but is a poor choice for carrying sheets of plywood.
All of this leads to a maturing of the cloud provider market
with better articulation of how each provider differs from each other. Areas
for differentiation include:
-
Location on the "Self-Service" to "Fully
Managed" spectrum
-
Location on "Dev Ops" to "IT Ops" spectrum
-
Special features to meet the needs of a vertical
market
-
Geographic locations for regulatory or latency
purposes
-
Integration with an application stack
-
Integration with other non-cloud hosting
services
-
Integration with high-speed private networks
-
Choice of hypervisors
Each cloud provider delivers a solution that addresses these
factors a little bit differently and those differences will become clearer as
the market continues to mature. The big
cloud vendors will continue to do well in 2016, but the real growth will come
from the union of IT organizations who know exactly what they need and the community
of bespoke providers who can provide that value.
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About the Author
Leveraging
his technical background and consulting skills, Chris Patterson was a key
player in building NaviSite's cloud computing platform, NaviCloud, from the
ground up and is responsible for overseeing its continual upgrades and
improvement making sure it meets customers evolving needs from both a technical
and business perspective. In addition he oversees the development and implementation
teams for NaviSite's Desktop-as-a-Service and NaviCloud Intelligent Storage
solutions. Prior to joining NaviSite, Patterson spent nine years at MTM
technologies as the Director of Information Security Services. Chris holds a
Bachelors of Science in nuclear engineering from Worcester Polytechnic
Institute and currently lives in Delaware.