IT managers know the story all too well – virtualization technology was introduced promising a more efficient and agile data center. And while this did happen, it also brought along other issues including the uncontrolled proliferation of virtual machines (VM sprawl), unmanaged snapshots and over provisioned machines that lead to wasted resources within this new virtual data center.
Depending on who I’m talking to in an organization, I often get completely different reactions to the “cloud” word. In fact it’s typically very much dependant on the person’s role, and more specifically their level and scope of responsibility.
With private clouds becoming a reality above, beside, and around us, IT is beginning to realize that the private cloud was not necessarily the final destination. Recently, I’ve heard several customers comment how it is only one milestone in their ongoing quest to deliver highly optimized infrastructure and services. On the opposite ends of the spectrum, I’ve heard customers declare “we are cloudified” by delivering cloud based infrastructure based on a set of vendor published architectural components,
Virtualization is the foundation of any cloud initiative – everyone talking about “the cloud” can at least agree with that. But, as we’ve often stated, the transition from virtualization into a private cloud will require a pragmatic approach. At last year’s Gartner IT Symposium, analyst Daryl Plummer suggested that enterprises should consider public cloud services first and turn to private clouds only if the public cloud fails to meet their needs.
Recently I’ve fielded quite a few inquires on my thoughts on hybrid and public clouds. Not only am I sold on the hype and promise that it can deliver on, but I am equally enthusiastic about how it can provide an alternative platform for delivering IT, the elasticity it offers, and how it can address hosting workloads that require scaling. On-demand infinite resources, any time - under a pay as you go cost model – is wickedly awesome. Wickedly awesome – and sometimes wickedly expensive.
If you had told me the day before that I’d be talking to a gong distributor about cloud computing, I would have said you’re crazy.
I was recently buying a gong for the office, and I ended up speaking to the owner who happened to be located in a gong warehouse in Lincoln, Nebraska. He asked me what my company did, and at a very high level I explained about data center agility, and the ability for IT to provide resources for their end users to consume. I was then kind of floored when he said, “Oh, so you guys do that cloud stuff”.
Why We Love the VMUGs
Last year we sponsored a number of VMware User Groups and several trends seem to remain consistent at these events:
Microsoft released System Center 2012 last week and it set the twitter feeds and blogosphere into frenzy. Is this the year that Microsoft steps forward and raises the stakes in the cloud market, aiming for cloud domination among the masses?
In 2011, the big hype for many companies was “cloud.” However, how to define cloud differed for many , but in 2012, that is expected to change. IT administrators and management will begin to agree on what the term “cloud” means to them, which will result in a clearer view of the business benefits for transitioning to the cloud.
Here’s a question you might be hearing from your IT leaders, or perhaps from the little voice in your own head: “How can I optimize my environment without cobbling together a bunch of different management solutions?”
