I
enjoyed reading this
article by Joe Weinman for InformationWeek, on the value of cloud
computing. Joe is looking
forward to Cloud Connect next week.
I'll be there as well.
Joe
considers the value of the "Cloud" to be with those that have "Spiky" and "Variable"
demands.
"Spiky Demand: However, cloud services
may well cost more than some enterprise data centers on a unit cost basis. One
might think that this would imply that you should shy away from the cloud, but
that's not the case. The key reason has to do with the usage-based pricing
paradigm of cloud services. "
"Any
Variability in Demand: Interestingly, while
both scenarios above lead to a pure cloud advantage, it is often the case that
a hybrid scenario is cost-optimal. Virtually all enterprises have some sort of
variability in demand. Retailers have Thanksgiving to Christmas as well as
Cyber Monday. "
I actually covered
this in
my last book on cloud computing. Or, the fact that cloud computing was
typically more expensive than on-premise computing. However, considering that
clouds typically charge by the drink, those that are just looking for temporary
on-demand storage, processing, or software service can leverage clouds as kind
of a "release valve" when they require additional capacity.
The value of this is
not having all of the required capacity in the data center, thus there you're
reducing costs there. The
value of cloud computing is therefore the ability to provide that capacity, at
a much reduced cost than having idle servers around all the time. Make sense?
Therein is the value
of cloud computing, at least for 2010. As we move forward the value of cloud computing
will change as costs come down, and the features and functions of the public
clouds continue to improve.
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