Business Technology Roundtable

Cloud computing is all about new technology, right? Well, perhaps that depends upon your point of view -- as an application developer, or a business decision maker. Private Cloud development will grow during the coming year, with 48.9% of developers expecting to deploy applications (via their on-site data center), according to a survey of 500 software developers by Evans Data Corp . Their survey showed that 29.7% are currently working on applications destined for a private cloud environment, while an additional 19.2% expect to enter development within the next 12 months. Taking Baby Steps with Cloud Computing "Software developers are finding many reasons to develop software for the cloud, whether for a private cloud or public cloud," said John Andrews, President and CEO of Evans Data. "Not surprising, while developers want to take advantage of the cloud, our research indicates a strong preference for them to favor a cloud related development environment to simply extend ...

Like any new business technology, the early development of cloud services can be a little confusing -- as some descriptions are still open to interpretation. However, the dialog is helpful, because it enables us to focus on the true business value of data center resources. According to Forrester Research , cloud computing platforms are more than shared multi-tenant infrastructures on the public Internet. There are three infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) cloud deployment options available; each has unique characteristics and economics. Forrester’s three cloud service scenarios follow: Which cloud service scenario is a best-fit for your business needs? Well, that depends upon a number of related factors -- such as your organizational bias for direct control, sensitivity to risk, and overall usage requirements for a cloud computing platform. Public Cloud Scenario Public clouds are easily accessible, multi-tenant virtualized infrastructures that are managed via a self-service portal. The...