Cloud: Resilience is important!

We believe that vulnerability, resistance, and 'resilience' are all shaped with the help of diligence, proactive ability to put the right blend of resources available. What if we have the technology know how and the resources to make this happen in the real time as well. Then, the question arise who has the onus in a cloud context - technology companies or the cloud providers or the cloud community or may be all to some extent. Let's find out how technology and new era concepts are evolving - creating cloud technology environment, cloud community's gift through open source platforms, and the ability of the technology companies to make an effective blend of technology that can really make a difference in our lives.

Creating the right cloud delivery strategy is critical to reducing our organization’s risks and building its future. Most of the IT organizations want to start small, to build a pilot or proof of concept for the cloud, and expand from there. No harm in it. What we want to understand is how a private cloud can make our organization more flexible and agile. As we expand, we can add self-service capabilities that make it simple for IT users to request new virtual environments.

The Pioneer in Cloud Space

We are well aware of the pioneer in public cloud and that name is not a secret any more. You know, they never thought ‘cloud service’ as one of their mainstream business ever. Until, they realized the potential to exploit the heavy investment they have made already, in their own IT infrastructure to support the core business they started a way back. You guessed it right! Amazon Web Services (AWS). Today, the depth and breadth of AWS is significant, comprising over 30 services in dozens of data centers located in nine regions across the globe. They offer computing, storage, networking, deployment, management, and a host of supporting services, such as queues and email services. Over a period of time, we have learned their span of services and a credible name to build a cloud or we choose to make some of their cloud components as per our customized requirements. Well, the question lies- so, where should we start? Let’s not rush, we know, that we have a sturdy option of AWS available out there for us. Why not browse a little more to explore, what else do we have that can make our first step to cloud journey as simple as AWS? 

Turmoil in the upper ranks has caused anxiety among customers over the past few years and while Amazon made early inroads in dominating the market for cloud services, HP has been relatively late in the game, while busy sorting out an internal management storm. However, they seems to manage, steering their ship out of it. They announced their strategy to seamlessly extend existing enterprise resources through a hybrid cloud approach using OpenStack. Before, we discuss the offerings of our big brother in computer hardware, printing and IT solutions. Let’s get a quick understanding on the OpenStack, for those who may not be that familiar and wondering on it – what the heck this thing is? Friends, the first thing we need to understand about OpenStack is that it’s not a solution to everything. 

Basically, we are talking about the kernel that we are aware and learned to some extent in our profession and experiences in the IT space. It is the central and most important part in the technology be it an open source or a proprietary stuff developed on it.  It is an open source engine developed by the cloud community to facilitate technology to evolve in multiple flavors to its users at large. When we build a layer on top of the OpenStack kernel, where companies like HP can differentiate by adding capabilities. Some of these things may be part of the OpenStack kernel and some may be a value-add that is provided by vendors like HP. That's OK, as long as it doesn't break the base OpenStack. The beauty of OpenStack is that one can add value on top as well as at the bottom. At the bottom, one can provide drivers that bring out the value to the hardware provider in a cloud perspective. Moreover, one can differentiate on top by adding lots of plug-ins for manageability and so forth.

Converged or Smart cloud initiatives

I guess, it would not be fair to completely ignore the big brothers – HP Converged Cloud and IBM Smart Cloud? Let’s see how interesting and simple they can make our efforts to build a cloud, meeting our business requirements. To begin with- HP Converged Cloud or let’s say what they have in totality to offer us on our multiple changing business requirements every day. They say “Access and apply technology in new ways to optimize your operations – with our leading services for the cloud, security, and big data analytics – you’ll be positioned for success.” Do they really mean it? May be they do. What we really care – do they have the ‘cloud streak’ to make us excited to explore the possible options that we are leaning on to find the right  services provider with a perfect blend of service offerings to our business requirements.

The foundation of this Converged Cloud strategy, which HP Cloud System claims, is built on a proven Cloud Service Automation and Converged Infrastructure with support for a broad set of applications. In addition, their Cloud System provides IT with a unified way to offer, provision, and manage services across private clouds, public cloud providers, and traditional IT. It provides the flexibility to scale capacity within and outside the data center, as they say, it is extensible to existing IT infrastructure, and it supports heterogeneous environments. HP has classified its services under three major heads – Cloud Matrix, Cloud System and Cloud System Service Provider. I think they have made their cloud services offering based on the user segment. HP Cloud OS is an open and extensible cloud technology platform. Based on OpenStack, HP Cloud OS provides the foundation for the cloud common architecture across private, public, and hybrid cloud delivery. 

HP Converged Cloud is a comprehensive hybrid delivery approach based on a common architecture that spans traditional IT and public, private, and managed clouds. It extends the power of the cloud across infrastructure, applications, and information, providing customers with choice through an open, standards-based approach, with confidence through an end-to-end management and security offering, and with consistency through a common architecture across all delivery models. HP Converged Cloud encompasses a complete portfolio of hardware, software, and services that allow us to design, build, and deploy robust cloud solutions across our enterprise. I guess, their OpenStack based cloud technology platform for hybrid delivery earns them some brownie points. For enterprises who wants to leverage OpenStack technology for rapid innovation and to enjoy the economies of an open source approach, no doubt, HP Cloud OS can be a way to go. It can help enterprises and service providers avoid lock-in with low complexity and can support the ability to scale up or down in cloud environment, as and when, the business requirement change.

Why do we feel, as if the cloud is evolving faster, than we think? Because the cloud value proposition is a way more than we plan and the architecture designed capable to handle future business needs, as we grow. If we look at the most common scenarios that instigate the need for an automated system such as development, testing, and analytics can be fulfilled in hardly any time. Today, the value delivered to the customer is instant. In fact, it is all the more satisfying and simple to see how they can get value from it.

Well, HP has carefully positioned their cloud service offerings keeping in mind that cloud is a journey to the customers, where sky is the limit to their changing business requirements every day. They realized well ahead of time that their customers would always be looking up for additional capabilities - some of which may be more complex than what they already have in the cloud. Similarly, to the other players, HP has ensured that cloud is more as an assurance to the customers of an architecture that can commit a vision in line to their business. I guess, a long term horizon from organization like HP definitely builds a credibility in their products and services among the customers.

HP seems to be flexible to consider service level agreements (SLAs) that other providers doesn't seems to be ready for it. Generally, it is required only when a breach of a service occurs. Well if they can assure on a business continuity one may not need it all. However, presence of such agreement definitely builds a confidence into their customers and in turn, to the end users of their customer’s products and services as well. An important consideration that HP supports is a direct dialogue with a human. Instead of an IVR response, which gets recorded and follow its own loop of resolution through an automated system as a basic level of support. Whereas, other players in the cloud market charge additional to offer such human support and is not available at the basic level at all. It may not be a great differential to some folks, but will make a difference to the start up or smaller organizations, where human interaction in a situation of crisis makes them feel more confident to interact during resolution.

Well, in the cloud world the term ‘resilience’ is important and equally debatable. Whether, the application has built-in resiliency capabilities that can be aligned with the cloud providers’ resiliency. This may stress out application developers’ to design and build well round up application with resiliency that can sync in with the cloud providers resiliency capabilities. If we look at from the customer’s point of view. Especially, the enterprise market they can be more relived with the fact, if the cloud providers are willing to share some responsibility to get the resiliency out of their system.

If we talk about the interoperability and open solutions, HP seems to be flexible with no lock-in mechanism as we see a common practice among competition. True! Nobody would like to get stuck with a vendor for a fairly long time. Well elastic approach with an ability to evaluate, as we go can be a strong consideration for customers to keep HP Converged cloud, as an option to keep. Despite of the fact, they are a fairly new entrant in the cloud space. Their values transmit the concept of ensuring the ecosystem and maintaining interoperability throughout the cloud life-cycle.

As we observed, HP Converged supports the OpenStack very strongly. On the contrary we know that OpenStack is very much there as a starter in the cloud. But, it still need some tapering to smoothen the rough edges that we all know very well. However, when we see the backing of an organization like HP, introducing it as part of their packaged solution to cloud service offerings. Friends! Expectations, does go up and bar gets raised automatically. What a customer is looking for is just a smooth installation experience with a hassle free upgrade, as and when required. May be like our cell phones, where upgrade does not require any extra effort and it is completed, even, before we come to know. 

I guess, HP clearly understands and have acknowledge about this fact that enterprise market does not want to deal with such requirements of installation and upgrade of a solution, a cloud service offering must carry with it. There has to be some additional software applications that wraps around it to ensure customers does not have to deal with the rough edges any more. They seems to be successful in making it an unforgettable experience, at the same time, they understand the nerve of the enterprise market and wants to make it more like plug ‘n’ play.

Some years ago, most of the organizations were not open to consider a ‘Hybrid Delivery’ model for cloud as a viable option. Today, things seems to have changed the outlook of the world on hybrid delivery model. Now, more number of organizations are leaning on it. Here, HP seems to get a firm grip on it, to facilitate the model to the SMBs and Large Enterprises. I guess, this would not be an exaggeration, if we say OpenStack has become the Linux of cloud - it is recognized as the open platform that the cloud market has welcomed with open arms. This is a validation of the strategy HP chose to take. This puts them as one of the promising player in the cloud space.

I think, we will take up the smarter planet in our next discussion to see how IBM makes their mark in the industry with, what they call as ‘IBMSmartCloud’.