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Gartner: IT already has its head in the cloud
3 comments- TAGS:cloud computing, Gartner Symposium, IT Expo, private cloud, vendor lock-in, virtualization
- IT TOPICS:Emerging Technology, Internet, SaaS & Cloud Computing, Servers & Data Center, Virtualization
All the world's a cloud, it seems, at Gartner's IT Expo this week - and attendees at the show, who arrived in strength this week, are listening. More than 5,000 people are here, everyone's focused on business, not the economy, and cloud computing is clearly on the radar.
This morning Gartner released its list of most strategic technologies for IT in 2010. Number one: Cloud computing, which everyone agrees is still far from mature. Cloud's impact is infused into discussions in sessions on many topics, and several focus explicitly on private and public cloud architectures.
Gartner defines cloud computing broadly as "A style of computing where scalable and elastic IT-related capabilities are provided 'as a service' to customers using Internet Technologies." In other words, on demand compute services, delivered from shared system infrastructure (storage, processor), application infrastructure (databases, middleware) or full blown applications, as a metered service.
Gartner contends that enterprises are unwittingly building the foundations for their own private cloud services as they continue to build out virtual infrastructure. As such in choosing a vendor they're committing themselves to a path that may have unforseen consequences down the road. Most organizations can't see past the immediate value - consolidation and management efficiencies, and make decisions on that alone, says analyst Tom Bittman. As use models evolve and resources are pooled, tools such as live migration and Distributed Resource Scheduler are providing the substrate on which cloud computing services will be delivered, he says.
His advice: Keep that in mind as you choose virtaulization options, since you'll be locked into methodologies and tool sets down the road, when it comes time to consider implementing a private cloud.
Eventually, IT will become a service provider, analyst Carl Claunch. But Gartner's infamous "troth of disillusionment" still looms. According to Gartner's own predictions, mainstream adoption of the technology is still several years away.
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