SOFTWARE LICENSING

Getting Past the Challenges of Cloud Computing and Straight to the Point

By Stefanie Mosca, TMCnet Managing Editor

With the hype surrounding cloud computing and the unlimited virtualization opportunities cloud services can provide, it’s easy for businesses to get caught up in the hoopla that the topic has created rather than getting straight to the point regarding what cloud offerings can really provide for their companies. 

As TMC (News - Alert) Editorial Director Erik Linask noted in a recent article, while many IT managers are still trying to understand how to effectively bring virtualization and cloud technologies into their businesses, one of the big changes is that they are now available to businesses of all sizes.  Not unlike other groundbreaking IT and communications technologies, virtualization was once available to only large businesses with IT departments capable of handling installation, configuration, and management of complex virtual environments.

ISV’s have been deploying cloud settings for quite some time now, so what sets this new “cloud paradigm” apart and fuels the shift are the services and workflows that are now more easily available in a private or public cloud environment.

However, the challenge also lies in the lack of education regarding cloud services that many companies fail to possess that further causes a barrier when it’s time to deploy cloud offerings in their organization.

According to a recent IDC report on cloud computing, enterprise spending on storage for the private cloud will experience a CAGR of 28.9 percent. By 2015, combined spending for public and private cloud storage will be $22.6 billion worldwide. While private cloud spending might be similar to current enterprise spending on their own data centers, cloud services can be provided using either public or owned cloud facilities.

On the contrast, the IDC (News - Alert) report also notes that enterprises worldwide spent $3.3 billion for public cloud-based storage in 2010, according to VP Richard Villars. Villars projects a compound annual growth rate of 28.9 percent for pubic cloud storage to 2015. That would imply worldwide expenditures of about $11.7 billion.

Next week, Flexera Software, a company that provides software licensing solutions, will be providing guidance for ISVs and Intelligent Device Manufactures for cutting through the cloud clutter in a free webcast.  The presentation will identify, dissect and discuss some of the key cloud challenges as well as share best practices for licensing and porting applications to both the private and public cloud. 

For more information on ways to overcome cloud challenges and get right to the logistics of what benefits cloud services can provide for your company, Flexera will be hosting a webinar entitled, Cut Through Cloud Clutter: Insights from Visible Ops Private Cloud. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to expand your knowledge of the cloud. Register now!

Stefanie Mosca is a Managing Editor for TMCnet, with a particular focus in wireless technologies as well as mobile and IP communications. She holds a master's degree in journalism from Quinnipiac University and a bachelor's degree in communication from the University of New Haven. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page or follow her on Twitter (News - Alert) @stefaniemosca.

Edited by Carrie Schmelkin