Three Technology Barriers to Cloud Computing

These Barriers are Both Threats and Opportunities to Tech Players

I recently posted about the Dizzying Economics of Cloud Computing when it occurred to me that the technological barriers must be equally mystifying for many. So I thought I would initiate a discussion about the barriers to the adoption of cloud computing by the enterprise.

At stake are the valuations of a gathering storm of public companies in technology, from Cisco (CSCO), Juniper (JNPR), F5 Networks (FFIV), VMware (VMW), IBM, Microsoft (MSFT) and Citrix (CTXS) to advertising player Google (GOOG) and bookseller Amazon (AMZN). The shape of adoption and growth will be impacted by how these barriers are addressed.

As I mentioned in “Dizzying Economics…” there is a business case war coming between the current cloud providers and the enterprise IT world. As these barriers are broken with innovation, cloud will move from consumer and SMB (small medium business) into larger and larger enterprise deployments. As a networking pundit, I see the three barriers in a network-centric perspective, from network security to the physical network and network management requirements.

Cloud Will Depend on New Approaches to Security

The biggest payoff of cloud computing comes from its potential to consolidate millions of servers (and the considerable amount of management and energy expenses) into dynamic meshes that can be created on demand; transforming IT from hardware-bound silos into just in time IT services delivered at any time from the most advantageous location.

Yet each one of those silos today is protected by a variety of mostly static security technologies. There are few viable solutions to the movement and change enabled by VMotion, or the ability of a server to move to its most cost-effective location at the time it is spun up. And most of those solutions were architected for specialized hardware, not commodity blade servers.

Today’s world of network security solutions were simply not architected to keep up with the movement required for cloud to deliver on its promise of consolidation and cost efficiencies.

Yet without that movement, cloud just becomes another silo with tactical automation. One of my favorite blogs for cloud security is Chris Hoff's blog. Rather than drag you through the issues, check it out.

VMware purchased my alma mater Blue Lane Technologies last year. I think it was a smart move to address the emerging needs of its data center customers lured by the promise of cloud computing.

Cloud Can Break Static Networks

This year there has been a surge of content about Infrastructure 2.0 or dynamic infrastructure. Out of the discussion have been some interesting comments by conversation participants, from Cisco’s Doug Gourlay and James Urquhart to F5’s Erik Giesa and Lori MacVittie and VMware’s Mark Thiele.

The network effects of cloud computing, which broke through the noise at a Cisco data center blog in December 2008, kicked off a discussion of multiple issues: from network switching to network management challenges. Cisco's Gourlay will be talking about the impact of cloud on the network at the exclusive, “thought leaders only” FIRE Conference later this month in San Diego. Don’t expect him to pull any punches.

The physical hardware switching issues are being addressed but the leading players are by no means finished with what needs to be done in order to enable the pulsing fabric needed to ensure the cloud’s integrity and business case promise. There have been an exciting and relevant string of announcements, including Cisco’s UCS, VMware’s (8 blade) cloud OS, and Citrix/Xen/KVM virtual networking stack, not to mention the Juniper and IBM global cloud push.

Network Automation is Critical

With increased movement and growing legions of connected devices (from netbooks and multifunctional cell phones and traffic-rich gadgets there is a burgeoning need for networks to move from manual configuration to automation of menial and high risk tasks. There are therefore a host of appliances that are likely to get grouped from the current Wild West into a single category because of their ability to automate the management of networks. They include IP address management and dns appliance offerings, in addition to network monitoring gear.

Infoblox (my employer) is approaching the network effects of the cloud by leveraging its expertise in core network services DNS to deliver an integrated Grid technology solution, while others are offering specialized subsets with (I suspect) the longer term intention of being bundled into broader offerings.

As the cloud tears down silos, one trick pony solutions (including freeware) will have an uphill battle for relevancy, especially as enterprises tear down silos. That is why I left Blue Lane during the VMware acquisition for Infoblox. CIOs are about to discover the significance of the network and core network services to unleashing the power of cloud. On demand IT services will require unprecedented levels of automation and integrity.

The nature and extent of how the tech leaders address security, physical infrastructure and network management barriers will impact their market valuations and growth potentials. You can expect a fresh round of partnerships, acquisitions and startups to reignite the tech sector as the economy stabilizes and enterprises shift to making strategic new investments.

Disclosure: Long Cisco and VMware

Comments

[Lightway:]

The networking horsepower and maintenance infrastructure required to get an enterprise app onto the cloud is substantial. I just don't see it happening in the seamless, rose-colored glasses way cloud fans see it with. It doesn't really matter where your data source is, but to get it synced up and out to the shop floor in realtime does not mitigate any networking complexity, if anything, it complicates it. Now we have to play by the cloud provider's rules, having one arm tied behind our back, while boosting up throughput by having to use WAN accelerators and the like to make up for our lack of control over the providers path and equipment.

May 11 05:19 AM

[Gregory Ness:]

Lightway:

Yes... I agree. Thats why I think that the cloud business case will drive innovation in network monitoring, management and automation of core network servces as well as new levels of capacity/storage.

Its more than a big switch as Bittman says.

Thx
Greg

May 11 09:52 AM

[LA Tech:]

Email security is the largest user of cloud applications such as Postini (now Google Message Security), Message Labs (now Symantec), ProofPoint, FrontBridge (now Microsoft), and hundreds more firms.

The sum total of paid users on these business-only networks is more than 50M users.

Users of these email cloud services benefit in many ways and 99% of them renew agreements every year.

Google still cannot get 50M paid users for Google Apps or Gmail.

May 11 10:45 AM

[Gregory Ness:]

LA Tech:

Likely that cloud will continue to evolve along specialized vertical applications and into SMB versus "just in time IT" for the enterprise. I think it is thise confusion between the vertical and the ultimate vision where most of the confusion comes from... and yet the network impacts of virtualization and cloud gets obscured.

Thx
Greg

May 11 12:09 PM

[Lightway:]

I'd have to agree here. It's the niche products which are best suited for the cloud. I've never really liked the idea of the just in time model, except for again, for niche instances.


On May 11 12:09 PM Gregory Ness wrote:

> LA Tech:
>
> Likely that cloud will continue to evolve along specialized vertical
> applications and into SMB versus "just in time IT" for the enterprise.
> I think it is thise confusion between the vertical and the ultimate
> vision where most of the confusion comes from... and yet the network
> impacts of virtualization and cloud gets obscured.
>
> Thx
> Greg

May 11 01:27 PM