OpenStack will come out with its first release tomorrow. We’ll have a post up later all about it. From where we sit, the OpenStack seems important enough.
Really, how else can anyone keep up with Amazon Web Services? Amazon continues to chug along with a rapid pace of new updates. They are so far ahead that some question if Amazon is truly the sole cloud computing provider. More competition would mean more choices and perhaps agreed upon methods for such issues as data portability.
The question about customization surfaces when you look at what providers really do for their customers. It’s not unusual for service providers to do a lot of custom work. They create custom methods for an enterprise to connect and work fluidly with a cloud platform.
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APis manage part of this but there’s a lot more to it that requires manual coding by a few IT wizards.
That lack of automation is also a reason why we need open cloud infrastructures. The community can develop the code for automating the processes, for instance, of spinning up and down virtual machines. It’s why we see companies like Opscode and Puppet Labs gaining more acceptance. They provide ways to automate the processes that can be time consuming and idiosyncratic.
Opening the cloud infrastructure has revolutionary implications. It can be a way to democratize IT but also make storage and data so readily available that it provides us with new ways to understand our information culture.
What are your thoughts?
