Is a cloud utopia possible? The idea being that someday everything will be elastic. Services scale up and down based on usage. You would never have to worry about updating an application on your laptop. Security would be taken care of and devices would be smart enough to know what data to process and what should be rendered in the cloud.
Sure. We are already seeing some of these scenarios unfold. But it’s not common. In reality, the builder has a big job ahead.
Intel is here at VMWorld with a message about how this plays out. In their view, as also illustrated on the Intel Cloud Builder site, it comes down to three factors. The cloud and correlating devices should be federated, automated and client-aware.
Federated Cloud
A federated cloud means an open cloud. It’s a cloud that can be connected. Virtual machines work in the enterprise as well as they work in the data center. Communications, data, and services can move easily within and across cloud computing infrastructures. Identity is seamless. Interoperability is without question.
Automated Cloud
An automated cloud means cloud computing services and resources can be specified, located, and securely provisioned with very little or zero human interaction. This is a data center with intelligence. It does not have to be as manually operated as it is today. It allocates resources and is optimized in terms of its utilization and power efficiency.
Client-Aware
This represents one of the most significant challenges and in many ways represents the emergence of the intelligent network. In this scenario, the device and the cloud are optimized to work with each other. The client-aware chip technology know when to process on the device or in the cloud. In today’s world we do see some level of data intelligence but for the most part the service provider looks for the lowest common denominator. That’s why it is often difficult to use services on a handheld device because they were written for a PC, not a mobile phone. The trick is to know the device attributes that include location, policies, and connectivity. Security is taken care of in this scenario as the device and the cloud are synchronized to meet policy requirements.
Developer Challenges
A developer always has to choose a platform. Once the platform is chosen, the developer then has to consider what different versions are required for the various devices on the market. This is increasingly complex as the types and total number of devices continue to multiply. A client-aware scenario could mitigate the issue. Further is the issue about when to use the cloud and when to use a device for processing. For example, should a video be rendered on the device or in the cloud? It all depends. But client-aware technology could help bring a level of data intelligence that would mitigate the issue. It would be capable of determining if the video should be rendered in the cloud or on the device.
Is this all far off into the future? Intel says the disruption in the enterprise market is helping advance innovation. As the impetus for moving to the cloud increases, so should the advancements in these various scenarios.
We may never reach a utopia but at least we may find some ways to make it a bit easier for the builder trying to optimize the relationship between the cloud and the devices people use.
