Facing the Cloud lock choice: OpenStack or proprietary cloud platform?

It is one of the major controversial topics in the cloud computing industry to choose a vendor-proprietary cloud solution or to choose a openstack solution with a broader base.

There are many manufacturers who have joined the OpenStack Foundation, and we are overseeing the development of this cloud initiative. Conversely, some other vendors are mainly selling their own proprietary solutions that are not only highly integrated, but also build a user-locked environment.

"The architecture is rapidly evolving into daily necessities," says Jim Whitehurs, CEO of Red Hat Wichs. Channel vendors can gain enormous value by what they put on the architecture, if partners can provide value through the various components, using the best approach. ”

Wichs is viewed OpenStack as a disruptive factor for user lock-in, as more interoperability between multi-vendor products is always better than proprietary environments.

However, despite the many benefits of multi-vendor approaches, some solution providers believe that OpenStack can also lock users in their own way.

"The cloud is a very sticky product," said Bob Keblusek, senior vice president of Sentinel Technology business development. "As long as you use cloud services, they make very important commitments, so it's pretty painful to switch to other services." If a cloud service is inexpensive, users will generally continue to use it. I think that while OpenStack helps us to explore other options more easily, I also believe that there is still a lot of lock-in. ”

But Keblusek is still bullish on the chances of success OpenStack offers.

"Our current cloud is running OpenStack," he said. "This is something we want to develop more in the long run, and there are a lot of companies that are committed to this development, and even some very powerful vendors are involved." So I'm optimistic about it, but time will tell us the end result. ”

"The more experience a buyer has, or the larger the size of the business, the more likely they are to focus on the problem of cloud lock-in." That's why we see a lot of mature companies looking for a cloudy strategy. As for whether it is through multiple platforms or not deployed on an open source cloud platform, they want to achieve the same results. ”

It is at this point, however, that most openstack solutions are geared toward small and medium-sized enterprises rather than to large ones.

"Big companies are starting to see OpenStack as a possible solution," says Keblusek of Sentinel technology. But I haven't seen a valuable deployment case in the big business market. ”

According to Meridian's general manager Gregg Pruett, it is generally believed that the OpenStack is more suitable for smaller enterprises, and less for larger, more mature enterprises with complex IT investments.

Pruett said, "SME customers are very active in the use of the cloud, there is no legacy equipment to deal with, and large enterprises are generally reluctant to undertake such risks." They must protect existing investments and not be as active as SMB. ”

Another drawback of OpenStack, Pruett continues, is that its multi-vendor strategy eliminates the possibility of creating a cohesive technical roadmap. This shortcoming also brings more difficulties to the channel partners who want to plan the corresponding strategy.

"Not having a complete roadmap is definitely a problem," he said. "Over time, the road map will be extremely important, because customers tend to go faster than we can foresee the future." ”

Pruett's observation of the road map is very meaningful to Keblusek.

"The lack of a road map is really a big problem," Keblusek said. "The roadmap is something that an enterprise has to have, because it reflects the ability of the enterprise to develop long-term plans." So how do you save OpenStack? We can only say that the enterprise does not have to have exactly the same stack, but only needs the compatibility between the various stacks. ”

Finally, customers will rely on channel providers to help them decide whether to adopt OpenStack or proprietary solutions. (Wave Compilation)

(Responsible editor: The good of the Legacy)