The next wave of cloud computing: a new cloud network service

There are two main forms of public cloud computing, infrastructure as services (IaaS) and software as services (SaaS), both of which have seen a significant increase in penetration. Over the past few years, the main focus of the IaaS provider has been to provide the basic computing and storage resources needed to run a variety of applications.

The main focus of SaaS providers is to provide enterprise-class applications such as CRM and ERP, as well as communication and collaboration solutions.

Recently, cloud service providers are beginning to offer a new type of solution, which is traditionally provided by the IT infrastructure of the enterprise. In addition to communication and collaboration, this scenario includes network and application optimization, security, management, and virtual desktops.

We call this kind of new solution for cloud network services (Cloud Networking Services,cns). The presence of CNS shows that the IT infrastructure sector is facing new challenges. The new challenge is to decide which traditional IT services will continue to be provided by the Department, which service needs to be provided by the CNS provider, and which service can be provided as a hybrid scenario.

CNS as an infrastructure solution

The classification of CNS may be a matter of opinion. Some CNS solutions are categorized as SaaS and some CNS are categorized as IaaS. While technology is a way to classify CNS, a more persuasive approach should be to first look at what the typical IT organization is like.

Most IT organizations have an application team whose primary responsibility is to develop, procure, and maintain enterprise-class applications such as CRM, ERP, and supply chain management.

Most IT departments also have an infrastructure team whose primary responsibility is to provide, manage, secure, and optimize networks and servers to support these applications.

In almost all cases, services such as voice, collaboration, disaster preparedness, management, security, optimization, and virtual desktops are provided by the infrastructure team, not by the application team.

The CNS solution should be considered the next wave of IaaS solutions, based on the typical architecture of the IT department.

Evaluating CNS Solutions

To assess the CNS solution, IT departments must determine whether the solution can eliminate or at least minimize the various negative impacts of the public cloud solution.

Given that security is a major barrier to the adoption of public clouds, security should be a critical indicator in assessing the CNS provider's programmes.

When evaluating, IT departments need to determine whether a multi-tenant environment implemented by the cloud provider is as secure as it promises. For example, it needs to determine whether a service provider can enable IT departments to comply with the necessary corporate and government regulatory standards to maximize the cost-effectiveness of the shared infrastructure and improve operational efficiency.

It is also important, however, that the solution really benefits and drives the IT department to use the public cloud solution. One of the biggest benefits of using a public cloud solution is low cost.

Service providers should provide the IT department with all the information necessary to determine whether a CNS solution has a compelling cost advantage.

The second important benefit is that the solution can shorten the time it takes to deploy new features. One way for an IT department to assess whether a cloud service provider is agile is to determine how far its entire datacenter infrastructure has been virtualized.

For example, has the service provider implemented the virtual network functionality using the products provided by Vyatta? Virtualization is important because a virtual infrastructure is easier to initialize, expand, and migrate than a physical infrastructure.

(Responsible editor: The good of the Legacy)