IDC: Public cloud computing Services Unlimited Potential

Since entering the 2008, Cloud Computing (Cloud Computing) has become a hot topic in IT industry. In the current global financial crisis situation, the user's IT investment will appear downward trend. However, IDC believes that it spending on cloud computing will increase as a result of the financial crisis. This is because the financial crisis has forced many companies to pay more attention to ROI, while the leasing of cloud computing has a better price/performance ratio than a self-built data center, prompting more end users to focus on and use the cloud model. At the same time, this will lead to the rapid development of providers of public cloud computing services, as the main driving force for cloud computing development.

"Rather than a new technology, cloud computing is an innovation in business models," he said. In essence, cloud computing is a combination of server virtualization technology and infrastructure that serves (IaaS, infrastructure as a service). The core is to provide a service in the form of a leased computing resource (Computing Resource) After virtualization of computing resources for one or several data centers. The services that provide computing resources are not actually new technologies, but innovations in business models. "said 周震刚, a senior analyst at IDC's China Enterprise-level systems and storage Research department.

Cloud computing is an emerging it deployment and delivery model for delivering products, services, and solutions over the network in real time. What people call cloud computing, in effect, is the infrastructure platform for this deployment and delivery model, while cloud services is a step closer to the service process of providing applications and solutions through the cloud computing platform. But most people have a misconception that building cloud computing servers and storage platforms is the only focus of cloud computing. In fact, building cloud computing platforms is just the first step in providing cloud computing services. At present, many manufacturers have inadvertently ignored the construction of cloud computing platform after a series of important links. Therefore, when it comes to the concept of "cloud", we first need to differentiate between cloud computing platforms and cloud computing services.

Currently, it is relatively easy for many users to build a cloud computing platform. Some of the domestic business has been running in the private cloud computing platform within the enterprise. But for the goal of delivering public cloud services, building a cloud computing platform is only the first step. In addition to providing a strong infrastructure platform for cloud computing platforms, IDC believes that the following 8 conditions are required to provide cloud services:

1. Cloud computing providers have the ability to provide services to the public, i.e. as third-party providers, not just internal private clouds;

2. Provide access via the Internet, which is a necessary condition for suppliers to provide public cloud services;

3. Cloud computing provider to the cloud computing Center for IT management, end users do not need to intervene;

4. For applications that cloud computing provides, users can configure themselves. With the change of the user's demand for cloud computing, the system can provide users with the ability of automatic expansion.

5. Cloud computing operators need a clear and clear fee collection model, which is one of the important features of public cloud distinguishing from private cloud;

6. browser-based user interface, unlike private cloud, the cloud services provided to the public must be based on a unified user interface;

7. Web services based APIs that provide standard development interfaces. Providers of cloud services are unlikely to have every application ready for the user. Therefore, to provide users and Third-party software vendors with the standard development interface is also the provision of cloud services must achieve the goal;

8. Cloud computing platform resources sharing, that is, to provide a virtualized, dynamic platform.

At present, most of the domestic cloud computing centers focus on the construction of infrastructure platform, mainly includes a large number of servers, storage, network equipment, such as the platform to build; In the application software, the domestic Cloud computing Center provides limited content, while there are many deficiencies in Web services and APIs, while the application software deployment, System and software management, charging mode is close to the blank. Due to the lack of a series of supporting measures for cloud services, domestic users are sceptical about whether cloud services can meet their own needs. According to a cloud computing survey conducted by IDC in the Asia-Pacific region in 2009, 50.3% of CIOs in the Asia-Pacific region (excluding Japan) believe that the company's it needs can be met through cloud computing, compared with only 26.5% in the country.

So, IDC argues, cloud computing services are not just about building IT infrastructure. If an enterprise or organization plans to build a cloud computing platform to provide a public business cloud service, in addition to considering its own IT infrastructure construction, it should also focus on a series of related measures. It is recommended that enterprises collaborate with experienced IT consulting service providers to the overall planning of cloud computing projects, considering the management and profit model of cloud computing center, and incorporating future operations into the overall planning, can promote the full development of cloud services business and enable enterprises to truly win profits through cloud services.