Mental Note - Cloud Examples

Type	Acronym	Example
Infrastructure as a Service	IaaS	Amazon - EC2
Platform as a Service	PaaS	Salesforce - Force.com
Software as a Service	SaaS	Google – Google Apps

 

Credit: Aaron Levie – CEO Box.net (link)

SOA Governance and AmberPoint

The tools and skill sets required in designing a SOA based system, are quite different from maintaining the same system once it is operational. This is different from traditional systems where the skills and tools to develop and maintain an application remain the same.

A SOA based system interacts with multiple applications and crosses multiple middle ware platforms. Tracing a transaction from source to destination is complicated. It is especially opaque when a transaction does not complete, and it needs to be traced to the point of failure.

Embedding "hooks" within the SOA code to help troubleshoot transactions is one approach, albeit expensive in terms of coding and maintenance. Several error handling frameworks have been developed to overcome this fundamental complexity of a SOA-based system.

Oracle's acquisition of AmberPoint is a good step forward in providing a comprehensive tool based approach to SOA Governance. It would be ideal if the tool is left as a stand-alone option without getting embedded into the Oracle Enterprise Manager product suite. A good UI with a solid set of well documented API's would go a long way in reducing the maintenance overhead if an operational SOA system.

Alliances in the Cloud

The cloud based approach necessitates a partnered approach.It is difficult for a single provider to have the breadth and depth of expertise across all cloud layers (infrastructure / software / functionality) to provide a meaningful service offering.

The 2 teaming agreements in the last couple of days highlights this approach:

Fujitsu + Canon - Provides a cloud based print offering.

Fujitsu + MindTouch - Provides a cloud based scanning solution

The rapid pace at which service providers are partnering to provide best-of-breed offering adds credence to the value that cloud computing provides.

Why Larry hates the term "cloud"

Larry Ellison is hilarious in this clip from his address to the Churchill Club. The key take away is the comment: "Our industry is so bizarre, they change a term and they think they have invented technology."

In Larry's opinion network computing is back and now instead of being called "SaaS" or "On Demand", it is called cloud.

Fusion Applications - Concerns related to IP

MB Technologies makes Bindows, a toolkit which provides a windows look and feel. This was licensed by Hyperion prior to its acquisition by Oracle. There appears to be a dispute in terms of licensing agreements between Oracle and MB Technologies, as Oracle is using this technology as a part of Fusion Applications.

This indicates that parts of Fusion Applications will have a windows look and feel. It also may point to potential future issues with licensing terms with OEM's whose products have been implicitly licensed prior to being acquired by Oracle.

Source Link: Oracle Slapped With Suit Tied to Fusion Applications - PCWorld Business Center by Chris Kanarcus.

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Cloud Computing vs. SaaS

At first blush cloud computing does not seem to be different from Software as a Service (SaaS). Both provide hosted capability and a pay-per-use model. The following 1 minute video rPath demystifies a bunch of terms related to cloud computing, including "grid computing", "platform as a service" and "utility computing".





The analogy of a fully-owned car (On-premise), a leased car (SaaS) and a Taxi (Clod Computing) is helpful, and is explained well in the following video, courtesy of GoGrid.





While the definition of cloud computing continues to evolve, in essence you could use Cloud computing in 3 ways:

1. Infrastructure as a Service - Think disk space, similar to Amazon's EC2.
2. Platform as a Service - This is the evolving space. Here you have a server+Infrastructure available as a service.
3. Application as a Service - Think Salesforce.com, however this is pay-per use, NOT pay-per-user.

The following diagrams illustrate this concept:

The ability to "plug-in" and pay-per-use of IT capability is ultimately quite compelling.

Media interview at OOW - 2009

Happened to stumble across this clip taken at OOW-2009. Surprising what makes its way onto YouTube.