With the lines expected to blur between cloud service providers and cloud users, Cloud.com is positioning itself to succeed in both arenas, including joining the NetApp Alliance Partner Program and integrating its CloudStack IaaS (infrastructure as a service) platform with NetApp storage systems. By directly integrating with the NetApp OnCommand management software, Cloud.com can help automate provisioning volumes on the storage system, create logical unit numbers (LUNs) of administrator-specified sizes and perform LUN masking.
By leveraging OnCommand, cloud architects can deliver self-service automation while improving storage and service efficiency through functions that help users control, automate and analyze their secure, multitenant NetApp storage infrastructure, says Cloud.com's Peder Ulander.
According to attendees at the recent Cloud Leadership Forum 2011, by 2015, cloud will no longer be a concept but the status quo. While 62% of respondents agree that between 2011 and 2014 most CIOs will deploy only non-mission-critical apps in the public cloud, 81% agreed that by 2015 at least 30% of Fortune 1000 enterprises will deploy at least one business-critical system in the cloud.
Of interest to Cloud.com, which is a leading provider of IaaS in production environments at enterprises and service providers, is IDC analyst Rick Villars' belief that most enterprises could themselves become cloud service providers before too long. "Most of the interesting things, even inside corporations, are new applications, and in a sense that private cloud becomes a public cloud for somebody else. What’s happening is those creators of private clouds are becoming a cloud service provider. Today they see themselves as a law firm; tomorrow they discover they’re an e-discovery analytics firm."
Regardless of whether you're building a private, public or hybrid cloud, the common objectives include increasing agility and efficiency and reducing costs, says Ulander. Cloud.com has about 65 customers that are deploying clouds, both service providers and enterprises. "Cloud provides you with exponentially more efficient ways of operating and managing your infrastructure," he says. "We build the product that builds some of the world's biggest clouds."
