Infrastructure as a Service: Key Cloud Buzzwords of 2012 ? Expert ...

While in past years the term ?cloud? evoked feelings of confusion, curiosity and perhaps trepidation, now terms like cloud computing, cloud storage and cloud communications have become commonplace as the industry has finally wrapped its head around what it means to have critical infrastructure stored in the cloud.

So for many, 2012 has been less about asking the question, ?Where are we at with cloud adoption?? and more about asking, ?What are the main trends with regards to cloud?? for the year. And some of the biggest buzz words circulating right now include open source, cloud disaster recovery and private clouds, among others.

The first big trend, open source cloud computing, refers to computer software that is available in source code form which allows developers to have access to software normally reserved for copyright holders so that they can study, change, improve and distribute the software. One of the biggest advantages of open source cloud computing is the cost savings it affords. In fact, a report by the Standish Group states that adoption of open-source software models has resulted in savings of about $60 billion per year to consumers.

Open source software has enabled several cloud computing implementations including the ever prominent Hadoop framework, a software framework that supports data-intensive distributed applications under a free license.

Another major trend when it comes to the cloud is disaster recovery, or being able to access technology infrastructure that is critical to an organization even in the event of an outage or server malfunction. When it comes to business continuity, disaster recovery is of the utmost importance as it ensures that all aspects of a business remain working even amid a disruptive event.

The cloud for disaster recovery paints an attractive image for IT providers, especially those who are strapped for IT resources. A cloud disaster recovery solution allows managers to use less data center space, infrastructure and resources which results in significant cost savings and allows small- to medium-sized businesses to better compete with large enterprises.

With buzz words like ?open source? and ?cloud disaster recovery? flying around, one would assume that the industry is finally there with regards to cloud understanding. But, we figured we would check in with an expert in the field just to make sure.

?The understanding of cloud has continued its gradual acceptance throughout the market and we are starting to see people more and more willing to make the move; however, most of the movement continues to still be in less critical workloads and disaster recovery-related activities,? Joe Seibel, CFA and CFO of Hexagrid (News ? Alert) Computing, told TMCnet. Hexagrid, a developer of enterprise software solutions, offers Infrastructure as a Service solutions designed to empower people to control that core infrastructure with maximum agility and efficiency.

So what does the rest of 2012 hold in store for Hexagrid?

?You will see a shift with Hexagrid throughout the year as we continue to move further into services,? Seibel said. ?We have seen a big trend in the market going towards complete service delivery of cloud services and away from pure software DIY activities. Expect to continue to see big announcements with new datacenter partners and other software providers as the year progresses.?

Edited by Rachel Ramsey

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