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Whether public or private, a cloud is indispensable for everyone!

In 2014, we are finally in the year of the cloud. Promise! As in 2012 and 2013, it will make the breakthrough this year. Promise! It is written everywhere. If we take the sarcasm a little bit aside and face the reality, the truth does not look so bleak. It just depends on the shape of the cloud. IDC and Gartner are talking about billions of dollars to be invested in the global public IaaS market in the coming years. Crisp Research has looked at the German IaaS market in 2013 and came to completely opposite numbers. In public IaaS about 210 million euros were invested, while private cloud infrastructures reached investments of several billion euros. The contrast between two markets can’t hardly be different. But that’s ok. This our German mindset. Careful. Slowly. Successful. However, one thing companies should write on their agenda for 2014 and the years ahead. Whether talking about a public or private cloud. One thing is certain. No company can do without a cloud anymore! Guaranteed! Why? Read on.

The deployment model of IT has changed

Basically, in a cloud it is about how IT resources are provided. This is done on-demand via a self-service and using a billing model that determined costs according to actual consumption.

The above mentioned IT resources, in the form of applications (SaaS), platforms (development environments; PaaS) and infrastructures (virtual servers, storage; IaaS) are provided as services that a user can order. This means in reverse, that you may not stop at an ordinary virtualization. Virtualization is just a means to an end. Finally, the user must somehow get to the resources. Pick up the phone, call the IT department and wait is not a sign that a cloud infrastructure is available. Quite the contrary.

Based on what kind of cloud the resources are provided depends on the use case. There is no “Uber Cloud” that solves all the problems at once. For a public cloud exist sufficient use cases. Even for topics or industries that seem far away at first. Bottom line, in many cases it is a question of data. And exactly these needs to precisely be classified. Then it can come to the decision that only a private cloud comes into question. In this case, a company will become its own cloud provider (with all the highs and lows a public cloud provider has to deal with), develops its own cloud infrastructure and supplies its internal customers directly. Or one can go to one of the managed cloud providers, that exclusively operate a private cloud within a dedicated environment, only for one customer and also have professional services in their portfolio, that public cloud providers typically offer only via a network of partners.

It is solely crucial that companies turn to a cloud model, because…

Employees ask for services on demand

Employees want services and they want them now and not in two weeks or three months. And if they do not get what they need, then they find a way to get it. Honestly! There are many attractive alternatives on the IT market for quite some time, which are just a few clicks and a credit card number away to satisfy the needs. That especially in the IaaS area still waits a lot of work, with this case most non IT people are unaware. But they obviously got what they needed and if it was just the desire for attention. The cloud provider has finally responded immediately. The miracle of self-service!

IT-as-a-Service is not just a buzz word. It is the reality. IT departments are under pressure to work as a separate business unit and even develop products and services for their company or to provide them at least according to the needs. Therefore, they must respond proactively. And here not to apply cuffs is meant, by closing the firewall ports. No, here it is about to question themself.

That this works, the Deutsche Bahn subsidiary DB Systel impressively demonstrated by reducing the deployment process from 5 days to 5 minutes(!) per virtual server with its own private cloud.

Keep hybrid cloud in mind

While the constant discussions, whether a public or private cloud comes into question, one should always keep the option of a hybrid cloud in mind.

A hybrid cloud allows a unique use case for the use of a public cloud. Here, certain areas of the IT infrastructure (computing power and storage) are translocated in a public cloud environment. The rest and mission-critical areas remain within the self-managed on-premise IT infrastructure or private cloud.

In addition, the hybrid cloud model provides a valuable approach for the architecture design by sections of the local infrastructure, which cause high costs, but equally are difficult to scale, are combined with infrastructure that can be provisioned massively scalable and when required. The applications and data to be rolled out on the best platform for the individual case and the processing between the two is integrated.

The use of hybrid scenarios confirms the fact that not all IT resources should be translocated in public cloud environments and for some it’s never even come into question. Are overall issues such as compliance, speed requirements and security restrictions considered, a local infrastructure is still necessary. However, the experiences gained from the hybrid model help to understand what data should be kept locally and which can be processed within a public cloud environment.

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Why companies to be at a loss without their IT department

Cloud computing and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) to drive modern IT solutions in the enterprise. From the ordinary employee, through specialist departments up to the board members constantly new cloud services and innovative devices are taken within the company and used for the daily work. In particular, the rapid access and ease of use of cloud solutions and consumer products to make attractive opportunities. What sounds like a workable idea at first is in reality a huge issue for CIOs and IT managers. Cloud computing and BYOD have led to a new form of shadow IT. It is the uncontrolled growth of IT solutions which employees and departments use without the knowledge of IT departments. The payment usually go over credit cards or expense to pass the IT. According to the motto: “Dear IT departments, what you are not able to provide in a fast and sufficiently good quality we get ourselves arbitrarily.” However, this leads to situations where, for example, enterprise data is stored on private Dropbox accounts where this, not only because of corporate policies, have no place.

Skills, desire and time

The easy access to cloud services in general has driven opinions into the market that IT departments could become extinct in this decade and the Line of Business Manager (LOB) will have all strings in their hands to purchase IT on their own. A fatal message. The fact is that most LOBs do not have the time, desire and knowledge to make such decisions.

This raises the question which tasks and responsibilities a LOB manager have to take additionally. In addition to the strategic direction of its department, the leadership and other organizational issues, is there still enough motivation left to take care of the “annoying” IT? That is doubtful.

Surely there is one or the other LOB manager who feels at ease with the challenges and would like to gain more influence over it. But just because someone almost perfectly understands his iPhone and can use a SaaS application, he does not yet have by far the skills to purchase and implement key IT processes.

Data silos and integration

Of course, LOB managers are informed about what they need for their own area. But do they also have the knowledge of which systems and interfaces have to play together? It sounds great when the marketing and sales manager, everyone for himself, can purchase own IT services. But what happens when the marketing wants to access the sales data and vice versa?

It should not be forgotten that companies, for many years, have been struggling with not well-integrated isolated solutions of applications and data silos. Cloud services potentiate this problem many times and solutions such as Dropbox are just the tip of the iceberg.

IT departments have the responsibility

IT departments need more control. Not to maintain the status quo, but because someone has to have the responsibility and the overview of the hybrid IT infrastructure in the future. At the same time, only the IT departments are able to monitor the various IT processes within the company and to define standard interfaces for cross-sectoral access. After all, when each department goes its own way, who is responsible to put away the mess at the end? Right, the IT departments! This also providers of cloud services should understand.

IT departments need to work together with the LOBs to understand and implement the technical requirements. However, this means that IT departments need to become more communicative.

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The keys belong into the hands of the users: TeamDrive receives fourth ULD data privacy recertification in a row

The confidence in an encrypted communication for the transmission of sensitive information over the Internet is becoming increasingly important. Here, the Independent Regional Centre for Data Protection of Schleswig-Holstein
(Unabhängiges Landeszentrum für Datenschutz Schleswig-Holstein (ULD)) lead by Thilo Weichert is a pioneer when it comes to independent verification and certification of privacy and security-related issues in the field of information technology. In recent years TeamDrive has established itself as the Dropbox alternative for the enterprise and in terms of safety sets consistently on an end-to-end encryption. The vendor from Hamburg, Germany and Gartner Cool Vendor 2013 in Privacy successfully received its fourth ULD data privacy recertification in a row.

The keys belong exclusively into the hands of the users

As part of the recertification the security of TeamDrive in version 3 was increased again. In addition to the 256-bit AES end-to-end encryption, the security has been further enhanced with an RSA 3072 encryption. The importance of the end-to-end encryption of all communication still rises. This means that the whole process, which a user passes through the solution, is encrypted continuously from start to the end.

In this context it is very important to understand that the private key which is used to access the data and the system only may exclusively be owned by the user. And is only stored encrypted on the local system of the user. The vendor may have no ways to restore this private key and never get access to the stored data.

Despite all the promises, encryption is useless if providers like Dropbox or Box have the key and can decrypt all the data. The control over this exclusively belongs into the hands of the users. This must be taken into account by each company when choosing a trusted vendor.

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Disruptive world of IT: New technologies constantly change enterprises status quo. #tsy13

At first, Zero Distance sounds like one of these new marketing phrases, with which vendors try to tell us how to make the world a better place. Well, it is one of these marketing phrases. But one in which can be found a lot of truth. Looking at the use cases that were shown at the T-Systems Symposium 2013 and further from all over the world, it is clear what potentials modern information technologies are offering. Here cloud and cloud computing are just a means to the end and serve as an enabler for new business models and help to change our world.

Who does not change dies out!

A fact, traditional companies are doomed, if they do not try to change. To hug the old assets is not the best strategy – especially in the age of digital business. Startups seem to appear from nowhere and overrun the market leaders in its areas, which do not have any chance to react at the same pace. It is the advantage of the greenfield startups using and do not have to deal with nuisance inherited liability of IT and further areas. But there are also companies who are successful on the market for quite a long time and understand the signs of the times. New technologies and concepts always have some influence on the business. Some companies have understood to reinvent themselves and profitable use cloud computing, big data, mobile and collaboration for their own purposes to change. Others, however, cannot or will not understand it and prefer to remain faithful to their status quo.

Hey farmer, where is the bull?

It is frequently surprising in what kind of industries information technology has a massive impact and thus leading to more efficiency. Let’s take for example agriculture. More concrete, the mating behavior of cows. This is important, because a cow just can give milk when she freshened. For the farmer it is therefore very important, that everything works frictionless.

The solution: Is a cow in heat, she is doing some typical head movements. Therefore the cow wears a collar including a mobile communications chip. The farmer gets the needed information to make the bull ready. Even for the freshen the solution helps. Here the tool transmits the values of a thermometer with an integrated SIM card. About 48 hours before the birth the body temperature of the cow changes. Two hours before the birth the farmer gets a SMS to be on site in time.

IT departments need to act more proactively

IT departments are and have always been the scapegoats in the company. Justifiably? Well, some yes, others not. But, is the IT department responsible on its own for the transformation of the business? Yes and no. Primarily, the management is responsible for the alignment of the corporate strategy. They have to say which way the company should go, finally they have the vision. But, the big question is the way the IT department behaves in this context. Is it just the supportive force that responds as necessary to the needs of the management and colleagues, or rather acting proactively?

Offense is the best defense. Today, IT departments should be really close to the technical and innovative pulse and be informed about the changes in the market. Based on a permanent internal or external market and trend research they need to know what to expect for themselves and possibly for the business site and respond as quick as possible and proactively, not to lose too much time, and in the best case to create a competitive advantage. Depending on the trend, they do not need to jump on every bandwagon, but they should at least deal with it and understand the influence, and whether they or their company are affected. If they see potential for new business models, they should carry these into the management, which also needs to understand that IT today is an enabler and not just maintenance. This means that the IT department in the company today has a much larger role as it had ten years ago.

To that end, the management needs to give the IT department a hand and rid the IT department of their routine tasks. About 80 percent of IT spending’s today are invested in IT operations, only to keep things running. These are investments in the status quo and do not lead to innovation. By contrast, only 20 percent of expenditures are invested in improvements or further developments. This ratio must twist, and the management together with the CIO have the task to make this change, so that a company remains innovative and competitive in the future.

Stop hugging the status quo.

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CIO: Quo vadis? Cost Center or Business Enabler? #tsy13

On tuesday I’ve discussed the future role of IT and the CIO. Today we are in the biggest change (Disruptive IT) the IT industry has experienced since its inception. This shift suggests a direct impact on the CIO and thus also to the IT departments. Dr. No and cost center were yesterday. The CIO as a business enabler is required who, together with its IT staff, builds new business models as a strategic partner to the CEO and the departments and established itself as a Business Driver.

Disruptive IT: Cloud, Big Data and Co. to turn everything upside down

Cloud Computing, Big Data, Mobility and Collaboration are the four disruptive technologies, which today cater for a big quake and challenge CIOs. The expectations and demands of the management and departments continue to grow, employees become independent and purchase IT services past by the IT department (shadow IT), because the IT cannot provide in sufficient time or quality. Nobody should say the job of a CIO was simple, but currently it is the way to hell, everyone likes to waive.

But that’s the situation. And who continue to hug to the status quo, sooner or later will remain on the track. Because the business side cannot afford to tread water. And they will find their ways and means to get what they need. If they are not already on the way.

Panel: The Future Role of CIOs: Managing Costs or Enabling Business?

Within the T-Systems Symposium Stefanie Kemp (IT Governance, RWE), Prof. Dr. Michael Müller-Wünsch (CIO, Lekkerland Gruppe), Dr. Hans-Joachim Popp (CIO, Deutsches Luft- und Raumfahrtzentrum), Philipp Erler (CIO, Zalando) and Thomas Spreitzer (Chief Marketing Officer, T-Systems) discussed the future of the CIO. Is he a cost manager or a innovation driver?

Although it was basically an exciting panel discussion. However, it was, as expected, monodirectional since there were only CIOs represented in the panel and the counterpart of the CEO was missing. This was probably the reason why there was no or just a little self-criticism voiced by the CIOs.

Nevertheless, one could see that the CIOs were aware of what to expect. Hans-Joachim Popp ​​by DLR made clear that existing business models are influenced by new technologies and thereby it becomes more exhausting for the CIO in the future. He also criticized the fact that not everyone who can build a new business model is able to understand the critical processes behind it. Zalando CIO Philipp Erler joined and considerably made ​​clear that the operation of an Excel sheet does not necessarily cover the skills to control a process. That is a fact I can confirm. Just because an employee can use an iPhone or a SaaS application, he is not able to decide on major IT services for the enterprise. Furthermore Erler explained the concept of the prioritization round at Zalando. So, a department should question itself whether it is actually worth to go the own way and path by the IT, if the request was not approved. This is a possible remedy against the shadow IT. The question remains, whether this is of interest to the employees in the departments. Eventually, in 2012 about 25 percent of the IT budget was being managed outside the IT department, according to Gartner.

Lekkerland CIO Michael Müller-Wünsch sees it as a crucial factor that CIOs get also the temporal scope to act as a business enabler. To show and evidence the own right to exist is important, but also difficult. However, the business side and the IT at Lekkerland working together actively. T-Systems CMO Thomas Spreitzer admitted that the marketing looks readily across the challenges of the CIO. The main thing: as fast as can be. However, he also criticized the nitpicking. IT departments should more focus on the rapid prototyping instead of the requirements specification.

RWE IT governance lead Stefanie Kemp asked the question whether IT has actually run after every trend or should it better focus on specific areas rather that the company actually help. To this end she sees the need for a commodity IT as well as a differentiating IT within the enterprise. So that part of IT, which keeps things running and the part that ensures innovation. Kemp also made clear that departments about her can go its own way. But in the end they should also stand straight for the pile of fragments when the integration into existing systems, etc. does not work. Furthermore, Kemp still sees a lot of homework to do within the business so that IT can become a business enabler.

CIO vs. Business: Communication is the silver bullet

Summarizing the problems that were addressed during the panel by the CIOs, you can certainly ask the question of how companies operate nowadays. At the end of the day it was to understand that seemingly both sides sit protected in their ivory towers and do not really talk to each other. The reality is of course different. But for both sides, life would be easier if they exchange information with each other transparently and at eye level. Here also the role model will become increasingly important to clearly define the responsibilities in the future.

Conclusion: The role of the CIO will not be easier in the future. Quite the contrary. But when he and the business side work as partners and actively communicate with each other and to agree to go the same way, it becomes easier for both sides.

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Business in the Internet of Everything, Hybrid Cloud, A travelling suitcase #tsy13

During the breakout sessions at the T-Systems Symposium I visited three topics. One cloud, mobile and collaboration respectively The Internet of Things each. In the next days I’m going to write a comment or detailed analysis on each of these topics. However, I already would give a sneak preview, since these are really interesting use cases.

Business Transformation in the age of collaboration and The Internet of Things

Cisco sees its future as an enabler for the Internet of Everything (IoE). The difference to the today frequenty discussed Internet of Things (IoT) is in the amount of connected objects. Where IoT is connecting people with machines and machines with machines, IoE is on people, processes, data and things. This means there is a need for more connectivity. For this purpose, Cisco sees about 50 billionen smart objects in 2020 worldwide which are connected with each other. Here fog computing should help in the future what I’ve already introduced and analyzed.

Ready for Hybrid Cloud with T-Systems DSI vCloud = VMware vCloud Datacenter Services

A VMware study shows that 37 percent of leading european IT decision makers suppose not captured costs for used cloud services within their enterprise. In addition, 58 percent of european knowledge workers would use not approved cloud services. VMware sees a solution in IT-as-a-Service. Here IT departments position themselves as a competitor to external service provider. VMware also notes that historically arised IT silos like storage, network, server, Windows, Unix and Linux are the biggest challenges for IT-as-a-Service. Here the software-defined datacenter which is based on the components virtual server, software-defined network and software-defined storage should help. All together, this builds the foundation to migrate workloads on demand to a certified vCloud datacenter via a hybrid cloud.

Bag2Go: The modern suitcase on a lonely travel

With its Bag2Go, an intelligent bag, Airbus will separate people from their luggage. This means that a bag can have another route to the destination as the traveller itself. Therefore the bag offers various characterstics: self-weighing, self-labeling, self-travelling. Even the permanent tracking of the bag and its status is possible. Airbus promises that no changes are need to be made to the existing infrastructure of an airport. Airbus future goal is to establish fully interlinked transport capsules as a standard. An Internet of Things use case. Bag2Go uses the infrastructure of the T-Systems business cloud.

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Transformation: The role of IT and the CIO is changing! #tsy13

On November 6 this year’s T-Systems Symposium is held in Dusseldorf. Last year under the slogan “Zero Distance – Working in Harmony” based on innovative business models and modern ICT, a new kind of vicinity to the customer was central. This year the consequences of Zero Distance will be discussed. I’ll be on site at the symposium and comment and analyze the topics cloud, mobile and collaboration. For this purpose, appropriate article will be published on CloudUser during this week.

It’s all about the customer

Never the relationship with the customer and end users has been as important as today. Equally, the technological access to those groups have also never been as easy as today. This also the business side has recognized and steady increases the demands on IT. High availability as well as a maximum speed under the best possible security requirements are the claims to which CIOs have to be measured today. Simultaneously current solutions must be as simple and intuitive to use, in order to be prepared against the ever-increasing competition for customers.

Disruptive IT: The role of IT will have to change

Cloud Computing, Big Data, Mobility and Collaboration are currently the disruptive technologies that will trigger a massive change in many areas and to face IT departments and CIOs with great challenges. However, these can be use for the own purposes and thus create new opportunities.

I just recently spoke with an analyst colleague on the role of the CIO. His amusing but serious conclusion was CIO = Career Is Over. I am not of the opinion. Nevertheless, the role of IT and also of the CIO exposed to a change. The CIO needs to be understood as an innovation driver instead of a maintenance engineer and be much more involved in discussions with the departments (marketing, sales, production, finance, personnel) respectively search for the dialog. He needs to understand what requirements will be expected to make the necessary applications and infrastructures quickly, scalable and easy to use and to provide apps and tools as from the consumer sector. This means that the internal IT needs to be exposed to a transformation process, without compromising the safety and cost. This change will decide on the future of every CIO and if he is still regarded as Dr. No or a business enabler, which is a strategically important partner for the CEO and the departments as a business driver.

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Cloud PR Disaster: Google's light-heartedness destroys trust.

It is common in companies that only certain spokesperson are chosen that may speak in public about the company. And it is tragic when favored few to make statements leading to question marks and uncertainty. Google has entered the second time within a short time in such a faux pas. After Cloud Platform Manager Greg DeMichillie peculiar had commented the long-term availability of the Google Compute Engine, Google CIO Ben Fried commented on Google’s own use of the cloud.

We’re the good guys – the others are evil

In an interview with AllThingsD Google CIO Ben Fried talked about the dealing of Google with bring your own device and the use of external cloud services. As any IT manager may have noticed, for quite some time Google promotes its Google Apps for Business solution by hook or by crook. The more surprising is the statement of Friedman regarding the use of Dropbox, Google strictly prohibits for internal purposes.

“The important thing to understand about Dropbox,” […] “is that when your users use it in a corporate context, your corporate data is being held in someone else’s data center.”

Right, if I do not save my data on my own servers, but with Dropbox, then they are probably in a foreign data center. To be more accurate in case of Dropbox on Amazon S3. This applies also for the case if I store my data on Google Drive, Google Apps, or Google Cloud Platform. Then the data is located at? Right, Google. This the cloud model brings along.

Fried, of course, as already DeMichillie, didn’t mean it like that and corrected himself by e-mail, via AllThingsD.

Fried says he meant that the real concern about Dropbox and other apps is more around security than storage. “Any third-party cloud providers that our employees use must pass our thorough security review and agree under contract to maintain certain security levels,”

So, Fried was actually talking about the security of Dropbox and other cloud services, and not the location.

Google is a big kid

I’m not sure what to make of Google. But one thing is clear, professional corporate communication looks different. The same applies to building trust among corporate customers. Google is undoubtedly an innovative company, if not the world’s most innovative company. This light-heartedness of a child, Google and its employees need to continually develop new and interesting ideas and technologies, is also the greatest weakness. It is this degree of naivety in the external communications, which will make it difficult for Google in the future when there’s nothing fundamentally changed. At least when it comes to have a say in the matter within the sensitive market for corporate customers. The major players, most notably Microsoft, VMware, IBM, HP and Oracle know what businesses need to hear in order to appear attractive. And this not includes the statements of a Greg DeMichillie or Ben Fried.

Another interesting comment on Ben Kepes Forbes’ article “Google Shoots Itself In The Foot. Again“.

“[…]Do you really think that Google management really cares about cloud app business or its customer base? Somebody at Google said that they have the capacity they built for themselves and they have the engineering talent so why not sell it. So Brin and Page shoke their heads and they was the last they ever wanted to hear about it. There is nothing exciting about this business, they do not want the responsibilites that come with this client base and they really don’t care. I bet they shut it down.“

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AWS Activate. Startups. Market share. Any questions?

Startups are the groundwork for the success of the Amazon Web Services. With them, the IaaS market leader has grown. Based on an official initiative AWS builds out this customer target market and will leave the rest of IaaS providers further in the rain. Because with the exception of Microsoft and Rackspace, nothing happens in this direction.

AWS Activate

It’s no secret that AWS is specifically “bought” the favor of startups. Apart from the attractive service portfolio founders, who are supported by Accelerator, obtain AWS credits in the double digits to start their ideas on the cloud infrastructure.

With AWS Activate Amazon has now launched an official startup program to serve as a business enabler for developers and startups. This consists of the “Self-Starter Package” and the “Portfolio Package”.

The Self-Starter Package is aimed at startups that are trying their own luck and includes the well-known free AWS offering, which may take any new customer. In addition, an AWS Developer Support for a month, “AWS Technical Professional” training and discounted access to solutions of SOASTA or Opscode are included. The Portfolio Package is for startups that are in a accelerator program. These will get AWS credits worth between $1,000 and $15,000 and a month or one year of free AWS business support. There are also “AWS Technical Professional” and “AWS Essentials” training included.

Any questions on the high market shares?

With this initiative, the Amazon Web Services will keep making the pace in the future. With the exception of Microsoft, Google and Rackspace, AWS positioned oneself as the only platform for users to implement their own ideas. All other vendors rather embrace corporate customers, who are more hesitant to jump on the cloud train, and do not offer the possibilities of the AWS cloud infrastructure by far. Instead of interpret the portfolio on cloud services, they try to catch customers with compute power and storage. But, infrastructure from the cloud means more than just infrastructure.

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Verizon Cloud: Compute and Storage. Boring. Next, please!

There are those moments in which I read a press release and think: “Wow this could be exciting.” But there are mostly this very press releases I do not want to continue after the second paragraph. Oh by the way, Verizon has reinvented the enterprise cloud and thus would compete with the Amazon Web Services. Oh well, and Verizon offers compute power and storage. These are very promising services in order to be successful in the IaaS market and make sure to turn the market upside down. Where 100% of all IaaS providers have exactly these services in their portfolio and do not differentiate from one another.

Verizon Cloud

An excerpt from the press release:

“Verizon created the enterprise cloud, now we’re recreating it,” said John Stratton, president of Verizon Enterprise Solutions. “This is the revolution in cloud services that enterprises have been calling for. We took feedback from our enterprise clients across the globe and built a new cloud platform from the bottom up to deliver the attributes they require.”

And then this:

“Verizon Cloud has two main components: Verizon Cloud Compute and Verizon Cloud Storage. Verizon Cloud Compute is the IaaS platform. Verizon Cloud Storage is an object-based storage service.”

Verzion seriously offers compute power and storage. Something that 100% of all IaaS providers on the market have in their portfolio and sells it as a REVOLUTION? Not really, right?

ProfitBricks and CloudSigma to salute

In addition, Verizon to praise the granularity of their infrastructure resources:

“Previously, services had pre-set configurations for size (e.g. small, medium, large) and performance, with little flexibility regarding virtual machine and network performance and storage configuration. No other cloud offering provides this level of control.“

Wrong! From the beginning ProfitBricks and CloudSigma offer this level of granularity and flexibility. Even this property of the Verizon cloud is not a revolution.

Which is likewise not a revolution, but could appeal to current VMware users is the compatibility with the VMware hypervisor. A promising market because many companies still continue to use VMware hypervisor. But where also VMware with its own vCloud hybrid service to have some say.

Fight a war with the wrong weapons

It’s amazing how many providers try to fight the Amazon Web Services with new offerings and only bring a blunt knife rather than a nuclear bomb. Especially since Verizon has developed the solution from scratch.

For me this slowly raises the question, when we will see the first Nirvanix within the IaaS providers who only offer compute power and storage. Finally, more and more candidates position oneself.

Next, please! (Viva la Revolution.)