Microsoft Azure overtakes Amazon's cloud in performance test

Azure's cloud is faster at uploading and downloading files to the cloud, Amazon still more scalable, storage provider Nasuni finds... Nasuni uses public cloud resources in its enterprise storage offering, so each year the company conducts a series of rigorous tests on the top CSPs' clouds in an effort to see which companies offer the best performing, most reliable infrastructure. Last year, Amazon Web Services' cloud came out on top, but this year Microsoft Azure outperformed AWS in performance and reliability measures. AWS is still better at handling extra-large storage volumes, while Nasuni found that the two OpenStack powered clouds it tested -- from HP and Rackspace -- were lacking, particularly at larger scales. 

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2013/021913-azure-aws-266831.html?hpg1=bn 

Reid Hoffman's 10 Rules for Entrepreneurial Success

I liked these top 10 mandates for entrepreneurs from the co-founder and angel investor Reid Hoffman:

At last week's the South by Southwest Interactive conference in Austin, Texas, Hoffman offered what he calls his "Ten Rules on Entrepreneurship." And if anyone is qualified to come up with such a list, it's this web-savvy wizard who was a founding board member and executive vice president of PayPal and now serves as a partner at venture capital powerhouse Greylock Partners.

1. Be disruptive. Ask yourself: "Is this massive and different? It's got to be ten-times different. It's got to be something that changes an industry." Hoffman uses Skype as an example, calling it a disruptive company because, "it removes these very expensive cross barrier phone charges."
2. Aim big. You'll probably wind up plowing the same amount of time into a small business as you will a big one. So, don't be intimidated by your own big ideas, as there are multiple ways of realizing them.
3. Grow your network. Your network includes investors, advisers, employees and customers. With a broad network, you have the ability to make important, global-sized changes.
4. Plan for better or worse. Part of planning is that you might come across something you weren't expecting and you pivot. And if something doesn't work, you must ask yourself: "What is my Plan B?"
5. Maintain flexible persistence. On one hand, the goal is to have a vision and be persistent. On the other hand, flexibility and being able to change based on what your customers want is paramount. "The art is knowing when to be persistent and when to be flexible and how to blend them."
6. Launch early. "Unless you're Steve Jobs, you're most likely partially wrong about what your theory was." So launch early and often. Launching early attracts customer engagement, and it's the customer who's going to tell you what's wrong so you can correct it.
7. Seek honesty. You need friends who will tell you that you have an ugly baby. Keep your aspirations high, but don't drink your own Kool-Aid -- all the while leveraging the advice of your friends.
8. Be everywhere. It's important to have a great idea for a product, but it's downright vital to have a wide distribution of it. "You can have a kickass product, but if it doesn't get to millions of people, it's irrelevant."
9. Culture is key. You must get hiring right the first time. While experience is impressive, you'll need people who can adapt and thrive amid volatility -- especially in the beginning.
10. Break these rules. The rules of entrepreneurship are not laws of nature. You can break them. What's more, don't listen to all of the rules all of the time.
 

Software license management in the cloud is a mess

Here is a very beautiful and apt article written on software licensing in cloud.

http://info.cloudboltsoftware.com/blog/bid/212556/Cloud-Management-Vendor-Impact-of-Software-Licensing-For-the-Cloud

What’s really odd is that those large vendors also claim to know about cloud. My resulting questions to you are simple:

• Are you relying on cloud strategy from a company that actively uses their software licensing to discourage or prevent you from moving to a more open cloud-centric IT model?
•  Are they leveraging their licenses to force you down the path they want you to?

My subtext:  If you’re listening to intently to those large vendors, the answer to both is “yes”.  Proceed with caution if your primary cloud strategy comes from your hardware, middleware, database, or even OS vendor.

...

Many large vendors (it won’t be hard to find which ones I’m talking about here) take specific steps to limit BYSOL (just to name a few I came across):

• Require specific understanding of underlying hardware architectures or processor specifications
• Require licensing based on the physical, not virtual host
• Mandate customers run vendor-provided license tracking, further complicating multi-location or multi-environment installations
• Prohibit software from being virtualized
• Force purchase of higher-cost public cloud resources which rope in the underlying OS license regardless of customer license availability
• Force purchase of “License Mobility” options in order to run software in public clouds

Virtualization and so called "Private Clouds"

An interesting comment from RedHat during the acquisition of ManageIQ this week:

http://www.serverwatch.com/server-news/red-hat-linux-grows-top-deals-as-private-cloud-management-enters-batting-practice.html

"A lot of people will say they have a private cloud because they have a bunch of virtualized servers, but truly when you think about managing an application portfolio or an elastic infrastructure, that is still quite nascent," Whitehurst said.

"So that's a very large opportunity, we believe, in the future," Whitehurst continued, "but we are, again, we're in batting practice. We haven't even started the first inning."

Here is an interview that I gave to Cloudstory.in

Enterprises today are finding it extremely challenging to manage the assets running across physical, virtual, Private Cloud and Public Cloud. They are looking for tools that helps them take control of the infrastructure through a single, unified environment. There is a huge opportunity that exists in the multi-cloud management tools market. Cloud360 from Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTS) is one of the leading Cloud management platforms for enterprises.

I got a chance to interview Mr. Ramesh Panuganty, the founder and MD for Cloud360. Ramesh shares his views about the Cloud adoption in enterprises, the challenges they face and how their product addresses them.

http://cloudstory.in/2012/12/cloud-conversations-interview-with-ramesh-panuganty-md-cloud360-at-cognizant-technology-solutions/

Recorded session: Enterprise Application Operations in the Cloud Powered by Cloud360 & AWS

AWS and Cognizant invite you to learn more about Cloud360, an enterprise IT management solution that enables enterprise application migration and operations on AWS. Cloud360 provides a comprehensive portfolio of services for provisioning, deploying, monitoring, managing and securing enterprise applications running on AWS. Learn more: https://aws.amazon.com/solution-providers/si/cognizant

Possible spin off of vFabric line of products from VMware

Finally the news seems to be coming out...
 
VMware plans to turn over SpringSource, Cloud Foundry, GemStone and other non-core technologies over to a new EMC-owned subsidiary, GigaOM has learned. The move helps separate the money-making, enterprise-focused VMware business from the future CloudFoundry unit that will compete against Amazon and Microsoft Azure.

VMware is finally getting ready to spin off most of its non-core products to an EMC-run subsidiary, GigaOM has learned. If everything goes according to plan, the move will be announced next week, according to several sources familiar with the effort.

http://gigaom.com/cloud/remember-that-vmware-spin-off-its-baaa-aack/ 

The AWS Report - Ramesh Panuganty of Cognizant

... my recent interview with Jeff Barr @AWS.

http://aws.typepad.com/aws/2012/11/the-aws-report-ramesh-panuganty-of-cognizant.html

Cloud 360 helps technology and business managers to deploy and manage cloud-based architectures in a flexible and scalable fashion. Learn more about Cloud 360...

AWS speeds-up EBS and reduces instances pricing

Another busy week for AWS which added new compute instance types, cut prices on existing ones, and increased the limit on provisioned IOPS for EBS volumes. Amazon is getting busier as more public cloud options come on line. 

Some computing and storage tasks require faster data input/output than others. That’s why in August, Amazon Web Services said customers could, for an additional fee, allocate up to 1,000 Input/Output Operations per Second (IOPS) per EBS storage volume.  On Thursday, the company doubled the limit to 2,000 IOPS per EBS volume according to a post on the very busy AWS blog.  Faster storage input/output is important in database and transaction processing applications. Insights here.

Enterprise Application Operations in the Cloud Powered by Cloud360 & AWS

AWS and Cognizant are pleased to invite you to attend this live webinar where you will learn more about Cloud360, an enterprise IT management solution that enables enterprise application migration and operations on AWS. Cloud360 provides a comprehensive portfolio of services for provisioning, deploying, monitoring, managing and securing enterprise applications running on AWS.

Featured speakers will provide insights into how Cloud360 enables enterprises to achieve: 

• Rapid Provisioning: cutting down time from weeks to minutes.
• Simplified IT Management: simple service management, distributed control.
• Improved Planning and Budgeting: more insights, better cost control.
• Automated Governance: controlled usage, enterprise compliance.
• Improved Security: auditing and variance detection.

Agenda:

• State of the Cloud - Paul Roehrig, Cognizant
• AWS Platform Overview - Tom Stickle, AWS
• Cloud360 for the Enterprise - Ramesh Panuganty, Cognizant

Who should attend:

• CIOs, CTOs, IT Executives, Enterprise Architects, and other Technical IT Leaders

Date / Time

• Tuesday, November 6, 2012 - 10AM PST/ 1PM EST

Attendees get a chance to win a Kindle Fire HD.

>> Register now for this live webinar on Nov 6

Cloud Computing: Hey, Hey, You, You, Get Off of My Cloud! - Geoffrey Moore

The economics of cloud computing are so compelling it is clear, over time, that it will re-engineer the entire landscape of enterprise IT.  It is that little phrase—over time­­—that poses challenges, for customers and vendors alike.  Different applications will drive cloud adoption at different paces and in different directions.  To help sort out your priorities, here is a cartoon of the various types of clouds in nature, with a companion cartoon mapping them to the cloud applications getting the most traction these days.

http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20121015205517-110300724-cloud-computing-hey-hey-you-you-get-off-of-my-cloud?_mSplash=1

Cognizant Announces Significant Expansion of Data Center and Cloud Infrastructure to Deliver a Broader Range of Transformational Services

Cognizant's enterprise-class, multi-tenant cloud infrastructure platform broadens the company's overall cloud services portfolio, which includes cloud assessment, architecture and design consulting, cloud system integration, and cloud management services across private, public, and hybrid cloud solutions. These services are powered by Cloud360™, Cognizant's cloud management solution that efficiently automates provisioning, management, and monitoring of diverse cloud operations from a single consolidated management console. These capabilities position the company well to help clients re-platform existing applications on the cloud, deploy new mobile, software-as-a-service, and social networking services to their end-users, and support other business-critical processes. 

http://news.cognizant.com/2012-10-25-Cognizant-Announces-Significant-Expansion-of-Data-Center-and-Cloud-Infrastructure-to-Deliver-a-Broader-Range-of-Transformational-Services

 

Microsoft to acquire cloud-integrated storage provider StorSimple

The eco-system is changing a lot and also very quickly. The difference between on-premise and IaaS is going to fade-away pretty soon. It is all going to be about the time to market, cost of services,  integrated offering and managed services.

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9232447/Microsoft_to_acquire_cloud_integrated_storage_provider_StorSimple

This acquisition is going to give a boost to both Azure & Hyper-V, to deliver cloud storage to data centers, and also offer integrated Backup/DR/Archival solutions.

What is Cloud and what drives its adoption?

While "Cloud" is the most overused/overloaded word in the industry, one key attribute stands out consistently... The single most key tenets of Cloud is "self-service". This has been the biggest driver of cloud adoption and will continue to drive the products & requirements. If there is any product that is not self-service, but is intended only to be used by administrators - folks, reconsider your products.

Multi-user profiles in tablets & freetime support for kids!

Great job Amazon! You are the first tablet maker to allow multi-user profiles on the same device. This is a common item on any personal computer, as common as the buttons on a shirt. Happy to see this 'new feature' on Kindle Fire. We can now store user's own settings, data, applications and perhaps even special restrictions. 

Freetime is another wanted setting to allow specific usage hours for the kids - otherwise, it has become very uncontrolled. Finally someone is paying attention to a common problem.

PaaS - private and public modes

We haven't heard of Private PaaS or Public PaaS (or hybrid!) but the industry is clearly moving in multiple directions here if you observed App Engine, Azure, Force.com, Heroku, Engine Yard, ActiveState, AppFog, Tier 3, Uhuru Software, PaaS.io or CloudFoundry.com. 

VMware is clearly pitching for private PaaS within enterprises to deploy internal applications. This would enterprises to have a common PaaS platform that results in 'standardization' and 'governance'. While the productivity boost is questionable since any PaaS would need a mindset change in the developer community and PaaS enforces thinking in one-way. 

It is interesting to see so many new PaaS platforms (such as AppFog) as new-entrants in the market (some based on CloudFoundry), and others with the message of running PaaS across infrastructure providers. If I am anyway going to be on PaaS - why worry about IaaS flexibility - I am locked in at the usage layer itself.

Oracle Throws in the Towel on VMware Licensing

... Oracle has maintained that all servers in a cluster must be licensed if even a single VM on any server in the cluster is running Oracle software. VMware has officially disagreed with this statement in their white paper on Oracle Licensing and Support. But the opposing view by Oracle has been a serious deterrent to adoption of VMware virtualization of Oracle servers. No longer.

http://oraclestorageguy.typepad.com/oraclestorageguy/2012/08/oracle-throws-in-the-towel-on-vmware-licensing.html

Cognizant's Cloud360 is an enterprise-class cloud management solution that helps enterprises to quickly and cost-effectively deploy, manage and operate modern, dynamic and scalable architectures on industry leading cloud platforms.

User Experience of IT Delivery & Cloud benefits

What are the top benefits of cloud as viewed by Enterprise IT managers? Interestingly most of the enterprise IT organizations seem to feel that cloud is going to shape the user experience of IT delivery, with the primary benefits being:

• Enable work from anywhere
• Enable collaboration more effectively and with coworkers
• Simpler access to business applications regardless of client device
• Improved IT applications

VMware & public cloud IaaS offering

If you haven’t heard the rumors, there are rumblings that VMware is launching a public cloud IaaS service. The formal announcement may come at next week’s VMWorld conference where theCube will be broadcasting.

http://siliconangle.com/blog/2012/08/20/project-zephyr-vmwares-upcoming-public-cloud-project-built-to-take-on-aws-rackspace-ms/

... a recently purchased data center in Nevada... Pricing for this service will likely be aggressive in order to gain the most market possible from major players such as Amazon, Rackspace and Microsoft.

It would be interesting to see how the partner eco-system will play out for VMware.