…another way to look at Cloud Computing is that it is a highly automated, readily scalable, on-demand computing platform of virtually unlimited processing, storage and ubiquitous connectivity, always available to carry out a task of any size and charged based on usage! Audacious – though possible today in a limited manner – it is certainly poised to be as pervasive a platform like the internet, in the very near future.

The origin of Cloud Computing

As a matter of historical fact, Cloud Computing has been around since the beginning of the IT Outsourcing industry. At its core, Cloud Computing is about utilizing idle/excess Cloud Computing – Been There, Done That! compute power (processing, storage, and connectivity) of one entity, to carry out the work of another. This is the value proposition based on which Mr. Ross Perot started the IT Outsourcing industry in 1962, when he rented idle computing power from one company (Southwestern Life) to carry out the processing needs of another (Collins Radio). Mr. Perot recalls that the staff consisted of just two individuals who worked diligently in leveraging the compute capacity that was idle, mostly during the night, to
process Collins Radio’s data, and turning it into a win-win situation for all. The organization that owned the computers monetized its down time; the organization that needed the compute power did not have to out lay capital; and Mr. Perot’s team, in the role of a Systems Integrator, ensured seamless delivery for a fee. This was the first instance of Cloud Computing.

Evolution of Cloud Computing

Advancements in technology, coupled with declining costs, have disrupted traditional business models and a new category of companies has emerged: one that operates mostly over the internet based on  clicks” (e.g., Amazon, eBay, Google, etc.). The established businesses suddenly found that the development of this channel was critical for their survival against the new breed of companies, and started to offer a combination of “bricks and clicks” for the convenience of their customers.

The disruption of business models created a higher demand and dependence on IT. Also contributing to this dependence are “peaks-and-valleys” of IT capacity needs, tied directly to the nature of an organization’s business activity (seasonal, one time, quarter/year-end, day/night, etc.). To ensure consistent, stable operations and to virtually eliminate risks, businesses built their computing platforms at or above the
highest peak points of their IT requirements, no matter how infrequent that need might be. As a result, many businesses today are stuck with bloated computing platforms that are enormously underutilized for the majority of the time, taking up real estate, depreciating fast in value, and consuming significant amounts of energy and resources.

In response to this operational predicament, companies such as Amazon have started to commoditize their own idle capacity and monetize it under their EC2 and S3 labels. EC2, Elastic Compute Cloud, is a web-based service that allows any entity to buy and use compute capacity on an as-needed basis. The S3, Simple Storage Services, on the other hand, provides for web-based storage and access to data. The fact that both these services operate out of a standard browser and do not require any proprietary/licensed
software, make them extremely usable. While early adopters of EC2 and S3 were individuals and small businesses, innovative CIOs are giving them the attention they are due and have started to test out the feasibility of this emerging Cloud Computing platform. Starting with architecting a cloud-based processing environment for one time transactions that were non mission critical, they have experienced performance results.

Cloud Computing – Been There, Done That!  and Capex/Opex savings significant enough to warrant the inclusion of Cloud Computing into their extended IT infrastructure.

Recognizing this phenomenon to be a viable business opportunity, hardware, software and internet-based companies with deep pockets are rushing to establish Cloud Computing environments to make available to businesses out of a utility-type, ondemand model. For hardware companies like IBM & HP, this is an opportunity to sell tons of hardware; for software companies like VMware & Microsoft, it is an opportunity
to sell sophisticated software that allows efficient load balancing of computing resources between tasks; and for businesses like Google & Amazon saddled with the need to have extensive IT infrastructure, this has become an economic engine that can be used to convert their unused compute capacity into revenue.
The expanding Role of Systems Integrator in the Cloud Computing World In order to understand the role of Systems Integrators, like Perot’s team, in today’s Cloud Computing world, we need to first review how their roles and responsibilities have evolved over time.

The primary focus of Systems Integrators continues to be planning, optimizing, integrating, and managing clients’ heterogeneous compute environments. However, at times, they take on the responsibility of filling the gaps between the clients’ IT needs and the available compute infrastructure. At one point, Systems Integrators used to manufacture hardware as needed to run their clients’ systems efficiently, and even
wrote system utilities and applications down to the operating system level to fill in the gaps left by the software vendors. Gradually, as the hardware, software and networking companies matured, stabilized and more importantly innovated, the Systems Integrators were able to get back to their core business of integrating disparate systems.

The emerging Cloud Computing companies are proving to be yet another partner joining the hardware, software and network vendors in a typical Systems Integrator business model. The availability of a public domain computing platform (aka Cloud Computing) allows the Systems Integrators to extend their compute platform as needed, through lease type agreements as opposed to capital outlay or long term fixed costs.
Even Clouds Must be Grounded While organizations may be lured to the affordability and scalability that Cloud Computing offers, it is imperative that their environment is architected such that it provides these advantages without compromising on security and interoperability.

The role of a Systems Integrator clearly is integral to configuring the optimum (extended) computing environment such that it is dependable/reliable and operating at expected quality of performance for a particular client.

The Future of Cloud Computing

The adoption of Cloud Computing is not without resistance or confusion. Torn between the appeal for cost savings and fear of loss of control, customers are struggling with how to take advantage of the cloud. How confidential will their data be? How will they handle issues around data privacy, intellectual property, regulatory requirements, and protection of “secret sauce” formulas? It is critical to understand that for most
businesses the cloud is not a panacea. Unlike the “electricity grid” where individual power generation units ceased to exist, not everything in IT will or should end up in the  cloud – at least not just yet. The strategy defining usage of the cloud should be on the CIO’s agenda. A trusted Systems Integrator should be involved in the strategic design of the architecture for how a particular company may optimally exploit the cloud.

The cloud trend today closely resembles the offshoring phenomenon. Just as the initial concerns and resistance to offshoring gave way to intelligently architected and governed models to protect the integrity of customer data while taking advantage of the lower cost options, a similar trend will emerge on the cloud front. It will start with resistance to the cloud, followed by the offering of a choice of cloud environments,
finally leading to Cloud Computing becoming mainstream and an integral part of the compute environment for most businesses.

The Emerging Conceptual Architecture

At the onset, the low cost and ready access to on-demand computing offered through a cloud environment will cause businesses to rethink what is truly core (mission critical, highly sensitive/secretive) to their business, and shift an increasing amount of non-core processing to a shared or cloud environment. Organizations will be well served to revisit the classification of each piece of processing and storage that was earlier assumed to be sensitive and mission critical -- in light of the high cost associated with running it inhouse through a dedicated infrastructure.