Cloud infrastructure could undergo significant changes soon, as components that have become commonplace in consumer devices and among hyperscale operators are modified for enterprise use. Things such as ARM processors, flash and DRAM chips are enabling a new wave of economical solutions. On top of that, open source software such as OpenStack may give organizations the APIs that they need to build effective private and hybrid clouds.
The recent OpenStack Enterprise Forum highlights the platform's key strengths and weaknesses. While it provides a flexible set of APIs and tools for constructing private and hybrid cloud, and can be run on almost any type of hardware, OpenStack has struggled to gain traction in the enterprise. Lack of applicable skills among IT staff, along with the wide variance of OpenStack implementations, has discouraged some companies from building an open cloud instead of using proprietary integrated solutions.
However, it could pick up momentum as more enterprises shift legacy software to the cloud. These applications aren't optimized for the elasticity of something like Amazon Web Services, but could benefit from a virtualization approach similar to that of VMware, which OpenStack may more fully support.
Speaking to SiliconANGLE, former NASA CTO Chris Kemp likened the effect of hyperscale technology to the earlier influence of PCs on enterprise technology. The evolution of the cloud for business purposes may create an opening for OpenStack.
"There's a different set of opportunities that exist when you bring a cloud into the enterprise, and I don't think Amazon will see those things," stated Kemp. "And so I think having the OpenStack APIs be discrete and innovate on an independent trajectory will create more innovation for private clouds and for competition."
