 |
BLOG: 10 Virtualisation and Cloud Predictions for 2012 |
| Source: |
computerworld.com.sg |
| Source Date: |
Friday, January 06, 2012 |
| Focus: |
ICT for MDGs
|
| Created: |
Jan 12, 2012 |
|
The more things change, the more they stay the same. In the following virtualization and cloud predictions for 2012, Andi Mann, enterprise software expert, picks which concepts will continue to survive, and which are due to fade away. Some of them may surprise, while others seem to be more of a no-brainer.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. In the following virtualization and cloud predictions for 2012, Andi Mann, enterprise software expert, picks which concepts will continue to survive, and which are due to fade away. Some of them may surprise, while others seem to be more of a no-brainer.
1. Brands may come and go, but no technology will die
Cloud will not kill data centres, virtual will not kill physical, tablets will not kill PCs, Mac will not kill Windows, Android will not kill iOS. The technology pie is growing, and almost every slice is getting bigger. So be prepared to manage an ever-increasing selection of technologies across public and private boundaries.
2. Hybrid IT is 'the next big thing'
In this new world of choices, business expects hybrid IT: a combination of on-site and off-site; cloud and legacy; private and public; physical and virtual; social and secure; enterprise and consumer; desktop and server; mobile and static. Business will also expect IT to make them work together, whether IT owns the service or not. IT must act as a trusted advisor, as a service broker, and as quality assurance for this brave new world.
3. Service quality will be IT's responsibility... again
As hybrid IT proliferates, business owners will (again) realise they do not want to manage technology; they just want it to work. In 2012, end-users will increasingly expect IT to take responsibility for service quality, regardless of who is buying, selling, or delivering that service. IT will need to support an explosion of devices, deal with complex cross-boundary services, and find a way to deliver a 360-degree service assurance across all facets of the end-user experience.
4. Public cloud adoption will slow down...
Given the results of this year's Longhaus research from Australia - an early adopter market and a bellwether for business technology - I suspect the rest of the world is in for a slowdown of public cloud adoption. Issues (perceived or real) with security, compliance, service quality, skills, staffing, complexity, and good old politics will all put the brakes on.
5. ...Even as public cloud 'gets' security
Sad but true - many (most?) enterprise decision-makers still do not trust public cloud. In 2012, IT must do a better job of deploying and explaining cloud security - and I believe we will! In 2012, CIOs will see security as less of a barrier to cloud adoption as organisations adopt more and better cloud-oriented security solutions, including solutions designed for complex hybrid cloud services, as well as solutions that are delivered through the cloud with easily-consumed Security SaaS options.
6. Big iron is back - Part I
No, mainframe is still not dead. On the contrary, 2012 will see the rise of the mainframe as a cloud platform. Massively scalable, hosting critical (and under-utilised) 'big data', capable of running complex cloud workloads on a variety of architectures (z/OS, Linux, UNIX, Windows), mainframe is really an obvious cloud platform. It will not replace commodity clouds, but large enterprises and governments especially will leverage their investments and bring "big iron" into their cloud mix.
7. Cloud goes heterogeneous
Not only will mainframe become part of the cloud landscape, but public cloud providers will also start to offer UNIX and maybe even other non-x86 platforms. I have recently seen this in action (CA did it internally years ago), and most large enterprises are heavily dependent on heterogeneous systems for their mission-critical applications. Despite the common myth that cloud equals commodity servers, heterogeneous servers will start to become more available for large enterprise deployments.
8. Not your grandfather's mainframe
Big iron concepts of integrated computing, networking, and storage are resurgent, but this is not your grandfather's mainframe. Deployment of integrated fabrics like Cisco UCS and VCE Vblock will accelerate rapidly in 2012 as IT changes the way it thinks about integrated infrastructure for virtualisation and cloud, and realises how amazing these integrated boxes are for diverse, dynamic, high-volume workloads like desktop virtualisation, pop-up data centres, and cloud bursting.
9. Cloud service management comes to the fore
In 2011, the NIST Cloud Reference Architecture devoted a whole section to 'Cloud Service Management', and IT started to talk about "grown-up" disciplines - planning, budgeting, performance, asset, inventory, service levels, audit, etc. In 2012, even 'commodity' cloud vendors will finally take cloud management seriously, as enterprises and governments demand these disciplines - and smaller providers differentiate on service and security, not just price.
10. Virtualisation management becomes irrelevant
In January 2009 I predicted, "in three to five years ... niche [Virtual System Management] vendors will no longer survive, as virtualisation becomes a core part of the enterprise compute fabric." This trend has definitely started, and will accelerate in 2012 as IT recognises that silos of standalone virtualisation management are a costly and inefficient burden and turns instead to hybrid IT management. 2012 may not be the end of virtualisation management, but it is going to be the start of the demise.
|
|
|