Cloud Computing Strategies for the CIO
Amazon Web Services has a weak spot -- the interface between its cloud and customers' own private clouds running in their own data centers.
The cloud giant made a move Thursday to remedy at least part
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of that problem, announcing a deal
with on-premises IaaS
provider Eucalyptus Systems to make it easier for customers to migrate workloads between their
own data centers and AWS.
Under the agreement, Amazon Web Services (AWS) will help Eucalyptus extend the compatibility of its software with AWS APIs, enabling customers to run existing data center-based applications compatibly with key Amazon cloud services such as Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) and Simple Storage Service (S3), according to the two companies.
The idea is to provide a common set of APIs that work with both companies' products. Among the benefits will be the ability to use the same management tools between the two platforms, and leverage AWS software developer kits (SDK), the companies claim.
By strategically and selectively removing the uncertainty regarding its APIs, Amazon gains literally overnight a credible private cloud offering ....Stephen O'Grady, senior analyst and co-founder of RedMonk
"The Eucalyptus deal is indeed a big deal," said Robert Mahowald, research vice president at analyst firm IDC Corp., a technology market analysis firm. "It is the kind of public-private cloud resource extension that will not only give customers the flexibility to deploy where they want and change their minds, but to use common APIs around image composition and management, so they can be plugged into either resource."
Others agree the partnership is significant.
"By strategically and selectively removing the uncertainty regarding its APIs, Amazon gains literally overnight a credible private cloud offering, minimizing that as an angle of attack for competitors who might otherwise attempt to sell against Amazon by emphasizing its public cloud-only technology story," Stephen O'Grady, senior analyst and co-founder of analyst firm RedMonk, said in a blog post Thursday.
"[Amazon doesn’t] have to deviate from its public cloud orientation by creating a more traditional software organization,” O’Grady added. “This deal instead effectively outsources that to Eucalyptus."
Stuart J. Johnston is Senior News Writer for SearchCloudComputing.com. Contact him at sjohnston@techtarget.com.
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