Friday, September 28, 2012

European Union Unveils its Cloud Computing Strategy

During the last two years I have been reporting about the different consultation events undertaken during the development of the cloud computing strategy. Now, finally, the European Union has just announced a strategy to boost the use of cloud computing among its members in the private and public sectors and an implementation plan based on three cloud-specific actions:

  • Cutting through the Jungle of Standards 
  • Safe and Fair Contract Terms and Conditions 
  • Establishing a European Cloud Partnership to drive innovation and growth from the public sector
The document entitled Unleashing the Potential of Cloud Computing in Europe sets out these actions and serves as a call on all stakeholders to participate in their implementation.
This is very good news, but we have to remember that creating a good strategy is only the start. The real challenge is in execution.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

What Role Does Open-source Play in Cloud Computing Innovation?

What Role Does Open-source Play in Cloud Computing Innovation? is a guest post that I have written on GigaOM to show how open-source is playing an important role in driving and supporting the transition to cloud computing. According to our experience, the availability of open-source cloud management tools like OpenNebula is accelerating the pace of innovation on the datacenter side.

Since we started the OpenNebula project in 2005, we have helped many organizations develop value by building innovative cloud services and solutions to meet their user and customer needs in new ways or to meet new market needs. The guest post looks at cloud innovation from different perspectives, including some specific examples.