Open Source Meets the Cloud
May 29, 2011
Open source software has become a popular choice for many enterprises. Costs savings, flexibility as well as complete creative control are just a few of the coveted benefits. Cloud computing continues to expand and in many instances the two technologies have crossed paths. According to the InfoWorld.com article “Why the Cloud Can’t Be Separated From Open Source” the number of open source cloud projects has since a noticeable increase since 2005.
Now to fully understand the importance of the open source cloud partnership one must take a look at some of the projects that utilize both technologies and their overall importance to the software world. “The cloud takes the open source tradition of collaboration to the next level, as open source contributors meet the new technical and business challenges presented by the cloud.” Another interesting factor is that open source in some instances actually makes the cloud a more attractive option. “According to Michael Skok of North Bridge venture Partners, a firm specializing in open source funding, one of the chief customer objections to the cloud is the high potential for vendor lock-in.” Open source technology provides an obvious solution to the vendor lock-in dilemma.
OpenStack is one notable program that employs both open source and the cloud and it is utilized by more than 50 organizations including some big names such as Dell, Cisco Systems and NASA. Memcached, a distributed caching system, is used by several companies in the Internet world. Notable companies include Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. It’s hard to overlook such an impressive list of Internet industry leaders when discussing the significance of cloud and open source. There are other noticeable signs that cloud computing is expanding its boundaries.
According to the Silicon.com article “Cloud Computing Shines A Light On IT Money Pits” at the EMC world conference delegates were introduced to a “pay-per-use delivery model offered by a cloud computing provider that would allow companies to compare the fine detail of IT infrastructure costs and answer the question, Is the service worth paying for?” Businesses will be able to take an in depth look at their IT money flow and determine if they are spending wisely. More importantly companies can get service and product estimates form various companies and compare the results. The conference also provided insight about collaboration with Google that will allow the Google Search Appliance tool to find indexed data within the VNX storage database. With the innovation that continues within the cloud and open source communities, the search industry could find itself “stuck in the cloud.”
April Holmes, May 29, 2011
From ArnoldIT.com, your resource for enterprise search information.
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