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New 451 Group Special Report-Open Source Seeds the Clouds

, August 30, 2010 @ 4:52 pm ET

There are a number of cloud computing events and announcements taking place — VMworld, a countering announcement from Citrix, and recent partnership among rPath, newScale and Eucalyptus Systems for private and hybrid clouds — that we believe are indicative of the significant role and impact open source software is having in cloud computing — a topic we cover in depth in a new 451 Group special report, Seeding the Clouds, which is a collaboration of our CAOS and CloudScape practices.

By considering the open source pieces and players that constitute much of the infrastructure and underpinnings of cloud services from major providers Amazon, Google, Rackspace, VMware and Terremark, we analyzed they key pieces prevalent across them all and also picked out patterns that we are seeing repeated in the broader cloud computing market. We also consider how these larger vendors are playing a role in the rise of open source pieces and commercial supporters, which are finding opportunity among several categories of customers, including enterprise and service provider cloud users.

For example, the recently announced OpenStack from Rackspace, NASA and host of other partners (covered on the CAOS Theory blog and in a 451 Group report, is something we anticipate we’ll see more of in the form of greater participation, opening of code and open source-centered initiatives. We also expect both response to these efforts and other initiatives that offer more open alternatives to existing, unofficial standards such as VMware and Amazon. One such example announced after the writing of the report is the initiative for self service private and hybrid clouds among rPath, newScale and Eucalyptus Systems with the systems integration heft of Momentum SI.

As stated, the response and competition is not limited to the open offerings, as we see a variety of large cloud and IT services providers understanding and appreciating the value of communities: Amazon, Oracle, VMware and even Microsoft, which as we discuss in the report is among other cloud providers in its use of and participation with the PHP community. Citrix is another example, and it’s evident the company believes openness in the cloud is a good thing based on its Citrix OpenCloud announcement and focus on ‘Open Cloud,’ (which also coincides with its acquisition of virtualization management vendor VMLogix).

We also expect VMware and others to continue to increase their involvement and strategy with open source software for cloud computing, and would highlight the prevalance of open source software now within VMware (SpringSource, Hyperic, Zimbra, for example) and its prominence at VMWorld this week.

While there will certainly be challenges, including the maturity, evolution and learning from open source we are seeing and expect more of from larger, non-open source competitors, we expect more open source code and commercial supporters in enterprise and service provider cloud markets for some time. For customers, the competition, not only between open source and proprietary vendors, but also within open source and in partnerships and collaborations, and presence of open source in the cloud mean additional options and value — another reason we expect open source to maintain its prominent place in the clouds.

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Comments (16) Categories: Software

16 Responses to “New 451 Group Special Report-Open Source Seeds the Clouds”

  1. [...] route to cloud computing offerings, both public and private (as covered in our special report, Seeding the Clouds). However, we must also acknowledge that the continued, wider availability of Microsoft’s [...]

  2. [...] computing opening up? Jay Lyman, January 19, 2011 @ 2:48 pm ET We’ve already identified the significance of open source software to cloud computing, based on the cloud stacks from large IaaS, PaaS and [...]

  3. [...] of modern IT openness Jay Lyman, February 16, 2011 @ 6:21 pm ET Given our coverage regarding the impact of open source software on on cloud computing, development and IT admin trends such as devops and the drivers of open [...]

  4. [...] open source software’s association with cost savings and its significance and prominence in cloud computing. There are other factors as well: open source software’s growing number of commercial backers [...]

  5. [...] resonating among both customers and providers, and I believe it is among the primary drivers of open source in cloud computing. Open source is not only associated with cost savings, it is associated with greater ease and [...]

  6. [...] We’ll get a better sense of the answers to these questions with response to the Future of Cloud Computing Survey. From what we’ve seen thus far, I believe it’s hard to argue that cloud computing is headed for any kind of crash. It is also interesting to watch open source software and cloud computing both benefit one another, given their close relationship. [...]

  7. [...] We’ll get a better sense of the answers to these questions with response to the Future of Cloud Computing Survey. From what we’ve seen thus far, I believe it’s hard to argue that cloud computing is headed for any kind of crash. It is also interesting to watch open source software and cloud computing both benefit one another, given their close relationship. [...]

  8. [...] em nuvem é dirigido para qualquer tipo de acidente. Também é interessante observar a estreita relação entre o software de código aberto e a cloud computing que querem beneficiar um ao [...]

  9. [...] The future of cloud computing is the future for open source Jay Lyman, April 12, 2011 @ 7:59 pm ET I recently wrote a column about the lack of a cloud computing bubble, even though the hype and marketing levels around the cloud have risen along with innovative technologies and vendors. As we consider what’s next for cloud computing with a survey presented by 451 Group, North Bridge Venture Partners and GigaOm, we will also be able to get a good sense of what’s next for open source software, given the prominence and significance of open source in the clouds. [...]

  10. [...] the promotion and use of SLES and/or OpenSUSE in cloud computing, where open source continues to be significant? Will the contribution to the Linux kernel from SUSE and OpenSUSE continue? Will there be another [...]

  11. [...] to server and datacenter virtualization and cloud computing. Given open source software’s significance to cloud computing, open source hypervisor players KVM and Xen are particularly [...]

  12. [...] to server and datacenter virtualization and cloud computing. Given open source software’s significance to cloud………TO KEEP READING PLEASE FOLLOW THIS LINK TO THE ARTICLE SOURCE: [...]

  13. [...] to server and datacenter virtualization and cloud computing. Given open source software’s significance to cloud computing, open source hypervisor players KVM and Xen are particularly [...]

  14. [...] We will be doing more research into open source software and what’s driving it, particularly in cloud computing, later this [...]

  15. [...] and a desire from users to avoid getting stuck with a cloud vendor, framework or technology. The preponderence of open source software pieces and vendors in cloud computing also reinforces the significance of [...]

  16. [...] our coverage of the significance of open source in cloud computing and the importance of openness to customers moving into cloud [...]

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