Selecting a Cloud Service: 5 Questions to Ask Prospective Providers As public cloud computing platforms become a mainstream element of the enterprise, MarkLogic CEO Gary Bloom predicts IT leaders in 2017 will start focusing more on crafting multi-cloud computing strategies designed to prevent their organizations from getting locked into proprietary cloud computing services. As a […]
Selecting a Cloud Service: 5 Questions to Ask Prospective Providers
As public cloud computing platforms become a mainstream element of the enterprise, MarkLogic CEO Gary Bloom predicts IT leaders in 2017 will start focusing more on crafting multi-cloud computing strategies designed to prevent their organizations from getting locked into proprietary cloud computing services.
As a provider of a database that competes with offerings from Oracle and Amazon Web Services (AWS), Bloom says public clouds became a standard element of enterprise IT because business leaders in the age of digital business have been demanding more agility from their IT organizations.
But in much the same way that business leaders became enamored of outsourcing only to discover how expensive relying on service providers can be, Bloom contends that same scenario is about to play out in the public cloud arena all over again. In fact, Bloom says that to enhance profitability, it’s already clear that public cloud service providers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) are trying to entice customers to invoke application programming interfaces (APIs) tied to proprietary services managed by AWS.
As IT leaders become more sophisticated about the true costs of invoking public cloud services, Bloom says there will be an inevitable backlash. More application workloads will not only shift back to running on-premises, Bloom says IT leaders will move to make sure that application workloads are truly portable across multiple clouds by relying more on emerging microservices technologies as part of IT strategies that will focus on ensuring cloud neutrality.
“Enterprise CIOs have not forgotten the days of outsourcing,” says Bloom. “A lot of the public cloud represents the 21st century version of lock in.”
It may take some time for the irrational exuberance surrounding public cloud computing to dissipate. That doesn’t mean public clouds are a passing fad. It just means public clouds need to be employed with care, as cloud service providers seek to increase customer dependency on their services in ways that ultimately limit the power of the IT organization in any future negotiation over costs.
Michael Vizard is a seasoned IT journalist, with nearly 30 years of experience writing and editing about enterprise IT issues. He is a contributor to publications including Programmableweb, IT Business Edge, CIOinsight and UBM Tech. He formerly was editorial director for Ziff-Davis Enterprise, where he launched the company’s custom content division, and has also served as editor in chief for CRN and InfoWorld. He also has held editorial positions at PC Week, Computerworld and Digital Review.
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