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You’ve probably noticed that more and more frequently cloud computing and SOA are being mentioned in the same sentence.
In fact, much of the recent 2009 SOA Conference and Expo in New York was devoted to cloud computing. The keynote delivered by Dr. Kareem Yusuf, a key architect of IBM’s SOA, cloud and virtualization strategies, focused on the convergence of the cloud and SOA paradigms. These Dr. Yusaf assured his audience, will “proffer bottom-line value to any organization.”
The conference organizers also scheduled an in-the-trenches cloud and SOA boot camp which provided attendees with a cloud overview, familiarized them with the key cloud players and looked at some real world case studies of problems that have been resolved with cloud. “The boot camp is all about what you can do TODAY, and not about what maybe you can do tomorrow, “ the promotional material read. “NO HYPE, just stuff that works.”
(Note: The no hype boot camp will be repeated at futire SOA gatherings.)
There’s more, but you get the idea. Today a number of vendors are packaging their SOA and cloud strategies together for several reasons which largely have to do, of course, with attracting your business
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SOA has been around for a while. As technologies go, it’s a little long in the tooth. Some pundits have even pronounced it dead, or at least on life support. In coupling it with Cloud, vendors are hoping to give SOA and additional shot in the arm while legitimizing Cloud Computing, the new kid on the block
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From a marketing view, this makes sense. In effect, SOA is arguably the daddy of Cloud, or at least they share some of the same DNA. Dr. Yusah stated the SOA “serves as the foundation for the move into the cloud” and argued that together they can produce real change.
That’s IBM’s take on the matter, pretty much. Meanwhile, Red Hat tells us that virtualization is the key foundation for Cloud Computing and maintains they go hand in hand. Other vendors such as HP seem to view Cloud Computing as another way of delivering services – a kind of SOA light.
Dr. Yusaf doesn’t necessarily disagree with that assessment. “It’s (Cloud Computing) first and foremost about service,” he noted. “You then apply SOA to this as SOA is a way of thinking how to build this service. SOA, in effect, really shapes how you deliver and leverage cloud-based services.”
Does that mean you have to have an SOA governance process in place to adapt Cloud Computing?. And is Cloud then subject to the same governance problems that have shown up all to frequently with SOA? Most important, are CIOs doomed to repeat the same mistakes with Cloud that some made with SOA – i.e, trying to sell it internally as a super new technology rather than as a business changer.
If vendors can't pinpoint the business benefits of Cloud Computing and allay security fears associated with this exciting yet disruptive technology, it’s not going to have a lasting impact no matter how its packaged and promoted.
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