CIO OPINION
Cloud providers each have a different interface and method of communicating with the product .
Lex Boost , CEO , Leaseweb USA
Is it time to call cloud a utility ?
Lex Boost , CEO , Leaseweb USA , examines the question of whether cloud computing has finally emerged as a true utility for business .
Cloud computing has revolutionized the way we live and do business , quite similarly to how electricity fueled the second industrial revolution in the late 19th century . In fact , it was 60 years ago when the late American computer scientist John McCarthy first suggested the idea that computer time-sharing technology could be sold as a public utility , much like electricity .
Yet , organizations are increasingly adopting multicloud strategies and solutions that will allow them to cherry-pick and move between platforms based on specific workloads or end-user preferences . A multi-cloud approach brings with it many challenges , but companies can take steps in optimizing their infrastructure for cost , performance and risk , including vendor lock-in .
The cloud , as we know it today , bears many of the characteristics of a utility , such as elasticity , ondemand availability and a consumption-based pricing model . But it falls short in achieving utility-like status due to the lack of standardization that would enable organizations to easily switch cloud providers – akin to how people change electricity suppliers or cell phone carriers – in search for better service or lower costs .
The migration challenge
While the major cloud providers essentially offer a comparable product , their differentiation in the details makes migrations – whether from on-premise to cloud and vice-versa , or from cloud to cloud – an inherently complex proposition for business and IT leaders . For example , cloud providers each have a
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