In a survey conducted over the summer, F5 Networks found that enterprises are rapidly embracing the idea of both private and public clouds, with 99 percent saying they either had implemented compute clouds or were in discussions about it. About 80 percent said they had at least started trials of compute clouds. However, concerns over security, management and the definition of cloud computing could slow the rate of adoption, according to F5's survey.
Enterprises are beginning to embrace cloud computing, according to a recent
survey conducted by application delivery networking vendor F5 Networks.
In a survey of IT professionals at 250 companies conducted in June and July,
99 percent said they were either discussing or implementing public or private cloud
computing solutions, and more than 80 percent said they were at least in
the trial stages of deployments.
However, though there is growing interest in the computing model, there also
are questions around such key issues as management and security, as well as
confusion around the definition of cloud computing, according to Jason Needham,
senior director of product management for F5.
"It's no surprise that large enterprises are attracted to cloud computing
because of the promise of an agile, scalable IT infrastructure and reduced
costs," Needham said in a statement. "However ... widespread enterprise adoption
of cloud computing is contingent upon solving access, security and performance
concerns."
However, the momentum is clear, according to the survey results, which were
released Aug. 24. More than half said they had already deployed a public cloud
environment, and 45 percent said they were already using private clouds. In
addition, 66 percent said they have a budget for cloud computing, and another
71 percent expect cloud computing budgets to grow during the next two years.
However, finding a solid definition of cloud computing is difficult,
according to F5 officials. They gave the respondents six different definitions
of cloud computing, with those surveyed being unable to say that any definition
fit into the "just right" category.
Industry observers, including analysts at Gartner and Frank Gillett, an
analyst at Forrester Research, have said vendors and customers need to be clear
about what exactly they're talking about when discussing cloud computing
deployments.
A focus group conducted by F5 officials came up with the following as a
strong definition:
"Cloud computing is a style of computing in which dynamically scalable and
often virtualized resources are provided as a service. Users need not have
knowledge of, expertise in, or control over the technology infrastructure in
the 'cloud' that supports them. Furthermore, cloud computing employs a model
for enabling available, convenient and on-demand network access to a shared
pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage,
applications, services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with
minimal management effort or service provider interaction."
According to F5 officials, while SAAS (software as a service) is most
commonly equated with cloud computing, 75 percent of IT professionals surveyed
felt that PAAS (platform as a service), and
two-thirds said IAAS (infrastructure as a service) are always included in the
cloud. About three-fifths said SAAS was usually or always part of a cloud
deployment.
Access control, security, and server and storage virtualization were
considered key technologies for cloud computing.
Key drivers for both public and private clouds were IT efficiency, reducing
capital costs, easing staff issues and agility.
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