Introduction
Cloud computing is becoming a popular way of getting work done. As more businesses start using cloud services, however, we’re realizing that there are some challenges with interoperability and portability in this new environment. The cloud is not one homogenous environment, but rather many different ones, each with their own approach to standards and protocols. Different clouds implement different standards and protocols, making it difficult to move data between them. An effort is under way to create a “Cloud Interoperability Forum” that will solve some of these issues by focusing on (1) cloud service providers, (2) cloud consumers and application developers, and (3) industry partners
Cloud computing is becoming a popular way of getting work done.
Cloud computing has been around for a long time, but it’s only recently that it’s gaining popularity. Cloud computing can be a great way to get work done–but it’s not the same as on-premise computing or SaaS (software as a service).
Cloud computing refers to using servers hosted by someone else over the Internet, rather than having your own servers in your office or home. You use cloud services like Google Docs instead of installing Microsoft Office on your computer; you store data on Dropbox instead of saving files locally; and so forth.
Cloud computing presents some challenges for interoperability and portability.
Cloud computing presents some challenges for interoperability and portability.
Clouds are not a single homogenous environment, so different clouds implement different standards and protocols. This makes it difficult to move data between clouds.
For example, healthcare organizations need to be able to move patient information between different health systems in order to provide seamless care across multiple facilities or providers; however, there is no standard way of doing this today because each cloud implements its own proprietary protocols for moving data around within its environment and into other environments (e.g., from one hospital’s EMR system through another hospital’s EMR system).
The cloud is not one homogenous environment, but rather many different ones, each with their own approach to standards and protocols.
The cloud is not one homogenous environment, but rather many different ones, each with their own approach to standards and protocols. As a result, it can be difficult for organizations to move from one cloud provider to another or even between services offered by the same provider if they are using different standards.
The problem is exacerbated by the fact that many cloud computing providers do not expose their APIs in standardized formats such as REST or SOAP/XML-based web services. Instead of exposing their interfaces in standard ways, most providers offer proprietary APIs that are written in languages such as Java and C++ (although some have adopted JSON).
Different clouds implement different standards and protocols, making it difficult to move data between them.
Different clouds implement different standards and protocols, making it difficult to move data between them. This is a problem because you might want to move your data from one cloud provider to another for whatever reason, but the standardization issue makes that difficult if not impossible.
In addition, some cloud providers are open source while others are proprietary (meaning they don’t share their source code). This can be significant because if you’re using an open-source solution like Amazon Web Services (AWS), then all of the code used to create that product has been published online–meaning that anyone who wants access will have no problem accessing it through GitHub or another similar website where developers share code with each other around the world. On the other hand if you use a proprietary solution like Microsoft Azure then there may be restrictions on what kind of information about its inner workings gets out into public forums such as social media networks where people talk about things like this all day long!
An effort is under way to create a “Cloud Interoperability Forum” that will solve some of these issues by focusing on (1) cloud service providers, (2) cloud consumers and application developers, and (3) industry partners.
An effort is under way to create a “Cloud Interoperability Forum” that will solve some of these issues by focusing on (1) cloud service providers, (2) cloud consumers and application developers, and (3) industry partners. This organization will provide an opportunity for all stakeholders in the cloud computing ecosystem to work together on common standards and best practices for interoperability and portability.
The Cloud Interoperability Forum’s work will be organized around three “workstreams”:
- Service Portability: Defining standards for migrating applications from one provider’s platform to another; this includes defining a standard way of specifying what services are available from your system so another system can make use of them without having access or knowledge about its internal structure or implementation details; also looking at how applications can be packaged up into containers so they can be easily moved across different environments without needing any changes made inside those containers themselves
Interoperability and portability are important considerations when choosing a cloud provider or working with data hosted in one
Interoperability is the ability of systems, networks, and services to work together. Portability is the ability of data to move between systems.
Cloud computing providers are increasingly supporting interoperability and portability standards such as Open Cloud Manifesto (OCM), Cloud Computing Interoperability Council (CCIC) and Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA).
Conclusion
The cloud is an exciting technology that promises to change the way we work. It has many benefits, but it also presents some challenges for interoperability and portability. An effort is under way to create a “Cloud Interoperability Forum” that will solve some of these issues by focusing on (1) cloud service providers, (2) cloud consumers and application developers, and (3) industry partners. This organization will work towards creating standards that make it possible for data hosted in one cloud provider’s environment to be accessed by others without losing its original format or integrity
