Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2010/06/02/cloud_alternative/

The emerging cloud alternative

If you only read one piece on Cloud, read this one

By Jon Collins

Posted in Software, 2nd June 2010 08:02 GMT

Poll Results If there’s one thing about the current furore about Cloud Computing that really gets our goats, it’s to do with the amount of unnecessary confusion that’s being generated.

It's unnecessary because, behind it all, there’s actually a number of quite good things happening. Sure, it’s a tricky area as it cuts across so many things – hosted services, virtualisation, service orientation, you name it. But ultimately, while the emerging options might be complex, they attempt to answer a very simple question: where do you want to run your stuff?

In this paper (pdf) we review the kinds of workloads in use in mainstream organisations, and consider the different hosting models and arrangements in the light of what is achievable and acceptable today.

So, if you’re struggling to get your head round what all the fuss is about, as we have been, we hope you find this report (pdf) useful. The goalposts are moving all the time of course, so we welcome your feedback.

You can download it right here (pdf). Do let us know what you think.