Cloud Computing Whitepapers

Security in the Hybrid Cloud: Putting Rumors to Rest (Bluelock and VMware)

Whether moving development and testing workloads or production environments into the cloud or between the private and public cloud, many organizations are discovering that cloud services can deliver returns on IT investments that simply cannot be achieved in traditional IT infrastructure models. While these business benefits are compelling, security in the cloud is still a major concern for many IT organizations. In fact, a 2011 IDG Research study conducted globally among IT decision makers at enterprise companies found that security concerns and loss of control over data were the top barriers to cloud deployment. Access Whitepaper.

Cloud Strategy for the Enterprise (Bluelock and VMware)

Enterprises are increasingly transitioning from company-owned IT hardware, software, and services to more cost-effective, agile, and flexible IT service models using the latest advances in cloud computing technology. Though some have expressed concern over the inability of commodity public clouds to deliver the required performance, security, and application portability, they’re finding that hybrid and enterprise public cloud models can overcome these limitations. Access Whitepaper.

Achieving Enterprise Agility in the Cloud (F5, Bluelock and VMware)

Cloud computing continues to be one of today’s most intriguing IT technologies, yet enterprises are still weighing whether it can help them achieve their business goals. Working together, VMware, F5 Networks, and Bluelock offer integrated solutions that help enterprises develop agility so they can easily and efficiently use cloud resources on demand to meet their changing needs. Access Whitepaper.

Enterprise Cloud Computing

Enterprise cloud computing is a controlled environment that offers the rapid and flexible provisioning of compute power, storage, software, and security services to meet your organization’s demands. It combines the processes of a best-in-class organization with the agility of managed, global infrastructure to make your IT faster, better, more cost-effective and safer. Enterprise cloud computing allows your company to act quickly, deal with unknowns and provides the ability to change your mind later as you learn more about your IT needs.

FOR THE STRATEGIC BUSINESS BUYER, ENTERPRISE CLOUD SERVICES…

• Deliver greater business agility, allowing you to move quickly
• Increase user satisfaction through rapid response and delivery
• Allow you to better deal with unknown outcomes because you can add, remove and change resources as you learn more
• Maintain IT control
• Enhance innovation bandwidth
• Allow your current IT resources to focus on higher priorities

FOR THE STRATEGIC TECHNICAL BUYER, ENTERPRISE CLOUD SERVICES…

• Are architected for high availability because failure is expensive
• Deliver predictable and scalable performance
• Provide regulatory compliance and security at the environment and user level
• Allow access to managed services as needed
• Offer live phone and email support
• Deliver no downtime with planned maintenance windows

In contrast, commodity cloud computing may be fine for some companies, but many enterprise corporations are not going to be comfortable outsourcing their information and services to an internet-based commodity cloud. For those agencies and corporations, keeping such precious data under your control and having greater service and configuration capabilities is extremely important. Therefore, Enterprise cloud computing is the answer.

WHEN ENTERPRISE CLOUD COMPUTING MAKES SENSE FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION

Every IT leader needs the ability to quickly and rapidly provision new infrastructure to support business needs. But many times they’ll also need the ability to deal with unknowns – such as how successful an application will be, or not. Similarly, organizations will likely need to change their mind later about not only the size of an environment, but also, how it is configured.

Enterprise Cloud Computing makes sense when you:

• Need the freedom to change, add or remove resources later – without a risk of vendor lock-in
• Need rapid ability to provision IT services for a number of projects, but are not sure how much the applications and resources will grow, if at all
• Require more than a basic cloud environment with specific or limited configuration options because your applications and systems have complex needs that will change over time
• Will need to be able to add or remove resources to your cloud computing environment quickly on the fly, without making signification configuration changes or needing to rebuild the entire environment which could include downtime
• Need to be able to predict your costs
• Would like an engagement model that provides managed services as well as desk, phone and email support when needed (24/7)
• Have a constant flow of server requests, that sometimes exceed the time and resources available from your staff and need to increase your response time to better serve the organization
• Require a high level of IT control because you have multiple applications and they need to be managed within the same systems

ENTERPRISE CLOUD COMPUTING ENABLES TODAY’S IT LEADERS

IT leaders today are under enormous pressure. Today’s IT leader must be able to use technology to drive a company’s innovation, creating business-focused IT. Business-focused IT is the integration of IT and business for maximum corporate leverage and competitiveness. To achieve the innovation the company needs, today’s IT leaders must increase the flexibility and efficiency of infrastructure to support business changes and provide a foundation for new IT activities that can be spun up quickly.

Enterprise Cloud Computing is a key strategy that allows the CIO or IT leader to plot a path forward that maximizes operating cost efficiencies while minimizing cost complexities and also delivers a competitive advantage for the business. It provides IT infrastructure that is faster, better and safer.

Amazon Cloud Alternative: Enterprise Cloud vs. Commodity Cloud

When speaking about public cloud computing, many understand the benefits, but what some fail to realize is there are important differences between enterprise clouds such as Bluelock and commodity clouds such as Amazon EC2. They each have distinct value propositions and cloud computing use cases to solve different problems for different audiences. For example:

FOR MORE ENTERPRISES, THE PUBLIC CLOUD…

• Is NOT buying a lot of capacity for very short bursts
• Is NOT about paying less than doing it yourself
• Is NOT about outsourcing IT

RIGHT NOW, THE PUBLIC CLOUD IS VALUABLE TO THE ENTERPRISE WHEN…

• There is an incentive to act quickly
• There are a lot of unknowns
• You might change your mind later

COMMODITY CLOUD LIKE AMAZON AWS MAKE SENSES IF YOU…

• Are creating a greenfield application and will not need to move it from the public cloud later
• Need a cloud computing environment with specific configurations that will not change
• Will not need to transfer a significant amount of data within your environment
• Are planning to manage everything on your own, through a self-service interface without a need for managed services or phone, desk or email support from the provider
• Need a cloud computing environment designed for developer productivity, not for production environments with performance and security requirements

ENTERPRISE CLOUD COMPUTING MAKES SENSE IF YOU…

• Want on-demand compute for an existing application without the need to re-write the application before deployment
• Require more than a basic cloud environment with specific or limited configuration options because your applications and systems have complex needs that will change over time
• Will need to be able to add or remove resources to your cloud computing environment on the fly, without making signification configuration changes or needing to rebuild the entire environment which could include downtime
• Have an internal datacenter that you would like to connect to the public cloud, enabling you to move resources to and from your internal environment and the public cloud when your application or needs change
• Need to be able to predict your costs
• Would like an engagement model that provides managed services as well as desk, phone and email support when needed (24/7)
• Have specific security and compliance needs, which require attention and audits from your cloud computing provider. You also would prefer for the provider to take on the work and risk involved with securing your environment, including managing backups, firewalls and patching.
• Have a constant flow of server requests, that sometimes exceed the time and resources available from your staff and need to increase your response time to better serve the organization
• Require a high level of IT control because you have more than 4-5 core applications and they need to be managed within the same systems

FINDING AN ENTERPRISE ALTERNATIVE TO AMAZON

In a market currently dominated by commodity cloud computing offerings such as Amazon Web Services, VMware vCloud Datacenter is the go-to hybrid cloud computing solution for enabling enterprises with complex computing needs to extend their private cloud to the public cloud with flexibility, scalability, security, and operational efficiency. VMware vCloud® Datacenter is a VMware certification designed to raise the bar and define a whole new class of enterprise cloud computing providers. Through a common platform built around vSphere, with common management and security models, in an environment that provides on-demand application portability, enterprise clients are accessing compatible, high-performance and integrated hybrid clouds.

What is Cloud Computing?

Chances are if you were to ask ten people “what is cloud computing?” you would get ten different answers, which can be frustrating to those trying to learn more. Part of this confusion is because of the numerous ways that cloud services can be utilized. Therefore, it might be best to think of cloud computing in terms of its essential characteristics, service models and deployment models. [1]

CLOUD COMPUTING: ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTICS

• On-demand self-service A consumer can unilaterally provision computing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, as needed automatically without requiring human interaction with each service’s provider.
• Broad network access Capabilities are available over the network and accessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneous thin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs).
• Resource pooling. The provider’s computing resources are pooled to serve multiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according to consumer demand. There is a sense of location independence in that the customer generally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of the provided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher level of abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter). Examples of resources include storage, processing, memory, network bandwidth, and virtual machines.
• Rapid elasticity Capabilities can be rapidly and elastically provisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out and rapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilities available for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can be purchased in any quantity at any time.
• Measured Service Cloud systems automatically control and optimize resource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level of abstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage, processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can be monitored, controlled, and reported providing transparency for both the provider and consumer of the utilized service.

CLOUD COMPUTING: SERVICE MODELS

Each cloud computing service is scalable, on-demand, cost effective and secure – allowing the end user or client to focus on their business rather than maintaining their software, applications or hardware. Each service model also has its own list of focused cloud computing providers.

• Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) delivers computing infrastructure – typically through a virtualized environment – as a service. It is sometimes references as cloud infrastructure services. This includes basic computer networking, load balancing, content delivery networks, routing, commodity data storage, and virtualized operating system hosting, available in a single bundle and billed as per usage in a utility computing model. This eliminates the need for clients to purchase and procure servers, software, data center space and network equipment. Instead, the client purchases those resources on as an outsourced service.

Examples:

Enterprise IaaS: Bluelock, Terremark, Colt

Commodity IaaS: Amazon Web Services, GoGrid, Rackspace

• Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) is a combination of a development platform and a solution stack, delivered as a service on-demand via the web. It consumes cloud infrastructure on which software developers can build new applications or extend existing ones without the cost and complexity of buying and managing the underlying hardware and software and provisioning hosting capabilities.

Examples: Microsoft Azure, Cloud Foundry, Force.com (Salesforce)

• Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) This is the application layer of cloud computing, also known as ‘Cloud application services.’ SaaS delivers software that is deployed over the Internet, available to the end user as and when needed. This eliminates the need to install and run the application on the end user’s own computer which simplifies maintenance and support. Many SaaS applications are powered by IaaS. Payment can either be as per usage or on a subscription model.

Examples: Netsuite, Salesforce, Taleo

CLOUD COMPUTING: DEPLOYMENT MODELS

• Private cloud The cloud infrastructure is operated solely for an organization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party and may exist on premise or off premise.
• Community cloud The cloud infrastructure is shared by several organizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns (e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and compliance considerations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third party and may exist on premise or off premise.
• Public cloud The cloud infrastructure is made available to the general public or a large industry group and is owned by an organization selling cloud services.
• Hybrid cloud The cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or more clouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities but are bound together by standardized or proprietary technology that enables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting for load-balancing between clouds).

WHERE DOES BLUELOCK FIT INTO THE CLOUD ECOSYSTEM?

Among the growing list of cloud computing companies, Bluelock differentiates itself as an award-winning provider of enterprise cloud hosting solutions (Infrastructure-as-a-Service). Hosted in the public cloud, Bluelock Virtual Datacenters help companies get started quickly and deal with the unknown, while delivering the freedom to change their minds as IT needs evolve. By leveraging VMware technology, Bluelock is able to provide certified VMware vCloud Datacenter services to the enterprise that are fully compatible with their existing VMware investments, enabling a hybrid cloud computing strategy. This approach provides a common management and security model that enables complete workload portability between internal data centers and the Bluelock Virtual Datacenters.
 
[1] Mell, P, & Grance, T. U.S. Department of Commerce – National Institute of Standards and Technology, Computer Security Division. (2009). The nist definition of cloud computing (15). Washington, DC: Retrieved from http://csrc.nist.gov/groups/SNS/cloud-computing/

Cloud Computing Facts

Your knowledge base for learning more about Cloud Computing.

WHAT IS CLOUD COMPUTING?

Chances are if you were to ask ten people “what is cloud computing?” you would get ten different answers, which can be frustrating to those trying to learn more. Part of this confusion is because of the numerous ways that cloud services can be utilized. Therefore, it might be best to think of cloud computing in terms of its essential characteristics, service models and deployment models. Read cloud fact entry.

ENTERPRISE CLOUDE VS. COMMODITY CLOUD

When speaking about public cloud computing, many understand the benefits, but what some fail to realize is there are important differences between enterprise clouds such as Bluelock and commodity clouds such as Amazon EC2. They each have distinct value propositions and cloud computing use cases to solve different problems for different audiences. Read cloud facts entry.

WHAT IS A VIRTUAL APPLICATION?

vApp is short for Virtual Application. A vApp is a container, like a resource pool, and can contain one or more virtual machines. In addition, a vApp also shares some functionality with virtual machines. A vApp can power on and power off, and can also be cloned. vApps ensure seamless application movement and choice between clouds using the industry standard Open Virtualization Format (OVF). Read cloud facts entry.

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Bluelock Recognized by Everything Channel’s CRN Magazine as One of the Coolest Cloud Computing Vendors

One of the Coolest Cloud Computing Vendors by Everything Channel’s CRN, Bluelock among the most innovative cloud vendors

(Indianapolis, Ind. – April 12, 2011) – Bluelock, an experienced provider of Virtual Datacenters hosted in the public cloud, today announces it was named one of the Coolest Cloud Computing Vendors by Everything Channel’s CRN. The comprehensive list highlights the most innovative cloud vendors and solutions for the channel – including storage cloud offerings, security cloud offerings, cloud apps, cloud infrastructure and cloud platforms to assist solution providers in navigating the cloud phenomena successfully.

“This year’s Coolest Cloud Computing Vendors list is based on a cloud vendor’s approach to creating an innovative product, or an innovative approach to supporting solution providers in the IT channel,” said Kelley Damore, vice president and editorial director, CRN. “Specifically, these Cloud vendors help resellers transform themselves into true service providers and help organizations and enterprises take advantage of the ease, flexibility, scalability, elasticity and cost savings that leveraging cloud computing has to offer.”

“We are honored to be recognized by CRN as one of the world’s coolest and most innovative cloud vendors,” said Christopher Clapp, CEO, Bluelock. “We believe our selection not only validates the dynamic combination of the industry-leading VMware platform and Bluelock’s secure and reliable Virtual Datacenters, but also our vast experience in enabling internal IT to quickly respond to heightened requests and demands.”

As a VMware vCloud Datacenter Services certified provider, Bluelock’s public cloud is an enterprise-class service delivering consistent and auditable security and performance features including layer 2 isolation, role-based access control and LDAP integration in a SAS-70 Type II datacenter. Bluelock’s use of the same VMware technology used by enterprise IT provides a common management and security model that enables application portability across internal data centers and all VMware vCloud Datacenter Services.

The Coolest Cloud Computing Vendors list is available online at www.crn.com and in the March 28 issue of CRN. To learn more about Bluelock or its VMware vCloud Datacenter Service, please contact Bluelock at info@bluelock.com or visit www.bluelock.com.

About Bluelock

Bluelock is an award-winning provider of cloud hosting solutions for the enterprise. Hosted in the public cloud, Bluelock Virtual Datacenters help companies get started quickly and deal with the unknown, while delivering the freedom to change their minds as IT needs evolve. With SAS-70 Type II datacenters, Bluelock’s VMware vCloud Datacenter Service provides world-class SLAs, guaranteeing enterprise level uptime. The organization prides itself in its engagement model driven by greater control, price visibility and personal service relationships. Bluelock is a long-term VMware service provider with a shared vision for cloud computing and was one of the first certified VMware vCloud Datacenter service providers. For more information, visit www.bluelock.com.

About Everything Channel

Everything Channel is the premier provider of IT channel-focused events, media, research, consulting, and sales and marketing services. With over 30 years of experience and engagement, Everything Channel has the unmatched channel expertise to execute integrated solutions for technology executives managing partner recruitment, enablement and go-to-market strategy in order to accelerate technology sales. Everything Channel is a UBM company. To learn more about Everything Channel, visit us at
www.everythingchannel.com. Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/everythingchnl.

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