云服務(wù)從一開始就對(duì)CIO發(fā)出了許多危險(xiǎn)信號(hào),但近來有兩條新聞卻在這個(gè)領(lǐng)域展示了一個(gè)誘餌轉(zhuǎn)向法。如果企業(yè)正在重新考慮移動(dòng)服務(wù)到云上,那么我們可以把責(zé)任歸咎到Google(NASDAQ: GOOG)、EMC、VMware和Salesforce.com身上,Savio Rodrigues這樣寫到。
Rodrigues說Google宣布其App Engine云平臺(tái)價(jià)格上調(diào),所以需要負(fù)部分責(zé)任。該公司在過去把產(chǎn)品保持在beta版本即使該產(chǎn)品被廣泛使用,對(duì)于消費(fèi)者來說,這是好的,而且有幾分樂趣,但是企業(yè)并不吃這一套。對(duì)企業(yè)來說,在產(chǎn)品測(cè)試階段往往缺乏服務(wù)水平協(xié)議的支持,而且一旦產(chǎn)品獲得“一般可用”的標(biāo)簽其定價(jià)就會(huì)變成未知數(shù)。
在單一定價(jià)模型下的beta版程序變成GA模型之后,其定價(jià)模型就會(huì)變得更昂貴、更復(fù)雜,這會(huì)引發(fā)企業(yè)不必要的并發(fā)癥。已經(jīng)宣布的App Engine價(jià)格上調(diào)—一些研發(fā)人員抱怨上調(diào)了50%--會(huì)立即開始趕走企業(yè)用戶,Rodrigues報(bào)告。
“正在使用GA之前的云服務(wù)的企業(yè)研發(fā)人員和CIO無疑遭受了Google新定價(jià)的打擊。”他寫到,“對(duì)于企業(yè)來說,急劇增加的費(fèi)用和App Engine新定價(jià)模型的復(fù)雜性將成為那些正打算采用定價(jià)指標(biāo)還未確定的云產(chǎn)品的企業(yè)的前車之鑒。”
VMware和Salesforce.com也是進(jìn)一步動(dòng)搖云計(jì)算信心的罪魁禍?zhǔn)?,Rodrigues寫到。大約在一年前,供應(yīng)商聯(lián)手讓VMware開發(fā)人員為Force.com云平臺(tái)構(gòu)建和部署應(yīng)用程序。但是在上周的VMworld大會(huì)上,他們爆料廠商的戰(zhàn)略聯(lián)盟已經(jīng)結(jié)束了。為了取代VMware在VMforce的功能,Salesforce.com購買了Heroku。
云平臺(tái)提供商試圖控制整個(gè)技術(shù)堆棧,Rodrigues抱怨說,讓那些想要合作聯(lián)盟為基礎(chǔ)的平臺(tái)的CIO處在一個(gè)不確定的位置。
“當(dāng)這些合作關(guān)系瓦解的時(shí)候,就像VMforce的情況,依賴于那些合作關(guān)系的應(yīng)用程序的開發(fā)和IT投資都需要遷移、重寫甚至丟棄,導(dǎo)致時(shí)間、精力和金錢的浪費(fèi)。為什么要開始這趟旅程呢?”他問到。
Cloud-based services have raised a number of red flags for CIOs from the outset, but two recent news items demonstrate a bait and switch in the sector. If enterprises are thinking twice about moving services to the cloud, the blame can be shared by Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), EMC, VMware and Salesforce.com, writes Savio Rodrigues at InfoWorld.
Google is partly to blame because of the pricing hike it announced for its App Engine cloud platform, Rodrigues writes. The company has a history of leaving products in beta even as they become widely used, and this is fine--and kind of fun--for consumers, but it doesn't work for enterprises. Not only is there a lack of service level agreement support for enterprises in the preview phase, but the pricing for the offerings once they are given "general availability" status is uncertain.
Getting used to an offering in beta under one pricing model only to be hit with a more costly and complicated one after it reaches GA mode creates unnecessary complications for enterprises. The announced cost hike for Apps Engine--which some developers complained was a 50 percent increase--immediately started driving enterprise users away, Rodrigues reports.
"Enterprise developer and CIO confidence in using pre-GA cloud services definitely takes a hit with Google's new pricing. Amazon Web Services appears to be the beneficiary," he writes. "For enterprises, the dramatically increased fees and complexity of App Engine's new pricing model will become the cautionary tale to those pushing an enterprise to adopt a cloud offering before the costs and pricing metrics are established."
The other culprits in further shaking confidence in the cloud are VMware and Salesforce.com, Rodrigues writes. The vendors had teamed up about a year ago to allow VMware developers to build and deploy applications for the Force.com cloud platform. But at the VMWorld conference last week, they broke the news that the vendors' strategic alliance is basically over. To replace the VMware functionality in VMforce, Salesforce.com bought Heroku.
Cloud platform providers try to control the whole technology stack, Rodrigues complains, and that leaves CIOs who want platforms based on partnerships and alliance in a precarious place.
"When these partnerships break down, as in the case of VMforce, developer and IT investments in applications that relied on these partnerships will need to be migrated, rewritten, or thrown away, resulting in wasted time, effort, and money. Why start that journey?" he asks.