We’re about to move from a distributed computing and storage world to a model where these resources are centralised, and service providers can charge customers for usage, writes Keith Willetts


It seems every few months there’s something new in communications that promises to shake things up and turn them on their heads. Cloud computing is the latest phenomenon to wear that mantle of “next big thing”, but unlike a lot of trendy concepts and products that wear out their welcome quickly, cloud is here to stay for a while.

After all, how can you argue with a concept that allows companies of any size to outsource their data for a whole lot less than upgrading servers, storage and other data centre components? You essentially get all the computing power you ever wanted for a fraction of the price without sacrificing reliability, uptime and accessibility.

Putting it simply, cloud computing makes much more efficient use of resources. In the early stages these resources are essentially processing power and storage, but increasingly the focus of cloud will converge on efficient use of software resources from a bewildering array of sources.

The concept of a user being able to gain access to and pay for these resources on a per-use basis makes great economic sense for small, medium and large enterprises. It also happens to be industry changing.

Unless someone spots a fatal flaw with the concept, over the next 10 years we will move from a predominantly distributed computing and storage world, to a centralised computing and storage world.

Boon to providers

Besides the obvious benefits to customers, cloud computing could be the big boon that providers are looking for to help them leave the reality of stagnant profits and the fear of turning into commoditised bit carriers.

If you’re a communications provider looking for new business models, cloud has got to be an attractive proposition.

Communications providers today are questioning how they shift their own business models to allow them to emerge as one of the winners in the new cloud world. They are looking at everything from opening up their own data centres to hosting other third parties, to opening up their own core applications and offering them in a “platform as a service” fashion.

For example, a service provider might expose their billing system as a third-party service in the cloud. Customers would be able to pay a fee on a per-transaction or other revenue sharing basis and plug into the billing system.

This goes back to the idea of a “two-sided” business model that TM Forum has been talking about for the past year, where traditional communications companies morph from only delivering services to end users downstream to also opening up their core capabilities and offering them to upstream customers. In this case, the services would be offered through the cloud.

Things are clouding up

As great as cloud sounds and as much promise as it holds for service providers and their customers, as you can well imagine the path to get to a cloud world isn’t exactly free of potholes.

One of the main questions I’ve had for a while now is what really happens to your data when you hand it over to a cloud provider. And, perhaps more importantly, can you easily get it back intact should you ever wish to change providers or bring your information back in-house?

Considering there are no industry-wide standards or regulations governing cloud computing, how can you even comparison shop among providers and ensure that the data you get back is still in a format you can work with or hand off to another cloud provider?

Another very real concern with cloud computing is security. This can range from how you are able to access your own data in the cloud to encryption of the data within the cloud to making sure no one can hack into your data and that the hosting provider can’t get their hands on it either.

One answer to the security question is the deployment of private clouds, which use all of the same virtualisation and high utilisation approaches as public cloud services but are closed and internal to a specific company.

It may well be that private cloud services are where large commercial enterprises first enter the market, using public cloud services for less security conscious applications and users. Private clouds may also be cost-prohibitive to many firms and be out of the equation entirely.

Cloud computing will change the entire security paradigm as more and more data floats around in the ether, and how we address security and other important issues will determine how much of a success it becomes.

Sitting on cloud nine

These are all areas that TM Forum has a lot of expertise in, so the organisation is actively working on facilitating some of the industry aspects of cloud-based services, and we’re working with all sides of industry to understand what’s needed.

The forum is launching a focus on cloud services and leveraging the expertise that communications companies have acquired in delivering high quality services at least cost to customers and looking at how some of these techniques can be applied to cloud services in general.

The organisation will particularly be looking at user needs and what barriers they perceive to the take-off of cloud services.

And at the Management World Americas conference in December cloud services will be featured in a number of areas. There will be a special track that will focus on cloud computing, as well as a seminar entitled cloud computing for the global enterprise that’s geared to C-level executives and business managers.

The seminar will provide an understanding of what cloud computing is, an overview of the cloud computing landscape, the pros and cons of cloud computing and the factors you need to consider in order to be ready to embrace cloud computing and what your next steps ought to be.

Visitors will also hear about some real-life examples of how cloud computing has been adopted in other organizations and the benefits of using it.

There’s no doubt cloud computing is the services model of the future, but it’s clear we’re still a ways off from cloud being used everywhere by everyone.

But as the industry sorts out critical areas such as standards and security, end users see the cost savings of cloud; and communications companies realise the huge opportunity for their business, cloud computing will take off and the sky will be the limit.

Keith Willetts is chairman and CEO of the TM Forum