My views on “Classification of Cloud Computing Stakeholders”

Federal Cloud Computing Strategy Officially Launched

By G C Network | February 14, 2011

Federal CIO Vivek Kundra officially launched the Federal Cloud Computing Strategy today. While this is clearly not new news, the document does state the government’s position in a very succint manner.…

GEOINT’s Future is in the Cloud

By G C Network | January 31, 2011

Recently, Geospatial Intelligence Forum Magazine asked me for my thoughts on the role of cloud computing in the future of geospatial intelligence.My response was recently published in their December 2010…

eTechSuccess: Patterns of Success – Kevin Jackson

By G C Network | January 27, 2011

 My sincere appreciation to John Baker for the eTechSuccess: Patterns of Success interview. John and I worked together IBM as part of the Wireless Emerging Business Organization. His team and…

USBE&IT Winter Issue Focuses on Cyber Security

By G C Network | January 19, 2011

Thank You USBE&IT Publisher Mr Tyrone Taborn for such an inspiring issue and my sincere appreciation to Mr. Frank McCoy for my inclusion in his list of Cyber visionaries! The Homeland…

Global GovCloud with Cisco and VCE

By G C Network | January 18, 2011

Last week I had the awesome experience of participating in a global telepresence conference on government cloud computing. Joining me as presenters were Blake Salle, Senior Vice President of VCE,…

NIST Cloud Computing Collaboration Twiki Launches

By G C Network | December 30, 2010

Today I received my credentials for the NIST Cloud Computing Collaboration Site. “The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been designated by Federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra…

GovCloud Predicitons for 2011

By G C Network | December 30, 2010

Happy New Year All!! 2011 will be the breakout year for GovCloud! Pressure to reduce budget, pressure to manage I resources better and the political pressure of the next presidential…

Vivek Kundra Unveils 25-Point IT Management Reform Program

By G C Network | December 10, 2010

Yesterday the US Federal CIO, Vivek Kundra, unveiled an ambitious 25-point implementation plan for delivering more value to the American taxpayer. This plan focuses on execution and is designedto establish…

GSA and Unisys/Google Marks GovCloud Watershed

By G C Network | December 4, 2010

As widely reported this week, the United States General Services Administration (GSA) has awarded a contract to Unisys to create a secure cloud-based email and collaboration platform. The solution will…

NIST Moves Forward on Cloud Computing

By G C Network | November 8, 2010

Last week the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) held their second Cloud Computing Forum and Workshop. Skillfully shepherded by Ms. Dawn Leaf, the agency’s senior executive of cloud computing,…

In “Cloudy Times”, Markus Klems is having a good discussion on how cloud computing stakeholders classify the various infrastructure options. I then thought that it would be good for me to repeat my input here as well.

When asked this question, I first describe three layers:

  • Layer 1 – Hardware virtualization – This is the “bare metal” layer of storage and CPU virtualization
  • Layer 2 – Application virtualization – This is when you use web services or APIs to provide a specific function or capability.
  • Layer 3 – Process virtualization – This is when you string web services and APIs together to deliver value (function or capability) to an end user

Different infrastructure terms can then be used to describe how these layers are put together:

  • Layer 1 is grid computing, utility computing or IaaS. The specific descriptive term is a function of the business model used to deliver the capability
  • Layer 1 delivered with layer 2 is PaaS. A developer uses the platform services or APIs to create value for an end user
  • Layer 1 delivered with a software application is SaaS
  • When Layer 2 and Layer 3 are designed with web services and layered on top of a hardware infrastructure (virtualized or not), you have a Service Oriented Architecture
  • Layer 1, 2 and 3 delivered with services and/or APIs already organized in workflows and delivering value to an end user is Cloud Computing.

As always comments or suggestions for improvement are welcomed. The approach is admittedly simplistic, but it does help me sleep at night 🙂

(Update: Michael Sheehan expresses a similar view in Cloud Computing: Introducing the Cloud Pyramid )

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G C Network