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YoutubeVMware's Dan Chu on Windows Azure and vCloud
It's an interesting conversation people are having in cloud-land at the moment. Microsoft Azure competes more directly with Google AppEngine, and somehow Amazon always comes into the discussion, but VMware, since we aren't a service provider, isn't on many people's radar in this conversation yet. (Peter Laird and Tim O'Reily give pretty lucid cloud taxonomies.) Here VMware's Dan Chu compares Microsoft's approach to VMware's - very worth a read. VMware: Windows Azure More Smoke than Cloud
"With vCloud, we don't become a service provider," says Chu. "Microsoft is stepping over the line, and now intends to compete directly against some of their [hosting and service provider] partners." By comparison, Chu argues that vCloud is a platform that is supported by a broad range of third-party service providers, including British Telecom, Saavis, Rackspace, Terremark, and others.
The second failing of Windows Azure Chu sees is the lack of support for applications and platforms that aren't based on the .NET framework. "[With vCloud] we're looking to support a broad range of existing applications...without forcing customers to rewrite applications, or to only have certain kinds of apps, "says Chu. "VMware's products are already providing a platform that people are using to deploy internal clouds, and that our partners are already using to create external clouds."
these are good points, especially regarding stepping into the service arena. It's hard to do either well much less do both well. But even if software vendors try to provide hosting services, customers are also getting smart anough to know that does not make lot's of sense in terms of seeking best service partner. Same reason they usually don't buy products from the service providers. Of course maybe microsoft knows something the rest of us dont.
Posted by: Wes Smith | November 05, 2008 at 11:46 AM
Azure is scarry , Azure is not really a product . The real product is Windows Services Azure is just part of it. This is massive I save the PDC casts from MS and it is scary .
It will be MS new monopoly and make there desktop offering look week.
I think there is a certain amount of FUD as i doubt they can deliver what they are promising.
From what i have seen they will leave Amazon and Googles offering for dead and remember its not just .NET , Java , Ruby , Python etc are all supported in the Core services.
Lastly its built to give corporates the warm and fuzzy.
I hope others have a few years and its the normal FUD.
Posted by: ben | February 05, 2009 at 02:58 AM