In Many Cloud Deployments, OpenStack will Play Nicely with Other Platforms

Here on OStatic, we've made the point many times that users no longer have to be pinned down using only one operating system or computing platform. That's true for cloud computing deployments too, where hybrid clouds and cloud deployments based on multiple platforms are on the rise. For OpenStack, one of the most talked about open cloud platforms, this trend bodes well. The platform is showing up in hybrid deployments and API strategies designed to integrate it with other tools.

For example, Oracle is reportedly working on OpenStack API integration, which would allow its cloud services to work in tandem Nimbula Director, Oracle Exalogic appliances, and more. As ZDNet reports:

"The move, outlined in a keynote by Thomas Kurian, executive vice president of Oracle's software development, and John Fowler, executive vice president of the company's systems unit, gives OpenStack another key endorsement."

As another example of how OpenStack can play nicely with alternative platforms, PayPal has been doing substantial work with OpenStack, but has maintained that it won't entirely replace VMware in data centers.

And, in a very notable case of a big OpenStack deployment that combines the cloud platform with other tools, Disney is combining OpenStack and Cloud Stack in its overall deployment.

 According to VentureBeat:

"For customers like Disney, there are too many services. Do they want a public cloud, a hybrid cloud, a multicloud, or private cloud? Well, sometimes companies don’t want to be forced to choose. They want to cherry-pick the best from more than one cloud.....The market for cloud infrastructure is a huge one: Hundreds of billions of dollars be spent by companies on this over the next few years. Amazon AWS, a public cloud provider is fighting against a pack of opponents, such as Rackspace, Google, CloudStack, Eucalyptus, Open Nebula, and scores more for that business — each offering their own flavor of the cloud."

Individuals and organizations are already running heterogenous computing environments where multiple platforms work alongside each other through virtualization. This allows access to a much wider universe of applications, and applications are, in the end, what make a difference for users.

It's becoming clear that in many cloud deployments, virtualization, API integration and strategic decision making will help OpenStack slide in alongside other platforms. There is no need for a single winner in the open cloud.