Cloud looms large over 'Open Cloud Manifesto'

BANGALORE, INDIA: The open cloud plan, an industry-wide 'open' cloud computing strategy initiated by IBM and others, is in the news ironically for all wrong reasons.

Though the Open Cloud Manifesto (www.opencloudmanifesto.org), which went public today, is intended to make cloud computing “open as all other IT technologies”, it is not well received by many of the industry players owing to various reasons. The 'big four' of cloud computing - Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Salesforce – are not signatories to this document.

To begin with, the manifesto was in news, when it got leaked last week, before its official launch. To fan the flames further, Steven Martin of Microsoft wrote a blog post claiming that the manifesto was to support the interests of certain large vendors and that Microsoft wasn't given the opportunity to participate in the document's wording, but instead was asked to sign it as-is.

Once Microsoft refused to be part of the mission, Amazon also withdrew from it and soon,Google too pulled out, though it had earlier agreed to sign up. Prior to that the Cloud Computing Interoperability Forum had also withdrawn its support to the manifesto. Salesforce is another major player that refused to be part of this open cloud manifesto.

Of course, there are many other companies that have signed the manifesto, which has gone public today. Some of those companies include Cisco, Sun, AT&T, Red Hat, SAP and AMD.

What the Manifesto says

The Open Cloud Manifesto calls for the entire computer industry to keep cloud services as open as possible and make it easy for them to interoperate and for customers to switch from one to the other with ease.

The Open Cloud Manifesto, which says it is “dedicated to the belief that the cloud should be open”, feels “the industry needs an objective, straightforward conversation about how this new computing paradigm will impact organizations, how it can be used with existing technologies, and the potential pitfalls of proprietary technologies that can lead to lock-in and limited choice.”

This document says it is intended to initiate a conversation that will bring together the emerging cloud computing community (both cloud users and cloud providers) around a core set of principles.

Cloud providers must work together to ensure that the challenges to cloud adoption are addressed through open collaboration and the appropriate use of standards, says the document. It further observes that cloud providers must not use their market position to lock customers into their particular platforms and limit their choice of providers.

Also cloud providers must use and adopt existing standards wherever appropriate. The IT industry has invested heavily in existing standards and standards organizations; there is no need to duplicate or reinvent them.

Though the manifesto is apparently dedicated to the belief that the cloud should be open, quiet a few cloud service providers are of the feeling that the manifesto is not that open. And only future can say how the industry is going to receive it – with an open arm or a closed fist.