The New PaaS Looks a Lot Like CaaS, with Orchestration

Monday.com
C. Dunlap

• The benefits of PaaS are being realized through a consistent deployment format, easing DevOps processes

• New microservices architectures and containers will usher in advanced technologies including serverless architectures

PaaS is evolving to address growing DevOps concerns through open technologies; these, in turn, support new architectures, new forms of deployment through containers, and necessary features including orchestration, management, monitoring, and push services. PaaS services have evolved beyond providing basic app hosting to address modern DevOps’ needs, including the ability to leverage hybrid cloud and multi-cloud portability to ensure continuous integration and continuous deployment (CICD). Platform services provide containerization with particular importance now being placed on the ability to deploy and orchestrate containers, with policy, in order to modernize and port legacy and new apps onto any cloud infrastructure. Continue reading “The New PaaS Looks a Lot Like CaaS, with Orchestration”

PaaS Messaging Needs to Include Containers to Address Top-of-Mind IT Ops Issues

C. Dunlap

Summary Bullets:

  • Container vendors’ messaging drives home code portability advantages.
  • PaaS vendors need to address IT ops deployment concerns through CaaS.

Container-as-a-service (CaaS) is a type of cloud service that addresses operational issues around infrastructure portability and management, making the emerging deployment technology a critical part of PaaS providers’ messaging.

Since PaaS earned a prominent spot in the cloud stack among IaaS and SaaS during the last two years, leading offerings – including IBM Bluemix, Microsoft Azure, and Red Hat OpenShift – have evolved beyond basic app hosting. Platform services are beginning to emphasize a container model as a way to ensure continuous integration and address IT operational concerns. Those concerns include being able to deploy and orchestrate containers (with policy) in order to modernize and port legacy and new apps onto any cloud infrastructure. Continue reading “PaaS Messaging Needs to Include Containers to Address Top-of-Mind IT Ops Issues”

Is DevOps Ready for EMM and MBaaS Consolidation?

C. Dunlap

Summary Bullets:

• 2015 was the year of mobility consolidation including MADP, MBaaS, and PaaS

• Is 2016 the year of consolidation between EMM and MBaaS?

Continued consolidation among mobility technologies is inevitable. We’ve seen significant convergence over the past 18 months between developer-oriented technologies such as MADP and MBaaS; PaaS and MBaaS, and even PaaS and IaaS. So what’s next for 2016? Is DevOps finally ready for consolidation between mobile security and mobile app platforms? There are some rumblings among security and mobile app platform providers and their third-party partners around the growing importance of having a broader mobile portfolio to meet the needs of enterprises. In particular, some MADP vendors may be realizing enterprise mobility management (EMM) capabilities would provide an important area of differentiation in a highly competitive market.

Continue reading “Is DevOps Ready for EMM and MBaaS Consolidation?”

Progress Software Goes After Salesforce Lightning with UI Customization Vendor Acquisition

Charlotte Dunlap

Summary Bullets:

  • The client-side app development tools trend continues following Salesforce’s intimidating release of updated PaaS UI, Salesforce1 Lightning.
  • Progress Software continues a steady build-up of platform services and mobile app platforms, following three key acquisitions in a year.

The mobile app development trend continues around client-side tools that will serve LoB users within enterprises that are realizing the need for both external-facing and internal-facing mobile apps. Numerous front-end app platforms have been announced in recent months by practically everyone playing in the MEAP space, most prominently by Salesforce’s Lightning UI. Continue reading “Progress Software Goes After Salesforce Lightning with UI Customization Vendor Acquisition”

Cloud Formations over Europe: Supply-Side Trends Align with Enterprise Demand

John Marcus

Summary Bullets:

  • Almost every week, a new survey is released which reports on growing enterprise demand for cloud services in Europe, or in a particular country market.  Service providers in the region are in many ways reacting to this data with new investments in infrastructure, channels, and services.  Since October 2012, we have tracked service provider events in the space, resulting in supply-side data points that help complete the picture.
  • Out of 159 cloud service provider announcements in Europe over the last nine months, more than half (94) had a pan-European or global impact.  Among country-specific activity, the UK was home to the most activity, with Germany and the Netherlands next but well behind.  Overall, Northern Europe accounted for far more activity than Southern or Eastern Europe.
  • In terms of the types of events, new and enhanced infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) solutions have surpassed software-as-a-service (SaaS) launches, which had led the pack back in in Q4 2012.  Platform-as-a-service (PaaS) accounted for the fewest events over the last nine months, but two announcements in June suggest PaaS activity might start to increase. Continue reading “Cloud Formations over Europe: Supply-Side Trends Align with Enterprise Demand”

Government ‘Cloud Mandate’ Could Jumpstart Lagging Adoption in UK Public Sector and Beyond

John Marcus

Summary Bullets:

  • The UK government’s G-Cloud Programme has suffered from setbacks, leading to limited uptake so far.  However, two recent developments – the commencement of the new G-Cloud iii framework, doubling the number of approved CloudStore suppliers, and the confirmation by the government last month of its ‘cloud first’ procurement strategy – should jumpstart British public sector migration to the cloud.
  • Increased cloud adoption by government organizations, and indeed the high-level policy directive behind it, should have a knock-on effect within the enterprise market, first in semi-state and non-profit organizations and then increasingly in SME and corporate enterprises.

The G-Cloud Programme is a cross-government initiative led by two UK cabinet ministers (Justice and Home Office) as part of the official Government ICT Strategy, designed to leverage public cloud resources to reduce public sector spending and consolidate data centres.  The initial focus is on introducing cloud ICT services into government departments, local authorities and the wider public sector via a new procurement framework for IT services.  These services can then be reviewed and purchased through the G-Cloud’s CloudStore, which offers over 7,000 services from more than 700 suppliers in the areas of infrastructure (IaaS), software (SaaS), platform (PaaS), and specialist services. Continue reading “Government ‘Cloud Mandate’ Could Jumpstart Lagging Adoption in UK Public Sector and Beyond”

Cloud-based MEAP is a Viable Alternative to Homegrown/Pure Play Software

Charlotte Dunlap

Summary Bullets

  • Cloud-based services wiggle into the MEAP market segment
  • Salesforce.com will leverage and extend its successful cloud platform for mobile app development

The mobile app platform market just got a little more crowded and a little more interesting with a couple heavy hitters entering the space from a cloud services perspective. Salesforce.com and HP have just announced separate mobile cloud services, aimed at eliminating the cumbersome software development process involved with traditional software products. Continue reading “Cloud-based MEAP is a Viable Alternative to Homegrown/Pure Play Software”

Look for Operators to Lead Cloud Ecosystems

Jerry Caron

Summary Bullets:

  • Network operators are trusted sources in the consumer world; can this translate into the business world?
  • There is an opportunity for operators to be leaders in the cloud services ecosystem given their technological position.

A recent, exhaustive, global study by Ericsson’s ConsumerLab research group indicates that – perhaps somewhat surprisingly – network operators are tops when it comes to trust.  The context is information privacy and data security, and the issue is what online companies such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Google, and all the others should be allowed to do with the information shared by the consumer in their application environments. Continue reading “Look for Operators to Lead Cloud Ecosystems”

The Public Cloud May Be Smarter Than You Think

B. Shimmin

Summary Bullets:

  • Traditionally, public cloud collaboration services offer little customization options outside of white label branding.
  • Partner- and customer-led PaaS ecosystems are ushering in new opportunities to both integrate and extend collaboration services in the cloud.

Cloud-borne services have proven their value time and again in cutting infrastructure costs and soothing the upgrade, downtime and support aches and pains traditionally suffered by IT on a daily basis. Of course, as with most gift horses of this caliber, it’s best not to look them too closely in the mouth. Upon closer inspection, enterprise customers of full-on multitenant, software-as-a-service (SaaS) offerings have found a distinct lack of flexibility. They may be able to apply custom branding, conduct basic back end data queries, and in some cases modify the UI to display select components, but that’s typically where the sidewalk ends in terms of customization.

Continue reading “The Public Cloud May Be Smarter Than You Think”