This is part 2 of a series of articles on: ‘Cisco, IBM, HP: still a cloud of uncertainty ?'

Contrasting headlines:

‘Cisco, IBM, HP in Trouble, Says Credit Suisse, As Cloud Moves Past Them' is the headline we reviewed in part one
'HP topples Cisco to become Cloud Infrastructure equipment market leader' is also a recent headline
But, why the contrast ? The reason depends on how you define Cloud
Here are some simple (non technical) definitions

What is Cloud ?

Cloud Computing (or Cloud for short) can be defined as Computing as a service that’s delivered over the internet.
Such computing resources can be delivered on demand, across the internet and often include Storage, Servers, Networking, Data Centers & Applications
Payment (for such Cloud Infrastructure) is usually on a metered or pay for use basis (a bit like a utility model)

There are typically 3 Cloud Services:

1) Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS):

You’re renting the Cloud infrastructure (Servers, Storage and Networking) from a Service Provider on demand, in a Pay As You Go (PAYG) model.
Basically you’re using somebody’s Data Center and its sometimes called Virtual Cloud, as you don’t own the equipment and software

2) Platform as a Service (PaaS):

Developers use Tools & Cloud services here to build Applications. These Application infrastructure services are called Middleware. Database services can also be in PaaS
Think of PaaS as the middle layer, SaaS the layer above it and IaaS the bottom (basic foundational) layer

3) Software as a Service (SaaS):

Is Application software provided in a one to many model on a Pay for Use or Subscription basis e.g. Google for Work, Microsoft Office 365, Cisco Webex, Salesforce's suite of offerings
Since you’re paying for using the software, rather than hiring the infrastructure it runs on, SaaS is not generally referred to as Cloud Computing infrastructure.
It’s a Hosted Software model

Cloud Computing can be typically be deployed in 3 ways :

1) Public Cloud:

Users don’t purchase the hardware, software or supporting infrastructure. It’s owned & managed by Providers, who’ll serve more than one customerusing that infrastructure
Its a style of computing where you can be given rapid access to scalable & elastic IT capabilities, but in an affordable way

2) Private Cloud:

Where infrastructure is owned & operated by one organisation, which ensures users are completely isolated from others when receiving that service.
You have more control over virtualised resources and services. You still benefit from the efficiencies of the cloud

3) Hybrid Cloud:

Combines Private cloud and Public cloud services.
In practice, most companies end up managing workloads across Data Centers, Private clouds and Public clouds

IaaS and AWS:

AWS (Amazon Web Services) is market leader in public IaaS.
It operates at a massive scale with a multitude of innovative web services that are being expanded at a phenomenal rate
IaaS from AWS fits the pure definition of ‘Cloud Computing as a Service’ i.e. Cloud Infrastructure that’s paid for as a utility model (where customers rent instead of having to buy the equipment & software)

IaaS vs Cloud Infrastructure Equipment Suppliers:

Cloud infrastructure equipment suppliers like Cisco and HP Enterprises dominate the $120bn Data Center infrastructure
Cisco & HP Enterprises primarily sell (rather than rent out) this Cloud infrastructure to enable Cloud Services deployment in line with customer preferences e.g. Hybrid Cloud
Its a different business model to that of AWS
Cisco doesn’t compete in Public cloud with the likes of AWS, Google and Microsoft Azure
HP announced the abandonment of its Public Cloud IaaS offering, moving to a partner led model for customers who need Public Cloud services

'Data Center Infrastructure':

Data Centers form the foundation of Cloud services and as such there’s been an explosion of growth in spending on Data Centre Networking, Storage & Compute
This 'Data Center infrastructure' includes Servers, Server Operating Systems, Storage, Networking, Network security and Virtualisation software
HP Enterprises and Cisco are dominant suppliers of Enterprise & Service Provider Data Centre Hardware respectively.
As demand for Public Cloud has taken off, Hyperscale Data Centers are being deployed and Service Providers are spending record amounts on Data Center equipment

Hazy Cloud Comparisons:

Clear cut comparisons on Cloud amongst suppliers can be difficult.
For competitive reasons, suppliers don’t report a detailed breakdown of Cloud in their financial results. Also what they classify as Cloud varies
Amazon Web Services (a hugely secretive organisation) though has actually increased transparency in its reporting recently
Microsoft, however, has reduced the number of segments it reports on, bundling Azure (its Cloud computing platform) into a new reporting segment.

What did I miss ? Would be interested in hearing your perspectives

(All views are my own)

In part 3, we’ll be looking at ‘Digital Disruption and Enterprise IT’ landscape