Theres been a lot of talk about what SOA could do for cloud computing, but ZapThinks Ronald Schmelzer recently flipped the equation, pondering what cloud computing can do for SOA.
Schmelzers conclusion: Cloud computing could finally help everyone understand that SOA is not just standards-based integration by taking ESBs out of the equation and pushing companies toward virtualization of services, which in turn will require thinking more abstractly about services:
This brings us to probably the biggest benefit of this whole cloud computing hoopla – a change in the way we think about Services. ... for those that have equated SOA with Web Services and ESB, they might see this looming cloud computing movement as the next iteration of their SOA efforts. For these readers, we would say, finally!
Of course, these things are never simple. Schmelzers piece points out all the pros to cloud computing and SOA, but its actually part two of a conversation began by Schmelzers colleague, Jason Bloomberg. In part I, Bloomberg lists all the problems with cloud computing, paying particular attention to how SOA fits into the equation. Bloomberg writes that, while theoretically virtualization and SOA fit together nicely, in practice, theyre separated by political structure:
“In practice, however, the people involved in the virtualization efforts and the SOA team are usually different people addressing different issues. We meet with architects involved with their organizations SOA efforts all the time, but very rarely are these the same architects who are working on their virtualization efforts. Thats not to say such virtualization efforts arent taking place the problem is, theyre manned by a different team, generally with different priorities.
The two articles were written as a sort of point/counterpoint and work well together, with Schmelzers piece giving the more positive implications for cloud computing and SOA, while Bloomberg tries to deflate some of the hype around cloud computing.
I was particularly interested in reading what Bloomberg says about the promise of "internal cloud" as a way of doing SOA. Bloomberg points out that vendors like this idea because its got cash cow written all over it, but in practice, its probably a really bad option since “existing enterprise environments are far too complex and heterogeneous to support such clouds.”
I wonder how that same heterogeneous complexity will impact a companys ability to offer its own services in the cloud. In a previous post, I theorized that perhaps service-enabling your processes and moving to the cloud could be a possible revenue stream – or, at least, a way to recoup some of your SOA deployment costs.
Bloomberg didnt address the issue, but ZDNets Joe McKendrick did recently. He thought the idea had merit, but, alas, it turns out most companies just arent that interested. Brenda Michelson, a principal with the consulting practice Elemental Links, has discussed the idea during an SOA Executive Summit roundtable and found most organizations see providing IT services as straying too far from their core business. That said, Michelson also noted that if the opportunity presented itself, then companies would pursue the idea – assuming it didnt create undo troubles for them.
Ultimately, that may be the key to cloud computings success or failure: How much trouble will it either resolve or create? Until recently, the focus has been on clouds value proposition. But theres still the flip side: Is it secure? Is it reliable?
Bloomberg calls this the trust issue, and its a core issue cloud vendors just arent addressing, according to this Australian Computerworld article. Computerworld covered a cloud computing summit in Sydney, where IDC Associate Director of Consulting Linus Lai discussed the new security problems associated with cloud computing:
I challenge you today: if you ask any of the cloud service providers what their absolute limit of capacity is – and when are their services going to break – they are not going to tell you. ... [Providers] will say their services is infinitely scalable. The allure of cloud computing is based on that illusion of the ability to infinitely scale. This is very different from the model of today which is based on capacity.
Lai also mentioned interoperability, the potential for lock-in and integration problems -- a point made here before -- as issues you should consider.
Cloud computing has a lot of promise, but my guess is you cant afford to focus on the pros without looking at the cons. Is it reliable? Is it secure? A "no" on either of these questions could cause lots of trouble for organizations, and thats a big basket of worry companies dont need right now.
Still, even if you reject cloud computing, dont ignore what it can teach you. As Schmelzer writes:
"There are some aspects of cloud computing that positively inform SOA and vice-versa, and allow us to shift the conversation of SOA beyond what many still consider to be standards-based integration."
Even I would be ready for that eventuality.