Taxi to the cloud

Earlier this week I sat and listened as a supplier talked to me about the five kinds of cloud.  Once again I see confusion as I believe that this is a digital question, it is either cloud or it is not.  Just because something is not a cloud solution does not mean that it’s the wrong thing to use but labelling it “Private cloud” to keep the CEO off your back or sell your product does not work for me.  As the father to two boys I often have to get them from A to B and as I approach a time in my life where I don’t have a car I started wondering, is owning a car the same as a “private taxi”?

A Taxi frees you from the costs of car ownership and driving but requires you to pay for the service that you actually consume.  Use of a Taxi frees you from concerns about parking, car theft and even more mundane things like purchasing fuel.  It is flexible, can do anything a car can do but can also scale to deal with unusual requirements, for example additional people.  There is also a possibility that in some circumstances it could become unavailable, if for example every Taxi in the area was currently in use.  To ensure best use of the Taxi you need to ensure that you change your working methods slightly for example by ensuring you book the Taxi ahead to ensure it is where you want it when you need it.

A car forces you to take on a number of ownership responsibilities such as ensuring the car is registered, has road tax and MOT and is regularly maintained.  Once you have chosen your car its capabilities are fixed, until you decide you must select another, you cannot scale it to deal with extra passengers for example.  A car can become unavailable through breakdowns, or even through theft none of which can be easily predicted.  It can also become unavailable through routine maintenance, for example when it is in for MOT.  Additionally a car can become unprepared for your requirements causing inconvenience, for example if you neglected to fill with fuel and have a long journey the next day.  Like a Taxi you need to understand how to use a car to its best for example by planning refuelling stops and by arranging a courtesy car during routine maintenance tasks.  On the other hand it’s use generally involves just taking the key from the hook, and it’s often handy additional storage too.

The truth is that although the two seem superficially to be the same because they are both based on a particular physical object, the two things are really very different.  Depending on your circumstances one or the other will prove most appropriate.  In this particular case a Taxi is often used in addition to a Car, for example to solve the additional passenger or car parking problem.

Just as a Car is not a “private taxi”, use of virtualisation products etc. in your data centre services does not represent a “private cloud”.  It is a very advanced corporate setup with many of the same characteristics as the cloud but has a wholly different set of advantages and disadvantages. Your CEO should be happy with that rather than forcing you to buy something with the word Cloud attached to it.