Gartner reports on the hype around cloud computing in 2009

According to a report coming out of Gartner, cloud computing has reached the apex of the analyst firm’s Hype Cycle of Emerging Technologies for 2009.  The technology is said to be 2 to 5 years away from mainstream adoption, and it must still go through the eerie Trough of Disillusionment before it can reach the Slope of Enlightenment or the Plateau of Productivity.

[ What exactly is the cloud?  InfoWorld busts the nine myths of cloud computing | Stay on top of the cloud and virtualization with InfoWorld’s virtualization newsletter and virtualization channel. ]

In order to get to enlightenment, IT managers are going to need to cut through much of the hype that currently surrounds the cloud.  The report states, “The levels of hype around cloud computing in the IT industry are deafening, with every vendor expounding its cloud strategy and variations, such as private cloud computing and hybrid approaches, compounding the hype.”

David Mitchell Smith, Gartner vice president and fellow, notes in the report that “vendor organizations must clarify their cloud strategies in the next 12 months, while user organizations must demand road maps for the cloud from their vendors today.”

To get to where they need to be, enterprise IT organizations should already be studying the cloud.  Most have probably already started using and implementing a key component of the cloud: virtualization.  Thomas Bittman, VP distinguished analyst at Gartner, says virtualization unlocks the door to cloud computing and pushes organizations faster in that direction.

Bittman outlines five things on his blog that virtualization does to “unlock the door” to the cloud:

• It enables economies of scale – which he says is one way that cloud providers lower costs
• It decouples users from implementation – virtualization changes the relationship from a specific implementation to a service-level agreement.
• Speed, flexibility, and agility –  those of us already using virtualization don’t have to be told about how fast a virtual machine can be deployed.
• It breaks software pricing and licensing – how do you charge a department for a machine?  They can’t come “touch” their server anymore.  Bittman says, “You’ve got to charge and license based on some kind of usage model … you can charge whatever you want until users get smart, but change is inevitable.”
• It enables and motivates chargeback – Bittman points out that “IT needs to focus more on usage accounting, and chargeback is growing as a mechanism to manage virtual capacity usage.”

Bittman puts it quite simply, “Virtualization, private cloud, cloud – that’s the natural evolution.”

So while cloud computing may be hype, or it may be something you just aren’t ready for in your environment, the time to start thinking about it is now.  Start thinking about your cloud choices while you are planning your virtualization strategy buildout.  You may not be ready, but you can tell where things are going in the industry.  If you don’t think VMware is going to be pushing you toward a cloud strategy, just wait until VMworld 2009 at the end of the month.