Regional Cloud Computer Centers

I am spending a lot of time lately writing and thinking about the future of cloud computing. The need for raw cloud compute power is growing as a utility for every day business. A handful of providers are leading the charge in cloud compute Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): These two are the undisputed leaders in delivering this new cloud computing utility. The other day Rackspace open sourced their cloud compute management and provisioning software under the OpenStack:

OpenStack Compute is software for provisioning and managing large-scale deployments of compute instances. It is written in Python, using the Tornado and Twisted frameworks, and relies on the standard AMQP messaging protocol as well as the Redis distributed KVS. With this new open source cloud computing software, the opportunity for other players to step into the space grows. Not just a standard is being set, but a baseline for delivery cloud compute as a utility. I see immediate opportunities for:

  • Local and Regional Compute Centers
  • Industry Niche Compute Centers
  • Municipal and Government Compute Centers
Service providers are already lining up to ensure interoperability between their cloud computing software and the OpenStack. Now all we need are more data center nodes to plug into the cloud infrastructure and provide specialty and regional compute power.