The Service Oriented Cloud

Cloud Computing is intrinsically service-based. But this is not just in the highly generalized sense of the term ‘service’, but also in the more specific Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) use of the term, where capabilities are provided via published service interfaces. When Amazon CTO Werner Vogels describes the Cloud as "a collection of services", in AWS terms the capabilities provided are SOA-style software services, complete with published Web Service interfaces.

As well as the PaaS and IaaS capabilities provided by AWS or Microsoft's Azure for example, there are also SaaS capabilities provided by the likes of salesforce.com that can be consumed as software services.

Hence the concept of the Service Oriented Cloud (SOC)  illustrated below.

Cloud Computing Reference Architectures, Models and Frameworks

There are a plethora of different reference architectures, models and frameworks for Cloud Computing (CC). As well as several vendors such as IBM or CISCO, it seems every standards or industry body has to have their own reference "thing" too. Hence there are architectures from DMTF, CSA, SNIA and the Open Group (which has been submitted by IBM) as well as several seemingly competing federal initiatives.  NIST, who have established the de facto definitions of CC and the service and deployment models also have a draft CC Reference Architecture.

So which one should an organization adopt? Of course there’s no straightforward answer to that question and so I have published a research note on Everware-CBDI to provide guidance on how to organize some of the best ideas that are emerging in a practical structure that should stand the test of time.

UML Profiles in Visual Studio 2010

UML Profiles are supported in Visual Studio 2010 (VS2010). Here I examine how they work and whether our CBDI-SAE UML Profile for SOA (SAE Profile) can be used in VS2010

Trialing Microsoft Office 365 Beta

Currently trialing the Microsoft Office 365 Beta. It seems tailored made for small businesses like us. Like many small businesses, we already rely on several disparate hosted services such as email, a SharePoint for collaboration, Skype, Webex, plus some use of Google Docs, and so on, all of which are supplied by different providers, resulting in incompatibilities, lack of integration, multiple signons, etc.
Bringing together all these capabilities under one roof seems attractive. It will also help to ensure everyone is using Office 2010 (no more need to save as 2003!).
Will update as we use it more.