IT leaders should cut through cloud hype, says analyst

Gartner examines the key factors that can make or break cloud-based initiatives

Some services conform to the cloud computing principles more effectively than others

Analyst Gartner has compiled a checklist to help IT leaders cut through the swathes of hype surrounding cloud computing services and identify which ones might help improve their business.

IT leaders and suppliers should focus on a combination of cloud-based services' attributes to ensure delivery, instead of concentrating on a single aspect of the model, Gartner concludes in a recent report.

The report identifies five characteristics that can be used to help assess how strongly a solution or service conforms to the cloud computing model.

According to the report, the first attribute of cloud computing is related to service, which could be considered "ready to use" or "off the shelf", with technology tailored to specific customers' needs rather than the service being adapted to how the technology works.

“What the service needs to do is more important than how the technologies are used to implement the solution,” says the report.

Gartner also points out that cloud-based services should be scalable and elastic to cater for increasing automation.

“Elasticity is associated not only with scale, but also an economic model that enables scaling in both directions in an automated fashion. This means that services scale on demand to add or remove resources as needed,” cites the report.

Other attributes of cloud service defined by Gartner include sharing a pool of resources to obtain maximum efficiency from services, and tracking with usage metrics to enable multiple payment models.

The last essential cloud computing feature, according to the analyst, is the use of web-based technologies to deliver the service, such as URLs, HTTP, IP and “representational state transfer” web-oriented architecture. Gartner cites Google’s email service and eBay as successful examples of web technology acting as the foundation for internet-based services.

"When approaching cloud computing, service providers and potential consumers of cloud services must examine the attributes of cloud computing to determine whether or not their services will deliver the expected outcomes," said Daryl Plummer, managing vice president and chief Gartner fellow.

"If a service is not scalable and elastic, it may not be shareable enough. If it is not metered by use, it may not allow for flexible pricing,” said Plummer.

“Support for more of the attributes opens the door to a great value proposition to the consumer, and greater flexibility and potential cost reduction for the provider," he said.