Recent IDC cloud research shows that worldwide revenue from public IT cloud services will reach $72.9 billion in 2015, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27.6%. Specifically, Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) will have shown a 33% CAGR dating from 2011-2014. There are various forces driving this meaningful growth, and different sources all agree that the SMB-Cloud Market will likely grow to over $50B by 2014, with the Enterprise space reaching $20B. Small- and medium-sized businesses are migrating to the cloud to reduce the operating and capital expenditures associated with hardware and software, as well as costs associated with support and maintenance. Enterprise customers are also taking advantage of the cloud, but in a different light. Enterprise customers are segmenting their IT into portions that generate revenue and portions that are considered standard IT, and capable of being moved to the cloud. The common theme is that companies want to simplify their IT and focus their internal resources on areas that allow them to meet the expectations of their internal and external customers, as well as keep pace with their competition.
Oracle understands these needs and offers a complete ecosystem of solutions jointly designed with their x86 portfolio of systems to offer its customers meaningful innovation centered on delivering business value and the most efficient path to the cloud. Oracle’s IaaS solution includes their x86 standalone servers, the innovative Oracle ZFS Storage Appliance, the choice of operating systems in Oracle Linux or Solaris, virtualization software with Oracle VM, Oracle Enterprise Manager 12c for complete system management, and the newly introduced Oracle Virtual Networking, which combines hardware and software for tremendous reductions in Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).
Figure-1. Oracle Optimized Solution for Enterprise Cloud Infrastructure
Oracle’s IaaS x86 Block has been implemented in conjunction with Oracle’s middleware and applications by several cloud solution providers, including dcVAST, an IT and Managed Services company serving customers ranging from middle market to Fortune 500 organizations. Prior to 2011, dcVAST has a mixed solution consisting of Oracle software, Red Hat Linux (RHEL), along with HP and Dell servers virtualized using VMware. However, they encountered several challenges including a lack of service flexibility, limited scalability, ineffective solution support, and rising costs associated with VMware and RHEL. This complexity led David Cintron, vice president of Managed Services at dcVAST, to migrate their IaaS services to Oracle’s enterprise cloud infrastructure architecture, which provides a single-vendor solution for the entire hardware and software stack, and is designed for rapid deployment. The solution dcVAST implemented to replace the complex and mixed vendor installation consisted of Oracle’s x86 blade systems, Oracle Linux, Oracle VM, Oracle ZFS Storage Appliance, Oracle’s Fabric Network and Oracle Enterprise Manager Ops Center 12c for ubiquitous management. Cintron points out, “The fact that Oracle VM and the Hypervisor are included means there is less cost to our customers. Also, our engineering staff finds the Oracle Enterprise Manager Ops Center, which includes a patch management tool, especially useful. Without it, we would have had to buy another product or cascade into operating system management around Red Hat. We need to run a supported Linux environment and be able to rely on security and patch fixes, and now this is part of the solution with Oracle hardware. This is a valuable added benefit for us and our ability to service our customers.”
Six months after implementation, the Oracle solution is on track in delivering 50 percent TCO savings based on the low acquisition cost and ongoing operational efficiencies. Only with Oracle’s x86 systems with a support contract, do customers receive their choice of Oracle Linux or Solaris, Oracle VM, and Oracle Enterprise Manager Ops Center 12c at no additional cost, offering valuable savings for customers to reinvest in revenue generating activities. Don Swanson, CEO of dcVAST, explained, "The Oracle Optimized Solution for Enterprise Cloud Infrastructure provides a customizable solution that can be tailored specifically for our clients running Oracle systems. It delivers smoother deployment and increased functionality of Oracle ATG Commerce and cloud services. If customers are running Oracle software and they are moving to the cloud, this is the solution they should be using because true to form, Oracle runs better on Oracle.”
Now that you have been introduced to Oracle’s IaaS architecture for public or private clouds, look for part two and three of this topic, where I will cover deeper insights into the innovations found within each architectural element, and how they integrate to provide a differentiated solution, aimed at helping customers meet the ever growing demands on their cloud implementations.
Edgar Haren is a Principal Product Director at Oracle for Oracle’s x86 systems and solutions. He previously spent several years in product development and marketing focused on High Performance Computing. Edgar has 19 provisional patents and public disclosures focusing on server power solutions, mobile power, wireless audio, direct audio, USB switching, physical security, video projection and ergonomics.
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