14 DAY TRIAL // Cloud computing is becoming a hotter and hotter topic these days, although, to be perfectly honest, it's mostly the enterprises and scientific communities that will adopt and benefit from private and public clouds in the near future, rather than mainstream consumers.
The reason why we've tackled this subject is that Softpedia had the chance of being invited to attend the EMEA event dedicated to Intel's Cloud 2015 initiative, held in Geneva, Switzerland, at CERN’s Globe for Science and Innovation, where we've been able to gain quite a lot of useful information regarding the concept of “cloud”, as well as witness first hand the official birth of the Open Data Center Alliance, an organization that, if all goes as planned, might have a very important role in shaping up the future of cloud computing.
The Open Data Center Alliance is a coalition of more than 70 leading businesses that together represent more than $50 billion in annual IT investment and that have cloud research or projects underway, and its main purpose is to lay out future hardware and software requirements that lead to more open and interoperable cloud and data center solutions.
The Alliance Steering Committee members include BMW, China Life, Deutsche Bank, J.P. Morgan Chase, Lockheed Martin, Marriott International, Inc., National Australia Bank, Shell, Terremark and UBS.
And where does Intel fit into all of this?
Well, Intel has not a direct role in the alliance (albeit it was the catalyst that led to its establishment, as Mr. Boyd Davis, Vice President, Intel Architecture Group and General Manager, Data Center Group Marketing, pointed out in his keynote speech), but is rather a technical adviser, which puts the company in a very interesting position, since it allows it to offer its expertise in the field, but also to get some insight into the Alliance's plans and future requirements.
In fact, Intel will work with its hardware and software partners, engaging the industry to innovate on open standards, delivering a faster ramp to the next stage of the Internet, and delivering an open, interoperable and secure cloud that will empower the next generation of business, movies, gaming, music, social media and other yet-to-be-invented Web services.
“The industry has an opportunity to accelerate the potential of cloud computing, delivering even better industry economics through this transformation,” said Kirk Skaugen, vice president and general manager, Intel Data Center Group.
“With the Open Data Center Alliance we now have the world’s top businesses focused and actively engaged with Intel and the high-tech industry, accelerating solutions to the cloud’s key challenges.
The server industry has gone through an amazing transformation since the Intel Pentium Pro’s introduction in 1995; our goal is to ensure that cloud computing continues to deliver breakthrough economics based on the same fundamental principle —innovation on open, interoperable standards.”
