No More an IP Destroyer: Five Trends in Open Source Cloud Computing

Over the last few years, open source has grown into an intrinsic part of a developer’s journey. You can say that this phenomenon is being driven by the wisdom and power of the community. Furthermore, the ability to easily integrate a variety of open source solutions also adds to its popularity.

The community as a whole provides APIs to help developers integrate their tools into the system. Gone are the days when open source was labeled as an “intellectual property destroyer”  as companies now have incorporated it into their plans to improve growth.

But with all the positive points that it has going for it, there are also some negatives that can have a significant impact on the future of this segment. Here are five open source cloud computing trends that you should be aware of.

1. Containers are becoming the norm

Over the last couple of years, containers were not even close to becoming a mass-adoption solution. While they have been more or less perceived as a fad, this point of view seems to be changing.

As containers enable businesses to leverage their resources or highly portable assets to easily move into microservices, adoption levels are starting to rise. This, in turn, also enhances the stability and scalability of the applications at an affordable cost.

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2. Two Foundations will continue to rule

Open-source technologies only find acceptance when backed up by a solid foundation. For a while now, two foundations have continued to maintain their leadership:

• The Apache Software Foundation
• The Linux Foundation

Apache continues the FOSS tradition by maintaining an active community board and strict licensing practices. With over 180 projects (including CloudStack, Hadoop, and Maven), Apache will continue to be prominent in open source cloud computing.

The Linux Foundation has evolved to not only control Linux but also several other relevant undertakings like the following:

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• Cloud Foundry
• Hyperledger Project (enterprise blockchain)
• JS Foundation (JavaScript)
• Open Connectivity Foundation (now merged with the former AllSeen Alliance and focuses on IoT)

3. Architectures are starting to look the same

As architectures start to get more standardized, cloud infrastructure is also starting to look similar. This is inevitable as the underlying infrastructure is now less network topology and more service-based. As a result, businesses can focus more on the services that power it rather than the infrastructure itself.

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4. Open Source projects are increasingly vulnerable

Most businesses leverage open source technology to develop enterprise-class cloud-ready solutions. But with the source code out there for all eyes to see, open source projects are starting to lose the level of trust that they once enjoyed.

As some open source vulnerabilities attract headlines, more security companies will start to identify vulnerabilities in the code more often. Hopefully, this will lead to patches being produced rapidly to counter the negative perception.

5. OpenStack will not replace Amazon Web Services (AWS)

At the moment, there aren’t any OpenStack-based public cloud service providers in North America that can challenge AWS. Furthermore, there is also a general sense of disillusionment surrounding the private cloud.

But outside the U.S., the situation is a little different as several companies are basing their development on an OpenStack platform:

• China Mobile
• Huawei
• NTT Communications
• UK Cloud

While the U.S. public cloud market has more or less settled, the global market is still in a state of flux. OpenStack’s largest single region is China and the largest users are telecommunications companies.

The current trend around the world is for companies that were heavily into public clouds to start moving some parts of the workload in-house. This is done through an OpenStack private cloud because it’s significantly cost-effective.

What other open source Cloud trends would you add to this list?

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