Cloud Services Brokerage
Chapter 1
▶ Recognizing the cloud computing trend
in the cloud
▶ Understanding what cloud services brokerage (CSB) is about
The Cloud Goes Mainstream
For years network architects have used clouds in network diagrams to depict wide area networks (WAN) and the Internet.
CO
A cloud services broker, like your favorite TV meteorologist, can help your business make sense of the different clouds and cloud systems and prepare appropriately for a “rainy day.” This chapter delves into the growing cloud computing trend, and what cloud services brokerage is — and what it isn’t.
PY
ost people think of puffy, cotton ball-like “fair weather” cumulus clouds when talking about clouds in general — and metaphorically expect that same “fair weather” experience when talking about cloud computing. But like clouds in nature, not all cloud services and cloud services providers are the same. For example, the cumulonimbus is an awesome and powerful cloud, capable of producing mighty thunderstorms and often extending into the stratosphere with a majestic anvil plume. It can also launch golf ball-sized hail stones many miles and unleash a maelstrom of deadly tornados. And a stratus cloud can immerse an entire city in a dense fog for days.
RI
GH
M
TE
D
MA
▶ Going beyond B2B integration with enterprise application integration
TE
In This Chapter
RI
AL
Defining Cloud Services Brokerage
4
Cloud Services Brokerage For Dummies, Liaison Edition
The cloud — dynamic, nebulous, and at times unstable — proved to be a particularly apt symbol to represent the boundless complexities of the Internet. An architect could focus on the minute details of a local area network (LAN) and simply drop in a few communications links — depicted by lightning bolts — to connect an enterprise to the Internet! Today, “the cloud” has become part of our modern lexicon, with major technology companies like Apple, Google, IBM, and Microsoft advertising cloud
▶ Recognizing the cloud computing trend
in the cloud
▶ Understanding what cloud services brokerage (CSB) is about
The Cloud Goes Mainstream
For years network architects have used clouds in network diagrams to depict wide area networks (WAN) and the Internet.
CO
A cloud services broker, like your favorite TV meteorologist, can help your business make sense of the different clouds and cloud systems and prepare appropriately for a “rainy day.” This chapter delves into the growing cloud computing trend, and what cloud services brokerage is — and what it isn’t.
PY
ost people think of puffy, cotton ball-like “fair weather” cumulus clouds when talking about clouds in general — and metaphorically expect that same “fair weather” experience when talking about cloud computing. But like clouds in nature, not all cloud services and cloud services providers are the same. For example, the cumulonimbus is an awesome and powerful cloud, capable of producing mighty thunderstorms and often extending into the stratosphere with a majestic anvil plume. It can also launch golf ball-sized hail stones many miles and unleash a maelstrom of deadly tornados. And a stratus cloud can immerse an entire city in a dense fog for days.
RI
GH
M
TE
D
MA
▶ Going beyond B2B integration with enterprise application integration
TE
In This Chapter
RI
AL
Defining Cloud Services Brokerage
4
Cloud Services Brokerage For Dummies, Liaison Edition
The cloud — dynamic, nebulous, and at times unstable — proved to be a particularly apt symbol to represent the boundless complexities of the Internet. An architect could focus on the minute details of a local area network (LAN) and simply drop in a few communications links — depicted by lightning bolts — to connect an enterprise to the Internet! Today, “the cloud” has become part of our modern lexicon, with major technology companies like Apple, Google, IBM, and Microsoft advertising cloud