This is the first of a series of posts related to the different cloud architectures that have evolved while cloud computing has matured in the last few years.

The Pervasive DataCloud2 is growing.  In fact the last business quarter marked a milestone in the number of execution requests that were received by our customers in the form of just over 1 million requests!

 

 

Cloud computing has proven, if nothing else, that software can be delivered over the Internet as a service successfully. Salesforce.com, Netsuite, and others have been making a great living using this model for quite some time now. These frameworks are built on business sales records, either CRM or ERP specifically.

 

Other companies, however late to the game, have started to catch up and are producing the next generation of cloud applications. These include applications that involve data that is drawn from several sources and is continually dynamic. CRM and ERP data is certainly in the mix but these new applications can include data from a wide variety of sources.

 

The legacy cloud applications combined with the newer niche cloud applications are producing data in the cloud at a record setting rate. And the cloud data being produced is a virtual gold mine of new insights. All kinds of new attributes can be derived from the readily accessible data. Because of this,...

The Pervasive DataCloud2 team is constantly looking at ways to improve the compliance and security around DataCloud2 and our partners at Amazon Web Services (AWS) help us stay in tuned with the needs of our customers.

 

Accenture published a great little video about kids and cloud computing.  It predicts the future.  In fact it shows us the future is already here.  Our children are already leveraging cloud computing as a matter of fact.

I met a software vendor recently who was describing his product and he said, "We are a real cloud app, not like Google mail or something like that." What? I guess there is an argument in the software world as to what qualifies as a 'real' cloud app and what is not a 'real' cloud app.

That sounds funny to me. It seems like if your application leverages cloud computing, then it is a cloud application. If your application resides on your desktop, then your application is a not a cloud application.

My acquaintance built a sophisticated business process management full SaaS application that ran on Microsoft's Azure platform. I guess he felt insulted when people tried to compare him to, of all things, Gmail!!! Go figure.

Gmail is quite impressive to me and certainly seems like a cloud app. Because of this conversation I have torn down the wall in my head. No longer do I try to classify a cloud app by its complexity, size or even where its code runs.

I now say that if an application leverages...

I was speaking with a colleague yesterday about our cloud offerings.  We were discussing people who grew up in the on premise world and wanted to know what the big deal was. I realized I could have gone on for hours about the advantages of cloud, but I wanted to keep it short.  I came up with the core business area cloud improves on is IT infrastructure in the form of cost, time and expertise. Let me explain each of those.

Cost advantages in the cloud are twofold.  First because of economies of scale it is simply less expensive in terms of server to server comparisons.  No matter what the sales guy at Dell or HP tells you, he cannot make it cheaper for you to own a Windows server for a month (once you roll in the underlying costs of maintenance). The second dimension of cost advantage is that my resources are now disposable.  When I am done with it, I can get rid of it.  I don't even need someone to come pick it up and cart it off.

Time advantages relate more to the procurement cycle. If I need a...

Reuven Cohen ( http://bjac.it/brPe6V ) described this morning in a couple of paragraphs ( http://bjac.it/aSDu5x ) what I have been trying to explain for the last 18 months.  The Pervasive DataCloud2 is not a competitor to other clouds or Platforms as a Service, but a complementary service.

I would go a step further and say that the boutique cloud services are critical for the continued success for the likes of Amazon, Microsoft and force.com.  I am sure that the guys in Seattle (both groups) and the teams in the valley ( http://bjac.it/aJqxjd ) would like to tell you that they can be everything to everyone.  But they know as well as we do that is not part of their strategy.  Sure, they will try to offer as much as they can in terms of variety of service, but in the end compromises will be made for the greater good of all.

Pervasive DataCloud2 and services like it add pieces ( http://bit.ly/j4n2U...

Pervasive Software held its annual Metamorphosis event last week.  That's where we ask 100 current customers to spend two days with 100 prospective customers.  It's our concept of a "rush" for customers.  We host a nice dinner, give them a comfortable place to network and let the experience of our customers speak for itself.  The event is always a huge success for both parties, and this year was no exception. 

For our part (DataCloud2 Team) we were one of the darlings of the party, cloud computing is everywhere and our CTO (Mike Hoskins) made it clear Pervasive is committed to integration in and around the cloud.

It always feels good when you know people are talking about you in a good way, but it is even better when they put it in writing.  Charlie Babcock (Information Week) wrote a good review of where the Pervasive DataCloud2 has been and where it is going based on what he learned at the conference.

What Charlie didn't say is we (Pervasive DataCloud2 Team) have already reached the future.  A few weeks ago we completed a project with MicroFinance, which leverages the Pervasive DataCloud2 in a big way.  We published a great case study capturing how we used DataCloud2 services to connect several (4 in the initial phase) end points.  Of particular interest is that two of the end points are located behind firewalls. Using VPN services running on the DataCloud the MIX team created tunneled connections, insuring secure access to on premise data, that allowed the integration of data to occur in the cloud environment.  The VPN clients are ultra-thin and self contained and delivered using Pervasive Apollo agent technology.  This means that the owner (MIX in this case) of the data can control access and authorization.  Updates, when required, are small and automatic.

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Once again David Linthicum has hit the nail on the head!  The issues organizations have with security in the cloud are not going to go away.  Linthicum points to a recent Harris poll that says over 50% of those polled are concerned with security of data on the cloud.  Cloud vendors must address these questions, they cannot pretend that the fear and uncertainly the would be consumers of their services have.

We at Pervasive take security very serious.  So much so we try to over compensate.  We have been cautious rolling out our public services in an attempt to address security as our platform evolves rather than as an after thought.  

Some of the steps we take to insure your data is secure... 

We take the steps of securing user configuration data, all user configuration data stored on the Pervasive DataCloud2 is encrypted prior to being stored.  We also provide services to our developers that allow them to encrypt data used in their applications, leveraging the PGP libraries.  Since...