Enterprises See Growing Open Source Cloud Appeal

The maturing of open source software (OSS) and increasing support from mainstream IT vendors mean that cloud architectures built using OSS tools will grow on companies looking to avoid vendor lock-in, but they will need to assess whether they have the internal know-how to manage such deployments.

Arun Chandrasekaran, research director at Gartner, said the term "open source cloud" is a generic one referring to cloud computing framworks developed or based on open source technologies. This essentially enables enterprises to architect cloud environments that offer a wider compatibility with the hardware and software available in the market.

Dirk-Peter van Leeuwen, vice president and general manager at Red Hat Asia-Pacific, added to the definition by saying the open source cloud translates to freedom in three aspects. Customers will have the freedom to control their implementations, as well as be unfettered by technological and business paths determined by IT vendors.