Ever notice that cloud providers are v e r y reluctant to reveal on what foundation their cloud computing architectures are laid? Most providers don’t want to share their “secret sauce” because, well, then everyone else could get into the game as well.

While it is certainly true that the infrastructure – and specifically the application delivery infrastructure – you choose to lay the foundation for a cloud computing architecture can affect your ability to succeed and innovate there’s no reason to keep it secret. That’s because the dynamic nature of application delivery infrastructure – its programmability and collaborative aspects – allow anyone to essential build out their own unique set of processes that, in the end, are really the secret sauce to a successful cloud computing initiative.

The ability to orchestrate processes and create new solutions using the same tools – virtual machines, unified application delivery infrastructure, management systems, and the network – means that no two cloud computing architectures, like SOA, will look the same. They are tailored to a specific environment; essentially the end result is a custom solution built atop a flexible and programmable turn-key platform.

Now cloud providers would be crazy to detail exactly how they put together their “secret sauce”, but they are increasingly willing to discuss how they integrate “the network with the virtualization infrastructure”, such as the collaboration between the application delivery network and VMware solutions. This collaboration is huge in terms of reducing the costs inherent in building out and managing a cloud computing architecture and makes possible the automation of tasks that were once deemed only possible through manual (costly) intervention.

If you’re building out a cloud computing architecture – and our recent survey says over 80% of you are – and one of the drivers toward that architecture is reducing costs – and our recent survey says that’s true for over 50% of you - then this podcast with Pat O’Day, CTO of BlueLock, may be helpful to you in understanding why you need to integrate your infrastructure with your virtualization solution and some of the innovative ways in which such integration has been applied to provide not only on-demand capacity, but the business agility often touted as a benefit of such flexible architectures.

Pat O’Day, CTO of BlueLock discusses the importance on integration in the future of the cloud, what’s working today and what he thinks is needed to reach that future.  Specifically, as examples, he will be talking about how BlueLock uses the integration between his F5 Networks and VMware solutions.

You can listen to / download the podcast here

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