The Enterprise Cloud

Chapter 8. Hybrid and Cloud Brokering

Key topics in this chapter:

• What is a cloud broker

• Key hybrid and brokering terminology

• Hybrid cloud versus cloud broker

• Selecting a cloud broker

• Arbitration and selection of service providers:

• Spanning multiple cloud providers

• Systems portability and dynamic allocation to providers

• Industry standards and the future

• The challenges of cloud brokering

• The future of cloud brokering

• Hybrid and cloud brokering best practices

The evolution of cloud computing has been rapid, focusing first on basic Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) virtual machines and then Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS). Leading public cloud providers are now well established, whereas enterprise organizations still work on deploying private and hybrid clouds and evaluating which legacy applications to migrate. Some organizations are already going beyond private hybrid cloud and beginning to consider cloud brokering. As of this writing, there are no true cloud brokers in the industry, but you can expect to see customer adoption and even some public-style cloud brokers in the coming years. In this chapter, I explain what a cloud broker’s role is and the technological challenges it must overcome.

What Is a Cloud Broker

Cloud brokering refers to an organization that serves as a centralized coordinator of cloud services for other organizations, departments, or subagencies. Many IT departments already serve as an IT broker today—providing ...