Cloud Computing and SOA Convergence in Your Enterprise: A Step ...

26 Chapter 2 Reaching for the Clouds
you want to drive, as well as in just the right amounts, is a clear value of
modern cloud computing.
Second is the commoditization of bandwidth, which allows enterprises
to leverage cloud computing resources as if they are local. Thus, you can leverage
storage and runtime resources as if they existed within your data center,
something that was difficult just a few years ago.
Finally, there is the availability of very innovative cloud computing providers.
While the architecture and model of cloud computing is nothing new,
the cloud computing players who provide the services are, including infrastructure-as-a-service
players such as Amazon’s EC2 and platform-as-a-service
players such as Google’s App Engine. With cloud computing growing by
leaps and bounds, better and more innovative cloud computing services are
being built and released continuously.
There are clear differences between early time sharing and modern cloud
computing, but those who have been around for awhile see some very familiar
patterns. As we move forward with cloud computing, the idea is to leverage
cloud computing as another tool in the shed that has the potential to
make your enterprise architecture more cost effective and efficient.
However, as with any new technology trend, cloud computing is not a
silver bullet that you can shoot at every conceivable IT problem and expect
good results. There is nothing here we have not dealt with before, so it
should not be that scary, and we should understand the value of cloud computing
and other architectural options.
Where SOA Meets the Clouds
If you want to provide real value to your enterprise, SOA should extend out of
the firewall and onto cloud computing platforms. However, this is not universally
accepted by the rank-and-file SOA guys. Generally speaking, most view
SOA as something that occurred exclusively within the firewall. Extending the
reach of their SOA to Internet-based resources was taboo. Indeed, within most
enterprises, Web-delivered resources, such as cloud services, are not in use. In
most cases, fear, more than any real issues they may have, prevents companies
from adopting this new technology approach. We discuss resistance to cloud
computing and SOA in much more detail in Chapter 12, “Moving Onward.”
Cloud computing is really SOA that uses Internet-based resources,
including services, applications, directories, tools, and so on, and generally