Google's App Engine Platform

In an application deployed directly on IaaS, you know and control everything about the database; in a SaaS application you know little and control nothing. But how does it work in PaaS? Since a PaaS is essentially a container that runs application code, and virtually every application requires a persistent data store, most PaaS offerings provide some kind of database services. Not surprisingly, Resource PaaS offerings most closely resemble SaaS in that they hide more deployment details, while Server PaaS offerings are more flexible but potentially more complex. (For more on Resource PaaS vs. Server PaaS, see Keys to the PaaSing Game: Multi-Tenancy.) What is surprising is that some Resource PaaS offerings use a proprietary and non-standard database. Let's take a closer look at how several of the leading Platform-as-a-Service offerings handle databases and file syst... (more)

SafeGov.org Experts Say Google's New Privacy Policy Is Unacceptable and Jeopardizes Government Information in the Cloud

  WASHINGTON, Jan. 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- According to SafeGov.org experts Jeff Gould and Karen Evans, Google's recent changes to its privacy policy allowing it to combine information about users pulled from the entire range of its online products raises serious privacy concerns for Google Apps For Government (GAFG). These issues should not be overlooked by public sector officials who use the cloud or are looking to move to the cloud. "This is a significant change for the GAFG service that Google sells to federal, state and local governments and warrants further review by t... (more)

Cloud Economics – Amazon, Microsoft, Google Compared

Any new technology adoption happens because of one of the three reasons: Capability: It allows us to do something which was not feasible earlier Convenience: It simplifies Cost: It significantly reduces cost of doing something What is our expectation from cloud computing? As I had stated earlier, it is all about cost saving … (1) through elastic capacity and (2) through economy of scale. So, for any CIO who is interested in moving to cloud, it is very important to understand what the cost elements are for different cloud solutions. I am going to look at 3 platforms: Amazon EC2, G... (more)

Redefining the Enterprise IT Environment

A while ago, I made a few observations about how end-to-end service offerings (i.e. the "ecosystem strategy") by companies like Apple and Amazon have helped them capture the consumer market. In just a short span of 9 years, this convergence strategy has created significant disruptions in traditional business models such as the mobile handset and smart-phone, music, publishing. Companies that were heavily invested in these narrow, vertically integrated business segments have either closed shop - or have had to significantly re-think their investments and strategies. Similar disru... (more)

Google Tries Making App Engine More Appealing to the Enterprise

With its eye on Amazon Web Services and Amazon's attractions for business, Google has set up App Engine Premier Accounts, an enterprise service for its restrictions-beset PaaS that abandons per-user, per-app pricing. For $500 a month, it's promising premier support, a 99.95% uptime SLA and the ability to create an unlimited number of apps. Interested parties, however, are advised to read its terms of service and definitions of downtime before rushing in. Google is demanding that users try hard to fix any problems before bothering Google in writing and don't expect any help on wee... (more)