Interop Panel: Too Early for Cloud Standards?

Representatives of major cloud vendors considered standards at an Interop panel, with one arguing that it's too early in the game for anyone to call for standards. And because the market's so new, argued another, there's also a lot of pressure on vendors to differentiate themselves from competitors.

"Cloud is a big shift in IT," Tom Mornini, CTO and Co-Founder at Engine Yard said. "It's too early to nail down standards at this point and I don't think we know enough to tie into standard now."

Standardization can also lead to commoditization, which is another hotly debated topic. Zane Adam, General Manager of Azure and Middleware at Microsoft, told the audience that Microsoft is using software and services as part of its Azure offering. Adam added that Microsoft believes there is room for differentiation in the cloud space. It is Microsoft's goal to offer that differentiated cloud service.

"If everything is standard than we just compete on pricing," Adam said.

"IP is now commoditized -- why would cloud be any different?" Christopher Gesell, Chief Strategist Cloud Services at Verizon Business said.

Read "Do Cloud Standards Matter?" at Datamation