Best cloud management software
The cloud guarantees consumers the right amount of computing power or application functionality at the right time. How can a cloud service provider control not only its own but also external resources in their interconnection? This article will discuss the best cloud management software.
Why do we need it?
In today’s conditions of rapid development of info-communication technologies and the spread of «smart» technologies for management, tools of interaction in the form of information technologies based on the platform of so-called «cloud» computing or services are becoming especially important. One of the main benefits of the cloud paradigm is the unprecedented flexibility in delivering IT resources.
Cloud computing is a fairly general term that combines several approaches and models for providing and managing IT services, so in practice, everyone understands this term differently. Some people consider cloud computing to host virtual machines or colocation servers only on the basis of network access to resources, others understand cloud computing as such user services as Dropbox, Google Drive. That is, most users define cloud computing on only one basis – network access, but cloud computing is a much more voluminous entity.
The global cloud services market is centered around three IT giants: Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, which account for 70% of the IaaS market. Amazon and Microsoft services are mostly used by US and European companies. In China, the market is almost completely monopolized by the local provider Alibaba Cloud.
The best alternatives
The giants of the IT management industry demonstrate an integrated approach to cloud services management, setting the vector for the development of this area for the future, but there are also smaller players on the market that provide specialized tools for working with clouds. Typically, the basic capabilities of their solutions include support for different cloud models, provision and decommissioning of cloud resources on the fly, monitoring and reporting on the status of cloud infrastructure, and dashboards for more detailed analysis.
There are several platforms:
- OpenStack
It is an open-source cloud computing platform focused on providing free cloud computing services. In particular, it is a set of tools that can be used to manage any cloud computing platform for both private and public clouds. A community of developers was involved in the creation of the platform, whose goal was the continuous development of this platform. OpenStack offers a systematic approach to managing end-to-end cloud computing platform services, which include: security, storage, internetworking, managing virtual machines, tracking activities within a project using a dashboard, and more.
- Multicloud
Claiming that Multicloud is going out of style will sound too bold. However many signs that indicate this. Its popularity peaked in 2017. Multicloud has been touted as the key to achieving greater flexibility, reliability, and profitability, but recently companies have begun to realize that it adds an additional cloud layer and this introduces management challenges. The multi-cloud approach will not become the default standard that analysts expected a few years ago – it will simply become one of several scenarios that some organizations need.
- Azure Arc
It offers new hybrid scenarios for customers and enables Azure services to be used in any infrastructure. Azure Arc facilitates the implementation of cloud security across multiple environments with centralized access control and security policies. Optimizing and standardizing the customer’s IT structure relieves developers from having to deal with multiple operating models and gives more time to create applications that add value to the business. In addition, Azure provides additional time and cost savings, including integrated administration and compliance tools across the enterprise, automating system updates, and improving security.