Not a Cloud Service

The term "cloud computing" is one of the most overused terms du jour, with the definition varying greatly depending on who you are speaking to: IT manager, marketing head or your basic layperson. During cloud continues to rise in popularity among businesses for communications, infrastructure or other IT needs, the misconceptions about cloud seem to burgeon such as swiftly.

The same goes for managed networks

The same goes for managed networks, which is often confused as being a cloud-based service – and as a matter of fact, it is not. What makes a cloud service different from a managed service?

To answer that question, CRN’s Rauline Ochs recently revisited the Gartner definition of cloud computing, which was published in June 2009 in "Five Refining Attributes of Public and Private Cloud Computing."

"The five characteristics of cloud computing start with a service-based capability, typically including a so then-defined service interface. Check. Most partners I speak with have defined new service-based offerings," explains Ochs, a self-proclaimed managed service "purist."

The third and fourth meanings of cloud computing, as defined by Gartner, as well indicate cloud computing is shared via pooled resources, just as a virtualized computing environment. Nevertheless many partner-managed services, she says, are not virtualized nor are they metering clients’ use of computing in other words charged back to the IT department or enterprise.

The fifth and final definition Gartner uses to describe cloud computing is based on the use of Internet technologies, but managed networks are at times provided on-premise, Ochs points out.

The five criteria

It’s possible for service provider services to meet some of the five criteria, however technically managed networks is not a cloud service unless all characteristics are met.