Cisco announced this week it would be buying OpenStack based private cloud company MetaCloud. MetCloud, based in Pasadena, CA, builds and operates private cloud environments for customers using OpenStack and its own data centers. The acquisition, part of Cisco's previously announced $1 billion investment into cloud computing, adds additional fuel to the argument that private cloud is really where the growth and margins will be for service providers in the coming years.
Private Cloud Growth
Recent blogs have made statements questioning the legitimacy of private cloud computing, even to go so far as to say that the industry is in decline. I believe it is safe to say, even before the Cisco acquisition news, that the real growth in cloud computing will be in private cloud. Yes, public clouds will still exist and remain relevant. However, for security and privacy conscious users and organizations, private cloud is where MSPs can really play an integral role with their customers.
Cisco's Private Cloud Plans
Cisco's acquisition emphasizes the importance of data location, logical security access, and a number of other issues all related to customer data privacy and security. While MSPs are consistently bombarded with marketing and sales materials to adopt cloud computing technologies, many of these solutions are either public cloud based or have very little transparency regarding data location and security.
How Cisco plans to use the MetaCloud acquisition is still unclear. However, the fact that the purchase is being made should let everyone in the channel know how important private cloud is to a company like Cisco.
MSP Takeaway
So, what should a MSP glean from this news? First, being in cloud computing is not just important, it's about having the right message and the right solution for your customers. Too many MSPs have customers who are wanting generic cloud benefits, but these same customers also do not fully understand the issues involved with the various types of cloud computing available to them, specifically private vs. public.
MSPs need to have both offerings in mind when architecting their cloud strategy. Having both public and private offerings is important if MSPs want to maximize their chances of success in the marketplace, as well as keeping their margins as high as possible.
