Cloud Connect: Five Massive Cloud Computing Misconceptions

Cloud Misconceptions Abound

The cloud is all things to all people. Companies want to turn to the cloud to cut costs, reduce capital spend and leverage a more agile IT infrastructure. But there are numerous misconceptions about cloud computing, despite the cloud starting to gain real traction.

We caught up with five cloud executives at Cloud Connect in Santa Clara, Calif. this week to find what they feel is the biggest cloud computing misconception.

Here are their thoughts.

Misconception 1: The Cloud Is One-Size-Fits-All

"One of the misconceptions is that how you approach the cloud is the same for everybody. Everyone's IT has always been very different from everyone else's. To think there's a one-size-fits-all in the cloud isn't logical in the first place. There's an ecosystem of choice that the cloud creates. The trick is: How do you harness that?"

-Jay Fry, Marketing Vice President of Cloud Computing, CA Technologies

Misconception 2: The Cloud Is Risky

"There is an assumption that somehow the public or enterprise cloud that is shared is somehow more risky than traditional infrastructure. The risk is essentially old wine in new bottles. All the risks in the cloud are addressable."

-Indu Kodukula, CTO and Executive Vice President of Products, SunGard Availability Services

Misconception 3: Virtualization Alone Isn't Cloud

"The misconception is that virtualization is cloud. Virtualization has become widely adopted in the enterprise for server consolidation. It's an enabling technology, but the cloud is really about automation. People tend to connect popular virtualization technologies with the cloud, and if you look at the clouds out there they're not built on these same virtualization technologies."

-Mark Collier, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development, Rackspace

Misconception 4: The Hybrid Cloud Conundrum

"One of the biggest misconceptions is around hybrid cloud. There's a big difference between people having a hybrid environment that has on-premise apps and cloud apps -- that's a reality -- and an app that switches back and forth and back and forth between on-premise and the cloud in bursts, which some are calling a hybrid cloud app. There's no proof of that working or if that's even possible. There's a lot of confusion out there."

-Ryan Nichols, Head of Product Management and Marketing, Appirio

Misconception 5: Cloud Providers Handle The Security

"The No. 1 misconception cloud customers have is that their infrastructure-as-a-service cloud provider is going to provide security services. They think it will be secure. All of the host-based protection tools you needed before are not going to be provided for you … You need behavior-based key management servers and encryption key management for cloud environments."

-Dave Asprey, Vice President of Cloud Security, Trend Micro