Page 94 - How Cloud Computing Is Transforming Business and Why You Cant Afford to Be Left Behind

MANA GEMENT STRATEGIES F O R THE CL OUD R EV OL UTION

through the door to tell me that Dell is in the process of dis-
covering the best designs for cloud servers to produce for pri-
vate cloud builders.
Dell’s staff is practiced at managing the construction and
delivery of personal computers and business servers. Why not
turn those skills toward becoming a cloud hardware supplier?

In doing so, it will be turning a cherished business practice up-
side down. Dell lets a buyer self-configure the computer she
wants on the Dell Web site. Then, Dell builds and delivers that
computer in a highly competitive way. To become a cloud sup-
plier, it will have to figure out in advance what makes a good
cloud server, concentrate on getting the best deals on parts
for those types of servers, and then, upon a customer order,

quickly deliver thousands of identical units. Forrest Norrod,
general manager of Dell’s Data Center Solutions, said his busi-
ness unit has supplied enough types of servers to Amazon, Mi-
crosoft Azure, and other cloud data centers to have derived a
handful of types that are favored by cloud builders.
Cisco Systems, a new entrant in the blade server market, is
a primary supplier to the NASA Nebula cloud under construc-
tion in Mountain View, California, and would doubtless like
to see its highly virtualizable Unified Computing System used

to build additional clouds.
HP and IBM plan to do so as well, although IBM’s deepest
wish is to find a new mass market into which to sell its own
Power processor, not the rival x86 servers built by Intel and
AMD that currently dominate public cloud construction.
Whether IBM will be able to convince customers to use its
processor remains to be seen, but it has succeeded in the past

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