Supercloud is a style of cloud architecture that addresses the issue of multi-cloud management through the creation of a new cloud abstraction layer. This abstraction layer manages the underlying services of hyperscale clouds across providers regardless of inter-cloud compatibility and data location.
In pursuing a multi-cloud model organizations run the risk of managing multiple cloud environments that work completely independently from one another. This can create complications in processes such as transferring data and applications across clouds.
The benefits of supercloud
Through the simplification of internal infrastructures supercloud makes it easier for organizations to share tools with partners and customers. Supercloud leverages edge as well as multi-cloud and multi-location computing in a single versatile package to create a seamless cloud computing environment. Through the use of edge computing supercloud also has the potential to reduce latency by closing the distance between user devices and the cloud. In many cases supercloud combines both hybrid and multi-cloud solutions.
The technology is especially promising for organizations preparing to expand their network to new locations or enterprises that frequently acquire new subsidiaries.
While Supercloud may seem like a new concept, the technology actually first saw development and practical application up by a team of researchers from Cornell University around 2016.
The concerns around supercloud
The primary concern surrounding supercloud is cybersecurity because using more cloud services directly correlates to the number of surfaces where a security breach can take place. Different security protocols between cloud providers also mean that any application that sees use across clouds will need to comply with every security requirement across the entire network.
Some even believe that supercloud may even be the end of the multi-cloud model. In an article titled “Multicloud isn’t working: Bring on the supercloud!” by Venture Beat DataDecisionMakers author and Vendia CEO, Tim Wagner, Wagner says that despite valid reasons to want a multi-cloud model, for most businesses, a viable multi-cloud strategy is not an option due to cost and complexity.
Some vendors are now using the term supercloud and another phrase, skycloud, interchangeably.
“They’re both terms that we’ve used. I wouldn’t say they’re being used consistently, but they’re certainly valid,” comments Luca Silvestri, external comms expert in the software division of IBM.
Read more about the supercloud here.
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