While the cloud has become the new standard for hosting, that doesn’t mean you have a no-brainer for a decision in terms of choosing which service to trust. There are countless options available. Although it’s worth considering all of them, OpenStack has some unique features that are definitely worth considering.
What Is OpenStack Cloud Software?
Before we look at the benefits of OpenStack cloud software, let’s make sure we’re all on the same page about what it is.
OpenStack is open-source cloud computing software that is usually set up as infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS). This platform is made up of interrelated elements that control various multivendor hardware pools that assist with storage, processing and networking resources throughout a cloud computing data center.
It’s Free
It’s hard to argue with the first benefit on our list. OpenStack doesn’t cost a penny to use despite all the other advantages it offers, which we’re about to cover in detail.
Flexibility to Build Custom Data Centers
One of the biggest benefits of using OpenStack cloud software is how flexible it is. Its many out-of-the-box options give enterprises all kinds of services they can hand-pick for the exact result they want. If you have a specific type of data center in mind and can’t get your needs met with the current options you’ve come across, OpenStack can help.
The flexibility of OpenStack isn’t just about data centers, though. You can also use it to bring new products and services to your market with greater speed than ever before. That doesn’t just save on overhead; that means you’ll see profit much sooner, too.
The Largest Open Source Project in the World
Many people believe that OpenStack has earned the designation of being the largest open source project in the world. Whether or not this is true, it still reflects the massive potential of OpenStack.
As we just mentioned, it offers numerous services to users. The reason it can do this is by bringing together networking, storage and computing subsystems in multiple layers via APIs that are collected in one platform.
Again, the upshot is that you get to create the exact datacenter you want. It also means that your options will continue to grow in the future. At the moment, more than 200 enterprise participants are busy creating OpenStack solutions tailor-made to fit the needs of organizations from every industry.
You Can Create a Hybrid Cloud Platform
Over the next few years, hybrid cloud use is expected to triple. This trend is reflected by some of the largest cloud hosting providers in the world, many of which leverage OpenStack. That includes Google and HP.
There are a lot of reasons a hybrid cloud may make the most sense for your organization, but there’s also no need to choose right away. If you use OpenStack, that possibility will always be on the table.
Enhanced Orchestration
IaaS platforms are great, but they can also become a dead end if you force them into a confined environment. OpenStack frees you up to use proven technologies of all kinds. For example, containers (a relatively new technology) from Google will give users unequaled orchestration capabilities.
Google Sponsors OpenStack
As we’ve mentioned them a couple times now, it’s probably worth bringing up that OpenStack was recently sponsored by Google. While this means the already-powerful platform has even more help coming its way, this should also give you a sense for how much potential OpenStack has. Google tends to a do a good job of only investing in ideas that will be doing big things in the future.
OpenStack has a lot going for it – including some features other options simply can’t offer. However, its greatest selling point may simply be how much potential it has. Build your cloud environment with it now and you will be rewarded in multiple ways for years to come.