Talking Out Cloud

January 2010 - Posts

  • Computing Cloud without Web Services?

    Yahoo announced January 11, 2010 they plan to turn off their Shopping API.  Yahoo took so much heat that they had to expand on the basis of their decision further 4 days later. 
    Users may get permission from PriceGrabber who will evidently run the API for Yahoo, but the service which was free will now cost.

    I could care less about Yahoo and their Shopping API, although there are some developers who are pissed.  But what does alarm me is the idea that a corporation as impactful as Yahoo is can simply say “we aren’t interested in providing that service any longer”.  This is like turning off the lights, says TechCrunch!

    I know a shopping API, especially Yahoo’s, is not the same as electrical service, but maybe it should be. 

    I get Yahoos reasoning, but what recourse do the developers that built a sound business around this API have?  Are they at the mercy of the API owner?  I am not lobbying for government intervention, but there should be some avenue of recourse.


    Cloud services will continue to increase in number, at some point those who publish them should have some level of responsibility.

  • Cloud Computing Data Services? I am glad you asked!

    The Pervasive DataCloud has been running since March 2007 , and it has supported API access since October 2009. Even though it’s been around a while, I still get asked, “Why would I use the DataCloud?” 

    Good question!  I’ll answer it with a question of my own, “Where else can you find robust, elastic, multi-tenant, secure data services on the cloud?”

    Of course, the first answer is always, “I can roll them myself.”  Classic build versus buy.  OK, build away, but you should evaluate off the shelf first.  The team here at Pervasive knows what it takes to build a platform of this caliber.  If a partner of ours thinks they can get the same or better efficiency and competitive advantage out of a different model on the cloud, we would not only encourage them, but even help them.

    Once the build option has been considered, the next most popular response is naming one of the more familiar Platforms as a Service (PaaS) clouds.  Again, good choice, but we’re talking about data services here, not a mission-specific Web application or add-on.  A data services platform must support things like multi-threaded, multi-core programming models, process design, data integration models, and data profiling operations that work in conjunction with the PaaS data generated. Most if not all of these prominent platforms are not designed to deliver that type of core data processing. 

    As demand grows for cloud based data services, the portfolio of offerings on Pervasive DataCloud2 will grow as well.  The proliferation of “ready available” services will make the platform even more attractive as a home for data services. Imagine all the different variations of data services that could be combined and leveraged by you and /or your customers.

    We are just starting to see the power and widespread adoption of data services in the hybrid cloud model.  We on the Pervasive DataCloud2 team are looking forward to being a very big part of it!  Hopefully we will see you there as well.

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