直到几年前，云服务提供商(cloud service providers)并不多。最近企业转向混合云的趋势已经出现了新的进入者。我编制了一份排名前十的云服务提供商名单。请注意，我没有按照“好到坏”或“坏到好”的顺序排列它们。该列表只是该领域中最常用和最有用的十个名称。让我们知道您将如何评价它们。
云计算服务
1]微软云服务(1] Microsoft Cloud Services)
以微软(Microsoft)的名义有很多云服务，包括 OneDrive、Office 365 和Azure。 OneDrive和Office网络应用程序都很好。作为一种存储和同步软件，OneDrive是最受欢迎的云存储服务之一。Azure很好，但人们有自己的喜好。根据我在网上和其他地方看到的内容，Azure在获得更多客户之前还有很长的路要走。微软(Microsoft)可以对Azure做出哪些改变来增加销售量并在全球范围内销售它？截至目前，我听说他们正在向Azure添加更多数据中心(Azure)为了更快的操作。
2]IBM云(2] IBM Cloud)
IBM Cloud 有两个主要产品：
- 基础设施即服务 ( IaaS ) 和
- 云软件(Cloud Software)（软件(Software)即服务 - SaaS(Service – SaaS)）
它还提供平台(Platform)即服务，并将其称为BPaaS（业务平台(Business Platforms)即服务(Service)）。该公司一直在帮助人们构建自己的私有云，并将这些私有云与公共云进行精简，以创建组织（客户）可以使用的混合云。最好的一点是您不必花费太多时间和金钱来构建和简化混合动力车。
因为IBM工程师是专家，所以他们做的很快而且成本更低。在我关于混合云的另一篇文章中，我也提到IBM是混合云的最佳选择，因为它们的服务易于设置，并为您的私有云和IBM云产品提供良好的安全性。
注意：(Note:)我将在单独的文章中详细解释SaaS、PaaS和IaaS 。目前，SaaS是指在您的设备上安装云软件以提供备份和同步等服务。PaaS是云为您提供执行事务的平台的地方。例如，开发人员可以在PaaS(PaaS)上开发和测试他们的产品，而不是投资或定制它们。基础设施即服务是不言自明的。您不必购买和设置基础设施。您只需使用不同云提供商提供的基础架构，尤其是IBM. 不仅如此，您还可以添加或减少您需要的东西，只需为您使用的东西付费，使其成为企业最便宜的选择。
3]亚马逊弹性计算云(3] Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud)
基本上是平台(Platform)即服务(Service)( PaaS )，Amazon Elastic Cloud为开发人员和学生提供了一个平台，一个开发他们的应用程序的地方。它还为他们提供了测试程序的工具，就像VMWare一样。从 Amazon EC2 的主页：
“ Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud ( Amazon EC2 ) 是一种 Web 服务，可在云中提供可调整大小的计算容量。它旨在让开发人员更轻松地进行网络规模计算。”
说到Amazon EC2，就不得不提一下一些黑客是如何用EC2创建一个正版账户并将其用于Sony Playstation Data Breach的。然而，这并不意味着IBM云的安全性较弱。他们使用SSL并在整个会话期间保持进程加密。
4]思杰云平台(4] Citrix Cloud Platform)
IT 行业的另一个大牌，Citrix现在正计划扩大规模。查看 www.cloud.com 以了解即将到来的浪潮。在这一点上，我不能说为什么它保留了域并要求提供电子邮件ID(IDs)，但我认为除了他们自己的私有云之外，个人和企业都可以使用它。但这就是未来。现在，思杰(Citrix)的主页上写着：
“ Citrix CloudPlatform由Apache CloudStack提供支持，是业界唯一一款面向未来、以应用程序为中心的云解决方案，经证明可在单个统一云管理平台内可靠、高效地编排传统企业和云原生应用程序工作负载。”
这一声明使Citrix(Citrix)看起来更倾向于混合，而不是为其客户提供完整的公共云解决方案。我可能解释错了。如果是，请纠正我。
5]欢乐云(5] Joyent Cloud)
(Joyent)戴尔(Dell)之所以选择Joyent ，是因为它支持自己的云软件。如果像“LinkedIn”这样的网络选择Joyent进行运营，您可以肯定这家云服务提供商是最好的之一。在其主页上，Joyent有以下说明，很明显这也适用于混合动力车：
“适用于当今要求苛刻的 Web(Demanding Web)和移动应用程序的高性能混合云”。(High-Performance Hybrid Cloud)
基本上，该公司似乎与组织合作，帮助他们使用私有云和混合云。访问(Visit)www.joyent.com 以了解有关公司的更多信息。Joyent上的维基百科(Wikipedia)条目会让您感到困惑。
6]BlueLock云服务(6] BlueLock Cloud Services)
该公司将自己定位为数据恢复服务。它创造了一个新短语，即“恢复(Recovery)即服务”。很明显，如果您的数据无法使用，可以使用Bluelock Cloud Services恢复。这属于SaaS的范畴。
该公司还提供IaaS。企业可以只使用他们想要的基础设施数量，并根据需求增加或减少正在使用的项目。在其众多服务中，它还提供名为VMware vCloud Datacenter Service Provider的云解决方案。据该网站介绍，这主要用于使用VMware工具创建混合(Hybrid)云。
7]威瑞森云(7] Verizon Cloud)
这可能会让很多人感到意外。Verizon基本上是一家电信公司，提供点播视频等。好吧，它收购了Terremark，并准备提供云服务。我将其列入此列表是因为Verizon非常受欢迎，而Terremark在提供云服务方面拥有良好的背景。在全球拥有 50 多个数据中心，我相信Verizon-Terremark在不久的将来会大受欢迎。
基本上，他们将是基础设施(Infrastructure)即服务，并且正在讨论将甲骨文(Oracle)的一些产品作为云服务提供给他们的客户。这样，用户将使用该产品的最新版本，因为Verizon/Terremark将使他们保持更新。
8] SalesForce Cloud – Ruby 平台即服务(8] SalesForce Cloud – Ruby Platform as a Service)
Salesforce是一个众所周知的名字，它最近收购了提供不断扩展的Ruby平台的公司Hereku 。较低的利率和更大的灵活性使其对商业机构具有吸引力。同样(Again)，我相信这将是一个混合云，而不是人们完全选择 Ruby——没有(Ruby –)本地云。此外，Hereku是Paas（平台(Platform)即服务），它使开发人员不仅可以构建而且可以测试他们的程序。
9]机架空间云(9] RackSpace Cloud)
这是最受欢迎的云服务提供商之一，主要在OpenSpace代码上运行他们的产品。后者是为有兴趣创建与云相关的应用程序的开发人员提供的开源代码。Rackspace提供所有三种服务：SaaS；即服务(PaaS)；和IaaS。随着越来越多的人信任Rackspace（主要是因为它建立在开源代码之上），云已经准备好在水平和垂直方向上发展。
10]谷歌云平台(10] Google Cloud Platform)
尽管对此的接受者并不多，但在谈到十大云服务提供商名单时，谷歌云平台确实值得一提。(Google Cloud Platform)主要的是Google App Engine和Google Compute。还有其他几种谷歌(Google)云服务，例如谷歌云打印(Google Cloud Print)和谷歌云端硬盘(Google Drive)。从逻辑上讲(Logically)，您可以在Google App引擎上创建应用程序并使用Google Compute进行测试，按您使用该服务的分钟数收费。我目前无法评论谷歌云平台(Google Cloud Platform)的状态，因为谷歌(Google)习惯性地突然闭嘴，但我肯定想提请您注意正在成为大多数企业不可或缺的一部分的Google Apps 。
以上是我对云计算的研究成果。再次(Again)提醒您，排名前 10 位的云服务提供商的名单没有按任何特定顺序排列。相反，它仅包含在不久的将来具有适当范围的最常用和最受欢迎的服务。有些人已经登上了顶峰，比如亚马逊……(Amazon…)很少有人需要一点点改变来进一步定制用户需求，比如Azure……还有一些人需要适当的营销来教育人们了解云服务的价值，比如谷歌计算引擎(Google Compute Engine)。经过大量研究以编制此列表，我想听听您对这些或任何其他云服务提供商的看法和经验。请(Please)使用下面的评论部分分享它们。
如果您正在寻找一些免费的云存储提供商，请访问此处。(Go here if you are looking for some Free Cloud Storage Providers.)
Top 10 best Cloud Computing Services
Until a few years back, there were not many cloud service providers. The recent trend of businesses to move towards hybrid clouds has seen new entrants. I compiled a list of top ten cloud service providers. Note that I have not arranged them in any order like “good to bad” or “bad to good”. The list is just the ten most used and useful names in the field. Let us know how you would rate them.
Cloud Computing Services
1] Microsoft Cloud Services
There are many cloud services to the name of Microsoft, including OneDrive, Office 365 and Azure. OneDrive and Office web apps are good. As a storage and sync software, OneDrive is among the most accepted cloud storage service. Azure is good, but people have their own preferences. Going by what I read on the web and elsewhere, Azure has still a long way to go before it gains more customers. What are the changes that Microsoft can make to Azure to sell it more and to sell it across the planet? As of now, I’ve heard they are adding more datacenters to Azure for faster operations.
2] IBM Cloud
IBM Cloud has two main offerings:
- Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and
- Cloud Software (Software as a Service – SaaS)
It also offers Platform as a service and calls it BPaaS (Business Platforms as a Service). The company has been assisting people to build their own private clouds as well as streamlining these private clouds with public clouds so as to create a hybrid cloud that organizations (clients) can use. The best thing about it is that you do not have to spend much time and money to build and streamline the hybrids.
Because the IBM engineers are experts, they do it fast and they do it cheaper. In my other article about hybrid clouds too, I mentioned IBM being the best option for hybrid clouds as their service is easy to set up and gives you good security for both your private cloud as well as the IBM cloud products.
Note: I will explain SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS in a separate article in detail. For now, SaaS is when cloud software is installed on your device for services such as backup and sync, etc. PaaS is where the cloud offers you a platform for performing things. Instead of investing in things or customizing them, developers – for example – can develop and test their products on PaaS. Infrastructure as a service is self-explanatory. You do not have to buy and set up the infrastructure. You just use the Infrastructure provided by different cloud providers, especially IBM. Not only that, you can add or reduce things you need and pay only for the things you use, making it the cheapest option for businesses.
3] Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud
Basically Platform as a Service (PaaS), the Amazon Elastic Cloud offers a platform for developers and students, a place to develop their apps. It also offers them facilities to test the programs just like the VMWare. From Amazon EC2’s home page:
“Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) is a web service that provides resizable compute capacity in the cloud. It is designed to make web-scale computing easier for developers.”
Talking about Amazon EC2, it is necessary to mention how some hackers created a genuine account with EC2 and used it for Sony Playstation Data Breach. That, however, does not mean that IBM clouds have weaker security. They employ SSL and keep the processes encrypted all through your session.
4] Citrix Cloud Platform
Another big name in the IT industry, Citrix is now planning to go king size. Check out www.cloud.com to see that some wave is about to come. I cannot, at this point, say why it has reserved the domain and asking for email IDs, but I think it would be something that both individuals and businesses can use in addition to their own private cloud. But that is the future. Right now, Citrix’s home page says:
“Citrix CloudPlatform, powered by Apache CloudStack, is the industry’s only future-proofed, application-centric cloud solution proven to reliably and efficiently orchestrate both traditional enterprise and cloud-native application workloads within a single unified cloud management platform.”
This statement makes it look like Citrix is oriented more towards hybrids instead of offering complete public cloud solutions for their clients. I may have interpreted it wrong. Please correct me if so.
5] Joyent Cloud
Joyent was chosen by Dell for supporting its own cloudware. If a network like “LinkedIn” chooses Joyent for its operation, you can be sure that the cloud service provider is one of the best. On its homepage, Joyent has the following to make it obvious that this too, is for hybrids:
“High-Performance Hybrid Cloud for Today’s Demanding Web and Mobile Apps”.
Basically, it seems that the company teams up with organizations to help them with private clouds and hybrid clouds. Visit www.joyent.com to know more about the company. The Wikipedia entry on Joyent will confuse you.
6] BlueLock Cloud Services
The company projects itself as a data recovery service. It coined a new phrase that goes “Recovery as a Service”. It’s obvious that your data if rendered unusable, can be recovered using Bluelock Cloud Services. This comes into the category of SaaS.
The company also offers IaaS. Businesses can use just the amount of infrastructure they want and increase or reduce the items being used based upon the requirement. Among its many services, it also offers a cloud solution named VMware vCloud Datacenter Service Provider. According to the website, this is mainly used to create Hybrid clouds with VMware tools.
7] Verizon Cloud
This might come as a surprise for many. Verizon is basically a telecom company and offers on-demand videos etc. Well, it acquired Terremark and is all set to provide cloud services. I am including it on this list because Verizon has been very popular while Terremark has a good background in providing cloud services. With more than 50 data centers across the planet, I am sure Verizon-Terremark is going to be a hit in the near future.
Basically, they would be Infrastructure as a service and talks are on to offer some products of Oracle as a cloud service to their customers. That way, users will be using the latest version of the product as the Verizon/Terremark will keep them updated.
8] SalesForce Cloud – Ruby Platform as a Service
Salesforce is a known name and it recently acquired Hereku, the company that offers an ever-expanding Ruby platform. Lower rates and greater flexibility make it appealing to business houses. Again, I believe this would be a hybrid cloud instead of people opting entirely for the Ruby – without an on-premise cloud. Also, Hereku is Paas (Platform as a service) that enables developers to not only build but also test their programs.
9] RackSpace Cloud
This is one of the most popular cloud service providers that run their offerings mainly on OpenSpace code. The latter is an open-source code for developers interested in creating applications related to the cloud. Rackspace offers all three services: SaaS; PaaS; and IaaS. With more and more people trusting Rackspace (mainly because it is built on open-source code), the cloud is poised to grow both horizontally and vertically.
10] Google Cloud Platform
Though there are not many takers for this, Google Cloud Platform does deserve a mention when talking about the top ten list of cloud service providers. The main ones are Google App Engine and Google Compute. There are several other Google cloud services too, such as Google Cloud Print and Google Drive. Logically, you can create apps on Google App engine and test them using Google Compute that charge by minutes you use the service. I cannot comment on the state of Google Cloud Platform as of now because Google has a habit of shutting up things suddenly, but I would sure like to draw your attention to Google Apps that are becoming an integral part of most businesses.
The above are the results of my research about cloud computing. Again, I remind you that the list of top 10 cloud service providers is not ranked in any specific order. Rather, it just contains the top most used and popular services with a proper scope in the near future. Some have already made it to the top, like Amazon… few others need a little change to further customize user needs, like Azure… and still, others need proper marketing to educate people about the cloud services’ worth, like the Google Compute Engine. With heavy research done to compile this list, I would like to listen to you about your views and experiences about these or any other cloud service providers. Please share them using the comments section below.
Go here if you are looking for some Free Cloud Storage Providers.
