A Standard Cloud

Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. ~ William Jennings Bryan 

At the center of big data and the Internet of Things is the “cloud”, which is really myriad private and public clouds that float throughout the galaxy of data centers that serve the Internet and serve up all sorts of cost-effective applications and technology solutions. Oracle Corporation has recently announced its support for a rapidly emerging trend of open source cloud management tools.

Oracle Embraces OpenStackWise move, Oracle, in my estimation.  Open source cloud management tools offer a cost-effective means of achieving real innovation by facilitating a broad array of cloud-based application and solution development. Here’s why: standard methods of interoperability, integration, connection, communication, and application development displaces barriers to innovation by mitigating entropy and risk, historically induced by forcing technologists to bet on one of many proprietary technology platforms.  Historically, application development that plugs into a standardized technology platform has pushed vertical market information technology innovation and technology adoption.  And, that is where true information technology value is made manifest.

To Oracle’s credit, they understand that not all innovation is created equal.  By choosing to engage in the open source cloud management initiative, Oracle can “nudge” innovation in a direction Oracle desires.  As the book Nudge (Thaler, Richard H., and Sunstein, Cass R. Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, And Happiness. New York: Penguin, 2008. Print ) suggests, small, calculated actions can cause hugely beneficial reactions.  Now, that’s Real. Powerful. Thinking.