关于云计算，你现在需要了解这三件事

毫不夸张的说，公共云正在颠覆技术的使用方式。本周，来自于排名前三的公共云提供商的高管们——亚马逊Web Services、微软Azure和谷歌云平台——在华盛顿州表威尔市举行的GeekWire云技术峰会上发表了讲话。

以下是人们如今应该了解的三件事情。

合作关系的管理至关重要，但管理起来并不容易

微软与亚马逊正在与首要的软件公司结盟，以便将它们的业务搬上各自的云端。其他很多企业，例如Tableau、Salesforce和Workday，亦是如此。

微软云和企业业务执行副总裁斯科特•古瑟里（Scott Guthrie）在大会上表示：“我们希望在赢得大客户青睐的同时斩获向这些客户兜售产品的软件公司。”

然而问题在于，大型云提供商提供的不仅仅是基础计算、互联和存储构件，同时也在增添更多的功能，而这些功能却与他们结盟的软件商形成了竞争关系。

例如，尽管SAP已将其财务软件植入Microsoft Azure公共云，但SAP与Microsoft Dynamics应用之间却是竞争关系。古瑟里指出：“如果双方在某些领域发生重合，那么双方在开展业务时就得遵守一定的规矩。”古瑟里管理着Azure云平台以及与SAP竞争的财务软件。他还表示，“在我看来，SAP既是竞争者也是合作伙伴，但是我们能够处理好这一关系。”

这一点对于微软来说似乎并不陌生。多年前，当公司组建了其Windows特许经营模式时，微软希望其他软件公司转而使用微软的产品，当时微软产品的运行环境为老版本的DOS操作系统。然而，即便Windows团队敦促Lotus Development Corp.这样的第三方公司（当时DOS表格软件的领导者）使用Windows系统时，微软却在打造其竞争产品——Windows电子表格软件。这一关系并未给Lotus带来好的结局，Louts最终被IBM收购。

古瑟里向《财富》透露，Lotus败走麦城的主要原因在于，与其他微软的竞争软件公司相比，Lotus使用Windows的时间更晚。同样，古瑟里表示，软件公司应迅速地投入云服务的怀抱，否则就会处于落后的境地。

西雅图称自己为“云城”

公共云市场领军企业Amazon Web Services 约11年前诞生于西雅图。第二大公共云公司微软便座落于雷德蒙德东部数英里远的郊区。尽管谷歌总部位于加州山景城，但其云平台开发工作的很大一部分都交由西雅图打理。甲骨文也将相当一部分新云业务放在了西雅图。

在大会期间，Docker的新任首席执行官史蒂夫•辛格（Steve Singh）表示，公司即将在西雅图或表威尔市设立一个大型的工程中心。Docker总部位于旧金山，致力于为容器技术提供支持，能够让云端或企业数据中心软件的部署变得更加便利。

谷歌云产品管理总监格雷格•德米谢里（Greg DeMichillie）表示，公司正在西雅图南湖联合区建立新的设施，以容纳更多的谷歌云员工。

德米谢里说：“看看我们在工程和其他领域的招聘力度就知道，公司在西雅图正在以惊人的速度发展。”谷歌在西雅图弗雷蒙特地区也设立了办事处。

云平台其实就是运行新老应用的平台

财富500强公司运行着众多的古董级业务软件，在这一过程中会不断地打补丁或升级。数据库、财会系统和软件管理制作任务都属于这一类软件。云提供商认为，很大一部分重要的业务软件应从数据中心转移至云端，但这种迁移是很困难的。

然而，古瑟里表示，大多数Azure云业务来自于全新的计算工作，而且这些工作从未在任何数据中心运行过。之所以出现这些新现象，物联网功不可没。为了获取数据，物联网连接着数十亿的设备，从健康装置一直到工厂设备。

古瑟里说：“直到最近，现有业务才出现了重大的增长和转变。我认为亚马逊也会同意我的观点。核心IT的核心工作量直到最近才有所提升和转变。”

没有云端的帮助，全新的计算任务很难实现，例如德国汽车巨人宝马的互联汽车项目，它将驾驶员的智能手机、联系方式、日历植入到汽车当中。古瑟里表示，这类项目不一定源于传统的IT员工，而是公司的业务部门。

摩根士丹利执行董事布莱恩•诺瓦克（Brian Nowak）对此表示了首肯，他认为很多云业务和收入都源于这类全新的任务。

诺瓦克表示：“两年前，自动驾驶汽车还未诞生。”互联家居设备也是新兴事物，例如亚马逊的Echo。他解释说，这些部件搜集的数据需要通过云端进行分析，同时也推动了公共云业务向前发展。（财富中文网）

译者：冯丰

审稿：夏林

It is no understatement to say that public cloud computing is revolutionizing how technology is used. Executives from the top three public cloud providers—Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform—spoke at the GeekWire Cloud Tech Summit in Bellevue, Wash. this week.

Here are three lessons you need to learn now.

Managing partnerships is critical—and hard

Microsoft (msft) and Amazon are courting major software companies to run their operations on their respective clouds, and many—Tableau (data), Salesforce (crm), Workday (wday)—are doing so.

"We want to win both big customers and the software companies selling to those customers," Scott Guthrie, Microsoft's executive vice president of cloud and enterprise, said at the conference.

The problem is that the major cloud providers offer more than basic computing, networking, and storage building blocks. They are adding more capabilities that compete with software companies they are courting.

For example, while SAP (sap, +0.05%) financial software runs on Microsoft Azure public cloud, SAP also competes with Microsoft Dynamics applications. As Guthrie noted: "If we overlap in places, we have to do that in disciplined ways." Guthrie, who manages both Azure cloud and financial software that competes with SAP, added: "I see SAP as both a competitor and a partner, but we're able to manage that well."

This is déjà vu for Microsoft. Years ago as the company built its Windows franchise, it wanted other software companies to move Microsoft products, which ran on the older DOS operating system. But even as the Windows team pushed third-parties like Lotus Development Corp., then a leader in DOS spreadsheet software, to move to Windows, Microsoft was building its own competitive Windows Excel spreadsheet software. This did not work out so well for Lotus, which ended up being acquired by IBM (ibm, +0.74%).

Guthrie told Fortune that Lotus' fate had more to do with that company being late to Windows than any competition from Microsoft's competitive software. In similar fashion, Guthrie said software companies should quickly commit to cloud or risk falling behind.

Seattle sees itself as 'Cloud City'

Amazon Web Services (amzn, +0.02%), the leader in the public cloud market, was born in Seattle approximately 11 years ago. Microsoft, the second largest public cloud company, is based a few miles east in Redmond. And while Google (goog, +0.24%) is headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., a good chunk of its cloud development work takes place in the Seattle area. Oracle (orcl, +0.04%) also fields much of its nascent cloud work in the area.

At the conference, Docker's new chief executive Steve Singh said his company will open a significant engineering hub in Seattle or Bellevue soon. Docker, which backs container technology easing the deployment of software that runs in the cloud or in company data centers, is based in San Francisco.

Greg DeMichillie, director of product management for Google Cloud, said that company is constructing a new facility in Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood to house more Google cloud personnel.

"If you look at the rate at which we are hiring, not just in engineering, our growth here in Seattle is pretty phenomenal,” DeMichillie said. Google also has offices in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood.

Cloud is about running applications, new and old

Fortune 500 companies run lots of decades-old business software, simply patched up and updated over time. Databases, financial accounting systems, and software managing manufacturing tasks all fall into that category. Cloud providers think much of that key business software should move from corporate data centers to the cloud—but such migrations are difficult.

Guthrie, however, said most of Azure's cloud business comes from truly new computing jobs that have never ran in anyone's data center. The Internet of things–in which billions of connected devices from fitness gadgets to appliances to factory gear in order to gather data—is partially responsible for enabling those new scenarios.

"We haven’t seen a huge lift and shift of existing things until recently," Guthrie said. "I think Amazon would say the same thing. Core IT hasn’t been lifting and shifting core workloads until lately."

Brand new computing tasks—like German auto giant BMW's connected car work, which brings the driver's smartphone, contacts, calendar into the car itself—could not happen without a cloud. Projects like this, Guthrie added, are not necessarily driven by traditional IT staff, but by business units at the company.

Brian Nowak, executive director at Morgan Stanley, agreed that much cloud work—and revenue—is driven by totally new tasks like these.

"Autonomous cars didn't even exist two years ago," Nowak noted. Connected home devices, like Amazon Echo, are also new. The data that these gadgets collect needs to be analyzed in the cloud, he explained, and that is driving the bulk of public cloud business going forward.