"Software defined" is the new "cloud"
Technology loves its buzzwords.
Over the past few years one of the hottest, most buzz-wordy industries has been the cloud. Almost every technology vendor seemingly has a cloud strategy with vendors offering their products “as a Service” through the cloud.
Sure there is IaaS, SaaS and PaaS (infrastructure, software and platform). But since then we’ve seen examples of DRaaS (disaster recovery as a service), ITaaS (IT as a Service), NaaS (networking as a service) and many, many more.
ALPHABET SOUP: (Fill in the blank)-as-a-service
Now, the latest buzz-phrase in technology is “software defined,” and just like the cloud, expect to see just about anything and everything to be delivered in a software-defined fashion.
We know about software defined networking (SDN) but recently companies have begun clamping on to the buzzword and attaching their services to it. Software-defined data center (SDDC) is VMware’s marketing lingo for its strategy of virtualization not just the compute layer, but storage and networking.
Just last week I was pitched by a company who offers software defined disaster recovery (SDDR). Network World’s resident SDN expert Jim Duffy says he’s heard Software Defined IT (SDIT) and Software Defined Cloud (SDC) bantered about.
“Software defined everything is the new ‘cloud'” says David Linthicum, an industry pundit and consultant at Cloud Technology Partners. “The fact of the matter is that most DR solutions are already software defined, and the SD approach is more marketing than a true solution. However, you can’t blame them for trying. I find it a bit annoying.”
So be prepared, the latest buzzphrase is upon on.
Senior Writer Brandon Butler covers cloud computing for Network World and NetworkWorld.com. He can be reached at BButler@nww.com and found on Twitter at @ButlerNWW.
