Sorry to hijack from the Open Data thread, but I think this has morphed into a topic on it's own.

The problem, in my opinion boils down to the following:

1. Dependence on vendor lead solutions - Yes, EMC/Cisco/VMware make a good combined and stable product but is it really the best placed product to run the platform you want? Is there necessary expertise for the same? People run for the vendor led solutions without enough expertise which means that consultants etc will run and maintain the system. Support contracts etc. End result? An unusually high cost for the service.
   
2. SP's have not figured out the business model... It's not only about storage space and VM's. You need to be able to provide a stable platform. Requires input from devs...
   
3. It's not that we don't have the expertise we have PRSP's that maintain their services, we have banks/companies etc that maintain their own mini 'internal clouds' to a high level of availability, maybe the question is how to get that expertise into the market.
   

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With Regards,

Phares Kariuki

| T: +254 720 406 093 | E: pkariuki@gmail.com | Twitter: kaboro | Skype: kariukiphares | B: http://www.kaboro.com/ |