Cloud computing won't save you any money if you have to integrate proprietary software, warns open source boss

Cloud computing is like a gateway drug to something much stronger, that makes you completel dependent.

Once you’re hooked, escalations in price will follow, with all sorts of hidden charges and unexpected costs suddenly introduced.
 
Red Hat's Aram Kananov,says you can avoid all this.

"The core issue of escalating expenses associated with any vendor is the vendor lock-in," he says.

We see such tactics adopted by majority of vendors who base their technology stacks on closed proprietary software and proprietary standards. This is why all major players in the emerging cloud space often base their stacks on open source software and open standards to prevent any particular vendor dictating their future technology decisions. This is also the reason why the vast majority of public cloud service providers run their infrastructures on Linux operating system. Indeed, the new emerging cloud applications are extensively using open source software.
 
Where are the hidden costs likely to spring from? Where do they usually emerge? Integration? Consultancy? Projects that never end?
 
Closed proprietary standards are one of the major reasons behind high costs associated with integration. Owners of closed standards are able to influence or limit partner and ISV ecosystems and influence end user prices with mechanisms such as royalties etc.
 
The intrnet is a good example of how things can be done differently. There are no integration issues associated with adding WLAN routers at home or creating a new web service and connecting it to the internet. The reason for this is that the whole basic technology stack for the internet is based on open, royalty-free standards like TCP/IP, HTTP and what have you.