SAP Converged Cloud

Business organizations that want to use cloud computing have a choice of using a private cloud, which is a cloud infrastructure run specifically for a single organization that it built itself or by a third party, or a public cloud, whereby a service provider makes available applications, storage, and other resources to the general public.[14] The decision of which to use is based on a number of factors, such as whether the company operates in a highly regulated sector, such as the pharmaceuticals industry that must comply with rules regarding the control and security of data, or if the business must bring services to market quickly, such as a web applications developer.[14]

Employing a hybrid delivery cloud strategy[15] lets organizations use different cloud delivery services for specific applications.[16]

There can be different types of hybrid clouds for specific tasks.[17] The Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) model can be a hybrid cloud in that it uses operating systems and virtualization technologies from both public and private cloud infrastructure to provide cloud services. Other models that combine on-premises cloud with public cloud technologies include Platform as a Service (PaaS), which combines infrastructure services with development tools and middleware; and Software as a Service (SaaS), which is used to develop packaged software.[17]

However, moving data in the cloud can be a difficult procedure.[18] In the case of Software as a Service (SaaS), it is difficult, particularly if the incumbent cloud provider used proprietary software, or if it altered an open source application.[18]

A way to mitigate cloud migration difficulties is to architect applications for the cloud that reduce or eliminate the dependencies between the cloud application stack and the capabilities of the cloud service provider.[19] Another way is to select only generic and higher-level applications to move to the cloud in the first place.[19] Another method is to select open standards for cloud computing.[19]

A best practice for avoiding cloud migration problems is to use a management platform that can support applications in any environment a user organization is likely to use. This has been described as using a "best-of-breed" approach.[20]

SAP Converged Cloud follows the premise of Converged infrastructure: the integration of compute, storage, and networking components and technologies into self-provisioning pools of shared resources and supported by IT services.[21] One of the benefits of a data center based on converged infrastructure, including a converged infrastructure data center that delivers cloud services, is that manual tasks can be automated, thus reducing the time and cost to carry them out.[22]

SAP Converged Cloud is supporting the VMware hypervisors. It supports multiple operating systems (Microsoft, Red Hat, Ubuntu, etc.) It supports a wide range of development environments. Being based on Openstack technology, means it is compatible with public cloud platforms based on OpenStack technology, such as RackSpace and Nebula.[23]

SAP Cloud Marketing – Delivers information on the possible uses for cloud services and identifies opportunities to begin implementing cloud.

• Compute is the service that can deliver a virtual server on demand. New virtual servers, or compute instances, can be brought online in seconds and can be fully customized to meet a variety of computing needs. It is built on OpenStack's open source operating environment.
• Object Storage
• Content Delivery Network (CDN) is a webservice that delivers data from the Object Storage to users all around the world. Using an extensive global network of servers from Akamai Technologies, SAP's CDN routes content to local servers closest to the customers.
• Block Storage enables customers to store data from Compute instances for as long as needed. Block Storage is ideal for applications requiring frequent read/write access such as web applications.
• Load Balancers are a managed load balancing service that allow for the automatic distribution of incoming traffic across compute resources.[25]
• DNS is an enterprise-grade domain name system featuring anycast routing.
• Monitoring, also known as MAIA, is a complementary dashboard which delivers fundamental compute and block storage metrics, providing visibility into resource utilization, application performance, and operational health.
• Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS) Special cloud-based web services (like Applications, Databases, Multimedia, etc.).