Because Alibaba Cloud is fundamentally different from other clouds, but they are both realistic choices.
Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing brand of Alibaba Group, is the world's leading cloud computing technology and service provider. Founded in 2009, it has R&D centers and operating institutions in Hangzhou, Beijing, Silicon Valley and other places. In 2010, Alibaba Cloud opened its technical service capabilities in the field of cloud computing to the outside world. Through Alibaba Cloud, users can remotely obtain massive computing, storage resources and big data processing capabilities through the Internet. As of June 2014, Alibaba Cloud serves more than 1.4 million customers, covering various fields such as the Internet, mobile APPs, audio and video, games, and e-commerce. According to the IDC research report, Alibaba Cloud is the largest public cloud computing service provider in China. The remote deployment system business based on the new generation of cloud platform has become the first choice for Internet companies and developers. Since 2013, the most risk-sensitive financial institutions have also begun to migrate to the cloud. Alibaba Cloud has specially built a financial cloud for banks, insurance companies, and securities companies. As the security and stability of cloud computing have been continuously proven in practice, more and more government agencies, central enterprises, and large private enterprises have begun to embrace cloud computing and big data. In December 2014, the remaining ticket query system of 12306 website 75 was migrated to the Alibaba Cloud computing platform to share the pressure caused by the Spring Festival traffic peak.
There are only two types of clouds in China.
There are currently two types of domestic cloud services. The first is Alibaba Cloud, which is independently developed and controllable by Alibaba. It is developed from the underlying operating system (Feitian). The second type is the cloud that is built based on third-party software such as OpenStack, such as Tencent Cloud, Huawei Cloud, etc. The former requires huge technical investment, while the latter is much easier.
OpenStack is similar to Android. In 2010, NASA teamed up with Rackspace, a cloud service company, to share the jointly developed OpenStack cloud computing management platform with the world, rapidly lowering the threshold for cloud computing services. OpenStack is equivalent to the Android system. Xiaomi uses the Android system to sell mobile phones, and Huawei and Tencent use OpenStack to provide cloud services, which can be commercially monetized. Due to low thresholds and low technical ceilings, competition is fierce. Huawei and Tencent rely on the support of group resources to survive in the waves.
Alibaba Cloud has vision and potential.
Alibaba Cloud has a first-mover advantage. Alibaba Cloud's success is closely related to Wang Jian's hard work in front of Jack Ma, and to Jack Ma's long-term vision and judgment. Alibaba Cloud is indeed the result of the lives of Alibaba engineers. In 2010, when Jack Ma promoted Alibaba Cloud as an infrastructure service, both Robin Li and Ma Huateng laughed it off. Although Huawei proposed a cloud plan that year, it was shelved without seeing any results. Nine years later, Alibaba Cloud is ahead.
Being independent and controllable can go further. Alibaba has independently developed the cloud operating system Feitian, developed the database OceanBase, the Internet of Things platform Link artificial intelligence ET Brain, etc., and is developing the AI ??chip NPU. Technology, products and services are constantly iterated, with core competitiveness and good systematity, compatibility and scalability. Alibaba Cloud's Feitian Cloud operating system has undergone years of business practice. Core businesses such as government affairs and finance have been moved to the cloud, and it has experienced tests such as Tmall's Double Eleven and remote live broadcasts. Feitian System serves more than 2.3 million users in more than 200 countries and regions around the world. More than 60% of customers around the world have handed over their core business and data to the top few cloud service vendors, all of which have independently developed clouds. Therefore, Alibaba Cloud still has great market potential, and its domestic scale exceeds that of Tencent and Huawei.
Both clouds are realistic options.
A realistic choice between two clouds. Alibaba wants to stand on the commanding heights of technology. Huawei and Tencent saw the monetization potential of cloud computing and entered the game one after another.
To be honest, OpenStack is not very suitable for public clouds and has problems such as confusing versions, incomplete functions, and insufficient compatibility and coordination. However, it is the fastest and most direct choice to achieve commercialization, build an ecosystem, and meet needs from a technical perspective. Starting from scratch, Huawei and Tencent cannot afford the time and market. OpenStack is difficult to use, but it is like a second-hand car. It needs to be modified and driven first to serve its own strategy.
There are flaws in using doctrine. The cloud based on OpenStack lacks core technical support, is difficult to expand, has many versions, complex branches, poor stability, and many faults. It is difficult to migrate and upgrade across vendors. Software modules come from multiple companies and lack unified planning and consistency. Many projects have become "Bad". Cisco and HP have also abandoned OpenStack, exiting public cloud or conducting independent research and development. However, Huawei Cloud and Tencent Cloud still build public clouds based on OpenStack, and there are great challenges and opportunities in the future.