隨著微軟與雅虎就所提議的收購陷入僵局,其競爭對手IBM以及谷歌逐漸加大努力,以攜手主宰它們認為將在21世紀主導軟件分銷的模式,即所謂的云計算(cloud computing)。

迄今為止,它們的大多數工作在低調的幕后進行,但是,在上周四在IBM在洛杉磯舉行的大會上,這兩家公司的首席執行官做出少見的共同會面時,它們之間的密切關系旋即完全曝光。

IBM的Sam Palmisano以及谷歌的Eric Schmidt從領導力以及創新上依次贊揚了對方。他們還堅持認為,兩家公司具有許多相似性,盡管谷歌這家立足硅谷的消費網絡巨頭與位于紐約郊外的IBM這家從事商業計算的百年老店之間存在顯著差異。

Palmisano笑談道:“我們令人厭煩,他們令人激動；我們步履蹣跚,他們舉止敏捷；我們機構臃腫,他們人員精干。”然而,他表示,IBM和谷歌之間的對比是非常膚淺的,他指出,兩家供應商均“根植于創造價值”并且分享“共同的技術合作。”

Schmidt透露說,IBM還處理谷歌的賬戶支付工作。

IBM和谷歌計劃開拓它們對全球的共同技術觀察以及大量的人才,以構架一個全球性網絡,或者說,服務器云,消費者和企業將從中下載一切內容,從在線足球賽程到先進的工程應用資料。

“這是我們終身追求的目標,”Schmidt表示。

這個聯盟懷著宏偉的雄心,當幾年前Palmisano在電話中與Schmidt做了簡單的交流之后就開始了。

“我們并不是尋求賣什么產品給他們,”Palmisano解釋說。

這次通話導致了白板會議設備的誕生,并最終在協作努力之下,IBM和谷歌構建了它們自己的云計算,并在那年十月提交給幾所頂級工程大學,包括MIT、斯坦福以及卡內基梅隆,從而開辟了一個市場。

IBM-谷歌之云對于微軟來說,可能更像日益逼近的暴風雨,它運行在Linux之上,IBM早已擁抱它作為一種Windows的替代品。它還包含Xen系統虛擬化以及Apache Hadoop,它們是谷歌文件系統的開放源實現。

谷歌已經向消費者推出了若干免費的、基于云的服務,如電子郵件和存儲,但是,它剛剛叩開有利的商業市場。除了安全要求以外,“在企業云與消費者云之間沒有太大差異,”Schmidt在這一點上指出。

“云在商業上具有較高的價值,那是我們與IBM協作的秘密,”他補充說道。

谷歌與IBM一道令人信服地向商業和消費市場中的計算機用戶提供主機產品,范圍包括基本的生產率軟件,如文字處理以及日歷(如谷歌的Docs和IBM的Lotus Symphony套件),乃至尖端的安全性以及管理工具(通過IBM的Tivoli產品以及谷歌的Postini部門)。

當微軟努力開發一種它自己的連貫網絡策略之時,IBM和谷歌之間的合作伙伴關系被強化了,微軟是IBM以及谷歌的共同競爭對手。

對于云計算發展趨勢的回答就是,把一些應用轉移至互聯網之下,采取所謂的軟件加服務的策略。然而,微軟這個巨頭的盈利仍然來自軟件,這些軟件要么在零售店以軟件盒方式出售,要么在像戴爾這樣的巨型制造商的個人電腦中預裝。

微軟意欲收購雅虎就是為了提升其網絡存在,但是,首席執行官Steve Ballmer的侵略性戰術(他最近給予雅虎三個星期的通牒要求接受收購；但是,上周末平安無事地過去了)只會造成其目標收購對象的敵意。雖然收購無法成為現實,但兩家公司之間的合作關系似乎不成問題,只要現有的管理層在兩家公司均在位。

與此同時,IBM和谷歌似乎準備從其學術研究成果推出云計算的產品版本。

兩家公司在上周四并未就實現那個目的而做出詳細的發布,但是,Schmidt和Palmisano均充滿友好輕松色彩的講話,給人留下了攜手努力無疑將加速的印象。的確,他們可能已經充分地在洛杉磯大會中心向幾千家由IBM業務合作伙伴構成的聽眾做了說明,那就是“關注這一領域。”

備注:關于“云計算”

云計算(Cloud Computing)是分布式處理(Distributed Computing)、并行處理(Parallel Computing)和網格計算(Grid Computing)的發展,或者說是這些計算機科學概念的商業實現。

云計算的基本原理是,通過使計算分布在大量的分布式計算機上,而非本地計算機或遠程服務器中,企業數據中心的運行將更與互聯網相似。這使得企業能夠將資源切換到需要的應用上,根據需求訪問計算機和存儲系統。

這可是一種革命性的舉措,打個比方,這就好比是從古老的單臺發電機模式轉向了電廠集中供電的模式。它意味著計算能力也可以作為一種商品進行流通,就像煤氣、水電一樣,取用方便,費用低廉。最大的不同在于,它是通過互聯網進行傳輸的。

云計算的藍圖已經呼之欲出:在未來,只需要一臺筆記本或者一個手機,就可以通過網絡服務來實現我們需要的一切,甚至包括超級計算這樣的任務。從這個角度而言,最終用戶才是云計算的真正擁有者。

云計算的應用包含這樣的一種思想,把力量聯合起來,給其中的每一個成員使用。

目前,PC依然是我們日常工作生活中的核心工具——我們用PC處理文檔、存儲資料,通過電子郵件或U盤與他人分享信息。如果PC硬盤壞了,我們會因為資料丟失而束手無策。

而在“云計算”時代,“云”會替我們做存儲和計算的工作。“云”就是計算機群,每一群包括了幾十萬臺、甚至上百萬臺計算機。“云”的好處還在于,其中的計算機可以隨時更新,保證“云”長生不老。Google就有好幾個這樣的“云”,其他IT巨頭,如微軟、雅虎、亞馬遜(Amazon)也有或正在建設這樣的“云”。

屆時,我們只需要一臺能上網的電腦,不需關心存儲或計算發生在哪朵“云”上,但一旦有需要,我們可以在任何地點用任何設備,如電腦、手機等,快速地計算和找到這些資料。我們再也不用擔心資料丟失。

云計算的說法正在廣為流行,Gartner高級分析師Ben Pring評價道:“它正在成為一個大眾化的詞語。”但是,問題是似乎每個人對于云計算的理解各不相同。作為一個對互聯網的比喻,“云”是很容易理解的。但是一旦同“計算”聯系起來,它的意義就擴展了,而且開始變得模糊起來。有些分析師和公司把云計算僅僅定義為計算的升級版——基本上就是互聯網上提供的眾多虛擬服務器。另外一些人把云計算定義的更加寬泛,他們認為用戶在防火墻保護之外消費的任何事物都處于“云”之中。

翻頁查看英文原文:

Google, IBM join forces to dominate 'cloud computing'

With Microsoft and Yahoo in an icy stalemate over a proposed merger, rivals IBM and Google are ramping up efforts to jointly dominate what they believe will be the dominant software delivery model in the 21st century -- so called cloud computing.

Much of their work until now has taken place behind the scenes under a low profile, but the companies' close relationship was fully apparent Thursday when their CEOs made a rare joint appearance on stage at an IBM conference in Los Angeles.

Sam Palmisano of IBM and Google's Eric Schmidt in turn complimented each other on issues ranging from leadership to technological innovation. They also insisted that their companies share lots of similarities, despite obvious differences between a consumer Web giant that calls Silicon Valley home and a suburban New York-based centenarian of business computing.

"We're boring, they're exciting; we're slow, they're fast; we're fat, they're skinny," Palmisano joked. But the contrasts between IBM and Google are mostly skin deep, he said, noting that both vendors are "grounded in values" and share "a common technical alignment."

(IBM also processes accounts payables for Google, Schmidt revealed.)

IBM and Google plan to exploit their common technological world view and considerable talent to build a worldwide network, or cloud, of servers from which consumers and businesses will tap everything from online soccer schedules to advanced engineering applications.

"It's the story of our lifetime," said Schmidt.

The alliance, with its grand ambitions, started a couple of years ago with a simple phone call from Palmisano to Schmidt. "Sam called and wanted to know what we thought about distributed computing," said Schmidt.

"We weren't looking to sell them anything," said Palmisano.

The call led to whiteboarding sessions and ultimately a collaborative effort under which IBM and Google built a version of their cloud and in October gave it to several top engineering universities, including MIT, Stanford, and Carnegie Mellon, to poke away at.

The IBM-Google cloud, which to Microsoft might look more like an approaching thunderhead, runs on Linux, which has long been embraced by IBM as a non-Windows alternative. It also includes Xen systems virtualization and Apache Hadoop -- an open source implementation of the Google File System.

Google has already rolled out to consumers a number of free, cloud-based services such as e-mail and storage, but it's barely tapped the lucrative commercial market. With the exception of security requirements, "there's not that much difference between the enterprise cloud and the consumer cloud," Schmidt said at one point.

"The cloud has higher value in business, that's the secret to our collaboration" with IBM, he added at another.

Together, Google and IBM could conceivably supply computer users in the business and consumer markets with hosted offerings that range from basic productivity software like word processing and calendaring (such as Google Docs and IBM's Lotus Symphony suite) to sophisticated security and management tools (through IBM's Tivoli products and Google's Postini unit).

The partnership is solidifying at a time when Microsoft -- rivalry with which is another thing IBM and Google have in common -- is struggling to develop a coherent Web strategy of its own.

Its answer to the cloud trend is to move some applications to the Internet under a strategy it calls software plus services. But the bulk of Microsoft's profits still come from software that's either sold in boxes at retail stores or preinstalled on PCs by big manufacturers like Dell.

Microsoft is seeking to buy out Yahoo to bolster its Web presence, but CEO Steve Ballmer's aggressive tactics (he recently gave Yahoo a three-week deadline to accept the deal; it passed uneventfully last weekend) have only engendered hostility from his target. Should the merger fail to materialize, future partnerships between the two companies would seem out of the question as long as current management is in place on both sides.

Meanwhile, IBM and Google appear ready to kick their cloud out of its academic nest to start rolling out production versions.

The companies did not make specific announcements to that end on Thursday, but Schmidt and Palmisano, both dressed in LA-friendly lighter colors, left little doubt that their joint efforts are accelerating. Indeed, they might well have told their audience of several thousand IBM business partners at the Los Angeles Convention Center to "watch this space."