Page 1 of 2
Cloud computing platform player Enomaly on Monday launched what it is calling a clearinghouse and marketplace for unused cloud computing capacity called SpotCloud that could save cloud buyers a massive chunk of change and let cloud providers unload unused capacity to increase revenue.
While the concept is somewhat abstract, Toronto-based Enomaly founder and CTO Reuven Cohen called SpotCloud a "cloud of clouds" and compared it to Hotwire.com and Priceline.com, the well-known online travel sites that sell unused hotel rooms and airline tickets at a deep discount based on dates and locations without letting the consumer select a specific hotel chain or airline.
Also like Hotwire and Priceline, SpotCloud meters, tracks and bills capacity buyers and pays the capacity sellers directly, Cohen said.
SpotCloud will be in beta for the first month or so. At its launch, cloud providers will include offerings from the U.S., Canada, Switzerland and the Isle of Man. Cohen said he'd like to see providers in each country offering capacity on SpotCloud.
Cohen said as cloud computing became more popular, regional public cloud providers adopted a "build it and they will come" attitude, yet most clouds have a utilization rate of just 5 percent to 15 percent. "The result is you get these idle clouds with all of this unused capacity," Cohen said.
NEXT: What's In It For Cloud Buyers, Sellers?
