Cast Iron launches new platform to bridge cloud and on-site
It's a problem we've heard about time and time again: the benefits of cloud computing and SaaS sound appealing, but it's hard for a company to justify a jump into the cloud when the legacy hardware and software, which cost a pretty penny to get up to speed not so long ago, has plenty of life left in it.
Cast Iron Systems, which is in the business of cloud integration, is releasing this week OmniConnect, a next-generation platform that brings the worlds of public cloud, private cloud and on-site systems. The company explains that there are two values of a cloud integration system like this.
The first is the productivity for IT, which is now able to better manage what's happening in different worlds - on-site and cloud-based. The second has to do with loyalty for SaaS providers. The more a SaaS provider is integrated with its customer's apps, the harder it is to cut the cord at renewal time. Breaking ties with the SaaS provider kind of unravels the whole system - and who wants to do that?
The company highlighted the five areas of new capabilities on the platform. They are:
Complete Integrations from one vendor: With data integration as the foundation, the platform enables SaaS apps "to access, cleanse, and synchronize data stored in legacy systems — all in real time." In addition, it can mashup data from different sources into one UI and showcase it in a single view without having to move it from one app to another.
A Complete Cloud Experience: The platform breaks away from first-generation "cloud" technologies where management data was on the cloud but the system to manage it was on-premise. The new system allows users to " configure their integration processes in the cloud, run them in a multi-tenant cloud-based environment, and monitor all integrations from a single cloud-based console. This is in contrast to first generation “cloud” technologies that required users to execute their operations on premise, storing only management data in the cloud.
Complete Reusability: The new Connector Development Kit used to build connection to new apps and data sources can be re-used, saving time for IT staffs that don't have to build integrations. It also includes hundreds of searchable templates for the most common processes between cloud and on-site apps.
Portable, Embeddable and Brandable: Cast Iron is OK with being the brains behind your company's "offering." The company is currently powering Dell Integration Services,
Centralized Cloud Management: Using the cloud console, users can monitor multiple integrations in a single location while new management APIs allow IT and Saas providers to view the monitoring data from within their private or public clouds.
The company is also touting its Cast Iron Secure Connector, a secure channel that "enables the encrypted exchange of firewalled data between a company’s enterprise applications and Cast Iron’s multi-tenant cloud service."
OmniConnect will be released tomorrow.
