毫不夸張的說，公共云正在顛覆技術(shù)的使用方式。本周，來自于排名前三的公共云提供商的高管們——亞馬遜Web Services、微軟Azure和谷歌云平臺(tái)——在華盛頓州表威爾市舉行的GeekWire云技術(shù)峰會(huì)上發(fā)表了講話。

以下是人們?nèi)缃駪?yīng)該了解的三件事情。

合作關(guān)系的管理至關(guān)重要，但管理起來并不容易

微軟與亞馬遜正在與首要的軟件公司結(jié)盟，以便將它們的業(yè)務(wù)搬上各自的云端。其他很多企業(yè)，例如Tableau、Salesforce和Workday，亦是如此。

微軟云和企業(yè)業(yè)務(wù)執(zhí)行副總裁斯科特?古瑟里（Scott Guthrie）在大會(huì)上表示：“我們希望在贏得大客戶青睞的同時(shí)斬獲向這些客戶兜售產(chǎn)品的軟件公司。”

然而問題在于，大型云提供商提供的不僅僅是基礎(chǔ)計(jì)算、互聯(lián)和存儲(chǔ)構(gòu)件，同時(shí)也在增添更多的功能，而這些功能卻與他們結(jié)盟的軟件商形成了競(jìng)爭(zhēng)關(guān)系。

例如，盡管SAP已將其財(cái)務(wù)軟件植入Microsoft Azure公共云，但SAP與Microsoft Dynamics應(yīng)用之間卻是競(jìng)爭(zhēng)關(guān)系。古瑟里指出：“如果雙方在某些領(lǐng)域發(fā)生重合，那么雙方在開展業(yè)務(wù)時(shí)就得遵守一定的規(guī)矩。”古瑟里管理著Azure云平臺(tái)以及與SAP競(jìng)爭(zhēng)的財(cái)務(wù)軟件。他還表示，“在我看來，SAP既是競(jìng)爭(zhēng)者也是合作伙伴，但是我們能夠處理好這一關(guān)系。”

這一點(diǎn)對(duì)于微軟來說似乎并不陌生。多年前，當(dāng)公司組建了其Windows特許經(jīng)營(yíng)模式時(shí)，微軟希望其他軟件公司轉(zhuǎn)而使用微軟的產(chǎn)品，當(dāng)時(shí)微軟產(chǎn)品的運(yùn)行環(huán)境為老版本的DOS操作系統(tǒng)。然而，即便Windows團(tuán)隊(duì)敦促Lotus Development Corp.這樣的第三方公司（當(dāng)時(shí)DOS表格軟件的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者）使用Windows系統(tǒng)時(shí)，微軟卻在打造其競(jìng)爭(zhēng)產(chǎn)品——Windows電子表格軟件。這一關(guān)系并未給Lotus帶來好的結(jié)局，Louts最終被IBM收購(gòu)。

古瑟里向《財(cái)富》透露，Lotus敗走麥城的主要原因在于，與其他微軟的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)軟件公司相比，Lotus使用Windows的時(shí)間更晚。同樣，古瑟里表示，軟件公司應(yīng)迅速地投入云服務(wù)的懷抱，否則就會(huì)處于落后的境地。

西雅圖稱自己為“云城”

公共云市場(chǎng)領(lǐng)軍企業(yè)Amazon Web Services 約11年前誕生于西雅圖。第二大公共云公司微軟便座落于雷德蒙德東部數(shù)英里遠(yuǎn)的郊區(qū)。盡管谷歌總部位于加州山景城，但其云平臺(tái)開發(fā)工作的很大一部分都交由西雅圖打理。甲骨文也將相當(dāng)一部分新云業(yè)務(wù)放在了西雅圖。

在大會(huì)期間，Docker的新任首席執(zhí)行官史蒂夫?辛格（Steve Singh）表示，公司即將在西雅圖或表威爾市設(shè)立一個(gè)大型的工程中心。Docker總部位于舊金山，致力于為容器技術(shù)提供支持，能夠讓云端或企業(yè)數(shù)據(jù)中心軟件的部署變得更加便利。

谷歌云產(chǎn)品管理總監(jiān)格雷格?德米謝里（Greg DeMichillie）表示，公司正在西雅圖南湖聯(lián)合區(qū)建立新的設(shè)施，以容納更多的谷歌云員工。

德米謝里說：“看看我們?cè)诠こ毯推渌I(lǐng)域的招聘力度就知道，公司在西雅圖正在以驚人的速度發(fā)展。”谷歌在西雅圖弗雷蒙特地區(qū)也設(shè)立了辦事處。

云平臺(tái)其實(shí)就是運(yùn)行新老應(yīng)用的平臺(tái)

財(cái)富500強(qiáng)公司運(yùn)行著眾多的古董級(jí)業(yè)務(wù)軟件，在這一過程中會(huì)不斷地打補(bǔ)丁或升級(jí)。數(shù)據(jù)庫(kù)、財(cái)會(huì)系統(tǒng)和軟件管理制作任務(wù)都屬于這一類軟件。云提供商認(rèn)為，很大一部分重要的業(yè)務(wù)軟件應(yīng)從數(shù)據(jù)中心轉(zhuǎn)移至云端，但這種遷移是很困難的。

然而，古瑟里表示，大多數(shù)Azure云業(yè)務(wù)來自于全新的計(jì)算工作，而且這些工作從未在任何數(shù)據(jù)中心運(yùn)行過。之所以出現(xiàn)這些新現(xiàn)象，物聯(lián)網(wǎng)功不可沒。為了獲取數(shù)據(jù)，物聯(lián)網(wǎng)連接著數(shù)十億的設(shè)備，從健康裝置一直到工廠設(shè)備。

古瑟里說：“直到最近，現(xiàn)有業(yè)務(wù)才出現(xiàn)了重大的增長(zhǎng)和轉(zhuǎn)變。我認(rèn)為亞馬遜也會(huì)同意我的觀點(diǎn)。核心IT的核心工作量直到最近才有所提升和轉(zhuǎn)變。”

沒有云端的幫助，全新的計(jì)算任務(wù)很難實(shí)現(xiàn)，例如德國(guó)汽車巨人寶馬的互聯(lián)汽車項(xiàng)目，它將駕駛員的智能手機(jī)、聯(lián)系方式、日歷植入到汽車當(dāng)中。古瑟里表示，這類項(xiàng)目不一定源于傳統(tǒng)的IT員工，而是公司的業(yè)務(wù)部門。

摩根士丹利執(zhí)行董事布萊恩?諾瓦克（Brian Nowak）對(duì)此表示了首肯，他認(rèn)為很多云業(yè)務(wù)和收入都源于這類全新的任務(wù)。

諾瓦克表示：“兩年前，自動(dòng)駕駛汽車還未誕生。”互聯(lián)家居設(shè)備也是新興事物，例如亞馬遜的Echo。他解釋說，這些部件搜集的數(shù)據(jù)需要通過云端進(jìn)行分析，同時(shí)也推動(dòng)了公共云業(yè)務(wù)向前發(fā)展。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

譯者：馮豐

審稿：夏林

It is no understatement to say that public cloud computing is revolutionizing how technology is used. Executives from the top three public cloud providers—Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform—spoke at the GeekWire Cloud Tech Summit in Bellevue, Wash. this week.

Here are three lessons you need to learn now.

Managing partnerships is critical—and hard

Microsoft (msft) and Amazon are courting major software companies to run their operations on their respective clouds, and many—Tableau (data), Salesforce (crm), Workday (wday)—are doing so.

"We want to win both big customers and the software companies selling to those customers," Scott Guthrie, Microsoft's executive vice president of cloud and enterprise, said at the conference.

The problem is that the major cloud providers offer more than basic computing, networking, and storage building blocks. They are adding more capabilities that compete with software companies they are courting.

For example, while SAP (sap, +0.05%) financial software runs on Microsoft Azure public cloud, SAP also competes with Microsoft Dynamics applications. As Guthrie noted: "If we overlap in places, we have to do that in disciplined ways." Guthrie, who manages both Azure cloud and financial software that competes with SAP, added: "I see SAP as both a competitor and a partner, but we're able to manage that well."

This is déjà vu for Microsoft. Years ago as the company built its Windows franchise, it wanted other software companies to move Microsoft products, which ran on the older DOS operating system. But even as the Windows team pushed third-parties like Lotus Development Corp., then a leader in DOS spreadsheet software, to move to Windows, Microsoft was building its own competitive Windows Excel spreadsheet software. This did not work out so well for Lotus, which ended up being acquired by IBM (ibm, +0.74%).

Guthrie told Fortune that Lotus' fate had more to do with that company being late to Windows than any competition from Microsoft's competitive software. In similar fashion, Guthrie said software companies should quickly commit to cloud or risk falling behind.

Seattle sees itself as 'Cloud City'

Amazon Web Services (amzn, +0.02%), the leader in the public cloud market, was born in Seattle approximately 11 years ago. Microsoft, the second largest public cloud company, is based a few miles east in Redmond. And while Google (goog, +0.24%) is headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., a good chunk of its cloud development work takes place in the Seattle area. Oracle (orcl, +0.04%) also fields much of its nascent cloud work in the area.

At the conference, Docker's new chief executive Steve Singh said his company will open a significant engineering hub in Seattle or Bellevue soon. Docker, which backs container technology easing the deployment of software that runs in the cloud or in company data centers, is based in San Francisco.

Greg DeMichillie, director of product management for Google Cloud, said that company is constructing a new facility in Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood to house more Google cloud personnel.

"If you look at the rate at which we are hiring, not just in engineering, our growth here in Seattle is pretty phenomenal,” DeMichillie said. Google also has offices in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood.

Cloud is about running applications, new and old

Fortune 500 companies run lots of decades-old business software, simply patched up and updated over time. Databases, financial accounting systems, and software managing manufacturing tasks all fall into that category. Cloud providers think much of that key business software should move from corporate data centers to the cloud—but such migrations are difficult.

Guthrie, however, said most of Azure's cloud business comes from truly new computing jobs that have never ran in anyone's data center. The Internet of things–in which billions of connected devices from fitness gadgets to appliances to factory gear in order to gather data—is partially responsible for enabling those new scenarios.

"We haven’t seen a huge lift and shift of existing things until recently," Guthrie said. "I think Amazon would say the same thing. Core IT hasn’t been lifting and shifting core workloads until lately."

Brand new computing tasks—like German auto giant BMW's connected car work, which brings the driver's smartphone, contacts, calendar into the car itself—could not happen without a cloud. Projects like this, Guthrie added, are not necessarily driven by traditional IT staff, but by business units at the company.

Brian Nowak, executive director at Morgan Stanley, agreed that much cloud work—and revenue—is driven by totally new tasks like these.

"Autonomous cars didn't even exist two years ago," Nowak noted. Connected home devices, like Amazon Echo, are also new. The data that these gadgets collect needs to be analyzed in the cloud, he explained, and that is driving the bulk of public cloud business going forward.