The open source cloud computing project, OpenStack, has a reputation as a bit of a science project; technologically interesting, fine for those who don’t mind getting their hands dirty, but not something that normal companies are going to depend upon for anything serious or important.

That reputation, although possibly justifiable a year or two back, really doesn’t stand up to close scrutiny anymore. And that’s what my very first (short) Forrester report argues.

OpenStack is now ready for business, but implementation is not without its challenges.

As part of the selection process here at Forrester, prospective analysts prepare a short report in the Forrester style. They also deliver a presentation based upon that report, and defend their hypothesis in the face of some pointed questioning.

An earlier version of this report was my interview piece, which I wrote back in June. The tone and broad argument remain pretty true to the original, but a number of my new colleagues proved invaluable in deepening arguments, augmenting assertions with more data, and enriching the whole with extra endnotes and links to additional resources. Lauren Nelson, in particular, contributed a wealth of material gathered during her own work for May’s longer OpenStack Is Ready – Are You? Today’s document may have begun life as ‘mine’ (cue Gollum impression), but the piece that Forrester clients can now download is very much a team effort. This, I hear, will be a recurring theme here!

So what do you think? Are you taking the leap, and including consideration of OpenStack in your strategic planning? Are you working with a partner as the report recommends, or are you finding success in nurturing a critical mass of skills within your own organization? Please do let me know.