Dell buys Boomi - Kickstarting a new disruption

Dell's announcement to acquire Boomi, a provider of on-demand integration software to connect on-premise applications with cloud services, is quite interesting. Why in the world would a hardware OEM provider like Dell want to scale up by acquiring software companies like Boomi.

Claims abound about the potential value waiting to be unlocked. While many would see the light of the day only if the marriage of the two organizations' offerings materialize well, what is undeniable is the determination of Dell to forge ahead strongly with its cloud computing plans. Boomi's AtomSphere, helps enterprises quickly integrate both data and processes from their on-premise IT apps with cloud SaaS services likeSalesForce, Taleo, NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics, Intuit Quickbooks, Zuora, EDI. The AtomSphere platform provides ready to use adaptors to connect and write quick business logic and connect to these SaaS platforms.

One thing is evident. Dell is looking at introducing its own stack for enterprises wanting to embrace cloud. Be it infrastructure, middleware or business services, Dell would like to be the one stop shop for enterprises. Their infrastructure offerings for setting up a private cloud, the recently unveiled Virtual Integrated System (VIS) that allows end customers directly place requests for and get the needed infrastructure provisioned automatically without intervention from IT administrators are other steps in this direction.

One trend that is clearly coming out in the cloud computing space is the emergence of a few technology end to  end stacks that customers will eventually have options to choose from. Be it Microsoft's Azure, Amazon's AWS or Dell's offering, a disruption is very much on the cards. Will we see another war like the "War of the Operating Systems" albeit on a larger scale or will their be enough play area to accommodate a handful of stacks?