An open cloud must have freely accessible, open application programming interfaces (APIs), the freedom to move data between providers at will and no on-site hardware requirement, according to Alex Williams writing at TechCrunch. 

And an open cloud is federated, meaning that your organization can move data, images and files across multiple cloud environments at will.

These factors make the cloud a perfect platform for storage solutions, especially open-source storage solutions. The cost savings of open-source software and the cost efficiencies of cloud storage software create a «perfect storm» for organizations, bringing greater cost savings, better security, higher quality software and the ability for businesses to avoid vendor «lock-in,» according to Williams.

Whether you’re a corporation, a service provider, a research lab, a university, a major enterprise, a midsized business or an SMB, adopting an open source storage solution and leveraging the support of a global open source community is …