Microclouds: The Next Big Thing in Cloud Computing or Just Another Edge Strategy?

Forget hybrid cloud and multicloud. Today, the hot new trend in cloud computing is microcloud, a concept that fuses cloud computing with edge infrastructure.

Or at least, that's what some folks — specifically, those in the ecosystem surrounding Canonical, which has been pushing the microcloud concept recently — are saying. Whether the microcloud trend will catch on — and whether it's any different from traditional edge computing architectures — is debatable.

We don't have definitive answers about the future of microcloud, but we have perspective to offer. Read on as we break down everything IT pros need to know about microcloud and the role it might play in the cloud computing industry going forward.

What Is Microcloud?

Microcloud is a cloud computing strategy that deploys ready-to-use server clusters outside of traditional data centers. The clusters include not just hardware, but also preconfigured software environments that allow workloads to consume the hardware using a cloud-like model.

For instance, if you want to build your own private cloud in a local office without having to set it up from scratch, you could deploy a microcloud for that purpose. Or if you're hosting an off-site event and need a dedicated server cluster for its duration, you could run a temporary microcloud while the event is underway.

Related:Cross-Cloud: The Next Evolution in Cloud Computing?

The microcloud concept was popularized (to the extent that it has become popular) by Canonical, the company that produces Ubuntu Linux and other open source products. Canonical introduced a microcloud product in late 2023. (Canonical stylizes the name of the product as MicroCloud, but we're using the generic term microcloud in this article because we're discussing microcloud as a concept, not Canonical's product specifically.)

However, certain folks were talking about microcloud before Canonical brought its product to market — so it appears that the concept of deploying a "micro" cloud in a location of a user's choosing has been around for at least five years.

Why Use a Microcloud?

The main value proposition behind the microcloud concept is simple: By providing an easy means of deploying servers wherever one wants, microclouds make it possible to bring compute resources close to end users. By extension, they can deliver many of the benefits of on-prem infrastructure — such as reduced latency. But because microclouds consist of preconfigured servers that customers can deploy in minutes, they are much easier to set up and manage than conventional on-prem hardware.

Related:Virtual Private Clouds: Weighing Benefits, Drawbacks for Your Cloud Strategy

Put another way, microclouds offer the convenience of conventional cloud computing platforms but without restricting customers to hosting workloads inside cloud data centers. With a microcloud, you can place your workloads wherever you want.

Microcloud vs. Edge Computing vs. Mobile Data Centers

If microclouds sound a lot like edge computing, it's because they are. The idea of deploying hardware at the "edge" instead of in conventional data centers is not new.

However, the chief distinction between traditional edge computing and microclouds seems to be that with a microcloud, you get ready-made edge infrastructure that you can deploy with minimal fuss. Instead of having to obtain, set up, configure, and manage individual hardware devices to build your edge infrastructure, you can buy or rent a portable collection of servers and deploy them in minutes.

The notion of being able to deploy modular, prebuilt server clusters in any location is also, arguably, not new. It's pretty similar to the concept behind modular data centers, which have been around for a while. That said, a modular data center typically includes only server hardware, not preconfigured software environments for using that hardware — so in that sense, a microcloud is theoretically easier to deploy.

Who Needs a Microcloud?

So, who actually needs a microcloud?

The answer is anyone for whom the following two conditions are true:

If conventional cloud computing architectures are working for you, a microcloud is overkill. Likewise, if you need to deploy specialized hardware at the edge — not just commodity servers — a microcloud won't meet your needs.

Are Microclouds the Future of Cloud Computing?

All in all, the microcloud concept doesn't seem novel enough to bring major disruption to the cloud computing industry. But it could make it just a bit easier for companies to benefit from edge computing without the hassle that edge typically entails — which would translate to better performance, and possibly heightened security, for workloads that aren't good fits for conventional cloud data centers.