The second reason for building the open cloud centers around the same motivators that bring enterprises to the cloud in the first place: cost efficiency, range of service delivery options, reduced overhead and better asset utilization.

FORBES: Red Hat's Formula for an Open Cloud

For example, Southwest Airlines cut the amount of idle time for its planes at the gate by about 50%, which produced a huge fuel savings and dramatically increased plane utilization (one of the highest cost drivers in the airline industry), without negatively impacting service quality.

FORBES: Step 4 For A Successful Startup: Maximize Operational Efficiencies