Cloud computing. You have heard the term and are most likely following the hype. And hype is a good term to describe the frenzied attention. However, be careful. Don’t write this hype off as a fad or overblown. In this case, I think it is wise to investigate and ask yourself some difficult questions about your current business. Regardless of what industry you are in.
When I first heard “cloud computing” I brushed it off as the latest marketing term for something that has been around for decades – I thought back to the days of time sharing on the mainframe, then to the Application Service Providers (ASPs), then to the trend of “hosting” and all of the vendors that have emerged in that arena, from ISPs to actual hosted service providers. So, at first glance, I reasoned -- same thing, new name. I was wrong. What makes cloud computing different in my opinion, are two fundamental things. 1) virtualization, and 2) the pricing model of the cloud. Granted, over time we will see the emergence of deviations from one model -- private clouds, public clouds, internal clouds, hosted clouds, sourced clouds, big clouds, tiny clouds… But regardless, they will turn the current model of computing and I.T. buying on its head. When? I am not sure. Not in 2009 or early 2010, but before 2015 for sure. Hey, if Gartner and Forrester get 6 years of wiggle room on forecasting, I should too.
Cloud computing, through virtualization technology, promises to change the economics of how we all buy “computing”. I didn’t say computers, I said computing. And that is at the heart of the discussion. Over time, individuals and companies will buy more and more “computing” (as it is used, pay by drink so to speak) and less and less “computers”. In the early 1900’s individuals and companies purchased electricity generating systems (which in turn delivered electricity on site). Over time, the model turned to the purchase of electricity and not the machines themselves. The Electric Utility was born. That similar model will emerge with computing and we have already seen it with such examples as FaceBook, SalesForce.com, Amazon Web Services, Google App Engine, Google Docs, OpenTable, etc. The computing on all of these is not done on your computer; they are delivered as a service utility. Some you pay for as you use, some are even free (the advertisers foot the bill).
So, it is time to now point you in the direction of the book that pushed me over the edge and convinced me that the cloud would be game changing. After research from countless articles, conferences, webinars, and discussions I was teetering on the edge, and then I read
The Big Switch by Nicholas Carr. My conversion was complete. I believe. The Financial Times calls this book “the best read so far about the significance of the shift to cloud computing".
Let me insert a paragraph directly for Mr. Carr’s website describing the book’s topic:
“The shift is already remaking the computer industry, bringing new competitors like Google and Salesforce.com to the fore and threatening stalwarts like Microsoft and Dell. But the effects will reach much further. Cheap, utility-supplied computing will ultimately change society as profoundly as cheap electricity did. We can already see the early effects — in the shift of control over media from institutions to individuals, in debates over the value of privacy, in the export of the jobs of knowledge workers, even in the growing concentration of wealth. As information utilities expand, the changes will only broaden, and their pace will only accelerate.”
Finally, do not fear the cloud. Find a way to embrace it. Find a way to prepare your business for this coming change. Whether you sell computer hardware, enterprise software, are a bank, are a retailer, whatever. Talk about it, plan for it. If you have a long term vision and plan of how to take advantage of the cloud, it can benefit you. If you ignore it and wait, it could potentially topple you. Be prepared. The clouds are building. The subsequent storm will destroy some in its path, but give life-giving rain to others.
In Cloud Computing
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