You may have read about it, heard about it or are already using it. The hype is definitely out there. Cloud computing is currently being touted as the next computing revolution.
Opinion of what Cloud Computing comprises varies but, in simple terms, as a customer of this service you access the application or service through a web browser and do not know where it is being run at any one time.
To quote Nicholas Carr, author of The Big Switch, “The World Wide Web has turned into the World Wide Computer”. The information technology industry has begun a journey to a utility model similar to that of the electricity industry – but instead of selling power, the service being supplied is information processing.
At this point there is not a mature functioning cloud computing grid in place to provide these services. Building the grid takes time and money. However, it is clear that the foundations for this technology are in place and Google and Amazon are currently acknowledged as the dominant players in the market. In recent years, both these service providers have been very busy building data centers to house computer servers and establishing product sets to enable their cloud service offerings.
Cloud computing services available today are best suited to individuals, sole traders and medium to small companies. Without the need to invest in building data centres and infrastructure and employ technicians and engineers, it allows start ups and smaller commercial entities to invest their capital and focus their meagre resources on establishing and growing their businesses.
The current role of this technology within large companies and enterprises is less understood. This industry sector has already invested their capital to establish an infrastructure to support their business needs. They are not about to divest these investments until the industry is more mature and the answers around a number of important questions, including those in relation to corporate data security and viable cost models, remain unclear. In the short term, large companies will spend their money building private cloud computing services than buying services from cloud computing providers.
If you are in the market for Cloud Computing services then now is a good time to sample the free service offerings available in this market. As the product set matures and the market grows, the business model will shift with it – although to what extent is still being debated. After all, the purpose of a service provider is to make money and one way to make money in this operating model is to charge for your services.
Will Cloud Computing live up to the hype and be the ‘next wave’? Time will tell – but for now I am happy to dip my toes in the water. As the old saying goes ‘Nothing ventured, nothing gained’.
Filed under: Opinion, Technology
