Cloud Computing – Hype or Game-changer
Much has been written and debated on Cloud Computing, but the verdict has still not been reached in the halls of Corporate IT.
CIO.com has a great series on what Cloud Computing means for the CIO (and IT departments) and surprisingly, makes a case against it; but only because it is not ready for large-scale deployment.
Currently, barriers against adoption of cloud computing are in the realms of technology accessibility and security. While the first can be worked out over time, security remains an essential element that needs to be balanced.
However, considering that cloud computing offers IT the opportunity to reduce costs through hardware and application consolidation, improved outsourcing capabilities, rapid deployment of new technologies, security may just become a footnote.
While public cloud computing services from Google, Microsoft (yes!), Amazon and other will continue to increase, these will primarily attract customers from the small and medium business segments, where IT is not a competitive advantage. Very large organizations may opt for private or hybrid clouds, simply out of fear of data integrity and privacy concerns. also, custom application development is not possible in the cloud computing scenario.
One scenario that remains to be played out is the use of proprietary software or open source software to drive the cloud. I suspect that over the long run, businesses may not care what is used, as long as it meets requirements consistently. For example, office software, email, instant messaging etc may be open source, while special software such as company applications will continue to remain proprietary. There may be other solutions that are available in the cloud, like salesforce.com, but the lack of customization options can be a deterrent to some.
In the end, the level of control available to the organization in using its data will determine if cloud computing is here to stay. If the cloud provider vanishes tomorrow, can I get the only copy of my data? If the cloud provider hosts my data in a country where privacy laws are biased towards the government, will there be any issues?
Technology has never been a barrier to adoption. Control and trust are the keywords which will decide if cloud computing is here to stay.
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