This site has been citing Cloud Computing as one of the critical tools for delivering integrated information at your fingertips. Providing not just the ease of use interfaces but also the access to tools+the complete data necessary for making the right decisions. But Cloud Computing has its skeptics. Information Week did a survey of over 450 business technology professionals and found quite a scattering of ideas and attitudes toward Cloud Computing:
43% – were cautious opting for : still to early to tell, but there is promise
23% – went for hypometer: just hype; old premise/technology different name
22% – were enthusiastic: its a transformational technology or I am betting my career on it
12% – admitted: I don’t know much about it
Source: Information Week Dec 1, 2008 page 18
The last number is rather interesting because it says that at least Cloud Computing is on the radar screens of nearly 80-90% of business technology professionals.
We are sticking with Cloud Computing being transformational and pervasive but not all consuming. Desktop and local servers will do very fine – just as IBM’s Mainframe business has lasted as a $6-10 billion/year business well after its 1990, 1996, 1998, 2003 and other declarations of demise. Look, if Microsoft can throw crap over the fence and call it WoW and Vista – one knows there is an awful lot of inertia from users in the IT business.
So expect the revolutionary UI capabilities of Cloud Computing linked with its ability to deliver write-once deploy anywhere portals into your data to continue to attract a growing number of users. And developers will be responsive as well because they are tired of having to cope with multiple and proprietary means of delivering the same interface on mobile, then desktop, then Web , then embedded devices. The bonus with Cloud Computing is that such systems tend to support SOA and silo-breaking data architectures as well. Expect continued coverage of Cloud Computing here.