In the Clouds
The last time my old Point 'n' Click crew got together, I asked each of them (all experts except for me!) to give a prediction for the hot ticket in computing for the year to come. Hands-down, it was "cloud computing."
What is that, exactly? And who are the players?
Cloud computing is essentially the idea of moving your base of operations from your local computer/desktop to "out there in the cloud." The cloud is simply the vast array of interconnected computers that makes up the Internet (access) with storage and applications offered as a service by various providers (like Google) either for a fee or publicly.
(Image thanks to Wikipedia)
While it's not firmly established, it's pretty clear to anyone who has spent any time with IT types that the "cloud" concept originated when systems engineers would represent the "magic" of what was going on (computing, file access, writing, transferring, etc.) in a computer application (with the details as yet to be determined) by a vague cloud-shaped object drawn on a white board.
This is still a pretty good way of explaining what the "cloud" is and does. It takes its shape from the specific things its requested to do, and by virtue of the specific entity (individual, business, etc.) requesting it and how that entity accesses this "cloud."
Thus, every time you invoke an online application, you've entered The Cloud. If you store documents on Google's Drive (erstwhile Docs), you've stored them in The Cloud.
According to Wikipedia's explanation, The Cloud can be likened to public utilities, in that it can expand and contract to meet the demand of users, which is much more efficient that a company-by-company infrastructure, with a fixed hard drive, seats for software, bandwidth for transmission of data, and so on (not to mention security controls).
And it is that last, security controls, that has people most divided in their opinion of the value and future of The Cloud. "Instances such as the secret NSA program, working with AT&T, and Verizon, which recorded over 10 million phone calls between American citizens, causes uncertainty among privacy advocates, and the greater powers it gives to telecommunication companies to monitor user activity." (Wikipedia) Not only have you turned over your data--however sensitive it may be--to the scrutiny of your Cloud suppliers, but you have no knowledge of where data may physically be housed. Because so much of The Cloud is virtual, it may not really "live" anywhere, but may move from place to place if and when that's needed.
This also gives rise to issues to compliance. And of course, this has bureaucratic eyes popping and veins bulging. How to put restrictions and rules around something as amorphous as a cloud of bits and bytes? Whom do you sue if something goes wrong? What happens if the Cloud crosses national boundaries, and what's illegal in one jurisdiction is perfectly legal in another--in fact, a sales advantage?
The other issue that is becoming more and more apparent, particularly if you follow Google's activities, is: "who pays for all this? What's the monetization model?" Google is slowly but steadily moving into position (I think) to move many of its now-free services into a tiered model, where you'll either have to endure increased advertised and throttled-down service, or pay a monthly fee for access plans. Google Drive is a good example of that. Once upon a time, Google offered its Documents as both SaaS (software as a service) and free storage. Now, it has renamed the service "Drive," (as in, hard drive), and you can bet what will follow is, "Well, how large a Drive do you want? And do you want 24/7 access, or just some of the time? And do you want software with that?"
What is that, exactly? And who are the players?
Cloud computing is essentially the idea of moving your base of operations from your local computer/desktop to "out there in the cloud." The cloud is simply the vast array of interconnected computers that makes up the Internet (access) with storage and applications offered as a service by various providers (like Google) either for a fee or publicly.
(Image thanks to Wikipedia)While it's not firmly established, it's pretty clear to anyone who has spent any time with IT types that the "cloud" concept originated when systems engineers would represent the "magic" of what was going on (computing, file access, writing, transferring, etc.) in a computer application (with the details as yet to be determined) by a vague cloud-shaped object drawn on a white board.
This is still a pretty good way of explaining what the "cloud" is and does. It takes its shape from the specific things its requested to do, and by virtue of the specific entity (individual, business, etc.) requesting it and how that entity accesses this "cloud."
Thus, every time you invoke an online application, you've entered The Cloud. If you store documents on Google's Drive (erstwhile Docs), you've stored them in The Cloud.
According to Wikipedia's explanation, The Cloud can be likened to public utilities, in that it can expand and contract to meet the demand of users, which is much more efficient that a company-by-company infrastructure, with a fixed hard drive, seats for software, bandwidth for transmission of data, and so on (not to mention security controls).
And it is that last, security controls, that has people most divided in their opinion of the value and future of The Cloud. "Instances such as the secret NSA program, working with AT&T, and Verizon, which recorded over 10 million phone calls between American citizens, causes uncertainty among privacy advocates, and the greater powers it gives to telecommunication companies to monitor user activity." (Wikipedia) Not only have you turned over your data--however sensitive it may be--to the scrutiny of your Cloud suppliers, but you have no knowledge of where data may physically be housed. Because so much of The Cloud is virtual, it may not really "live" anywhere, but may move from place to place if and when that's needed.
This also gives rise to issues to compliance. And of course, this has bureaucratic eyes popping and veins bulging. How to put restrictions and rules around something as amorphous as a cloud of bits and bytes? Whom do you sue if something goes wrong? What happens if the Cloud crosses national boundaries, and what's illegal in one jurisdiction is perfectly legal in another--in fact, a sales advantage?
The other issue that is becoming more and more apparent, particularly if you follow Google's activities, is: "who pays for all this? What's the monetization model?" Google is slowly but steadily moving into position (I think) to move many of its now-free services into a tiered model, where you'll either have to endure increased advertised and throttled-down service, or pay a monthly fee for access plans. Google Drive is a good example of that. Once upon a time, Google offered its Documents as both SaaS (software as a service) and free storage. Now, it has renamed the service "Drive," (as in, hard drive), and you can bet what will follow is, "Well, how large a Drive do you want? And do you want 24/7 access, or just some of the time? And do you want software with that?"
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