CloudFutures

Opportunity knocks

2008-08-29T07:39:00.000-07:00

So another week gone and some more really good chats that are shaping the CloudFutures Europe conference for next March. One of the most interesting ones stressed that the cloud computing provider have a lot to learn about what their customers want.

This is true. Looking at the fate of Bungee is testament to this and reinforces what I said yesterday about the initial over excitement. But we are at the tipping point and as much as we see the giants of computing hardware, software and the Internet moving into the space there is huge market opportunity being created.

New cloud providers will spring up. Again and again I am being told that there is a space for a reliable cloud provider that offers more tailored service and customer care than the current players. Or will it be the case that companies who have built up relationships with the likes of IBM and HP will continue to use their new cloud computing services?

We won't be taking bets on this one...

Enough with the 'what is cloud computing'

2008-08-28T04:31:00.000-07:00

Having been through several hype cycles with mobile technology in the past I have grown tired of the rush to define technology in a paragraph. The truth is there are fashions and trends and cloud computing is a trend.

Take broadband for an exmaple, the trend was that the connection got faster and no one now goes back to dial up is they can acess broadband. The same will be true of cloud computing, BUT it will take time.

Throughout history we have over estimated the impact that new technology will make in the short term and under estimated its long term effect. Cloud computing will completely redefine how people use computing, but the first steps are the hardest...

Rant over!

Chats from CloudCamp

2008-07-24T16:28:00.000-07:00

A bit late, but better late than never they say. Had some great chats with people at CloudCamp London the other week and thought I'd share a highlight.

Had a great chat with Krishna of CitiGroup and Matthias of Zimory. We had a frank discussion - or lesson - about why financial services will never use the cloud. The conclusion: financial services don't work on bottom line and the mission critical operations are just far too mission critical to trust a cloud provider.

Krishna offer examples of stock trading days where a lapse in the system can - and has - cost billions. And on critical days IT runs two back ups and constantly monitors the severs. Any little blip is far too costly. Positively, he did see a huge opportunity for cloud in crunching historical data.

I'll be chatting to Krishna after my return form down-under and will follow up on this post.

Working out of office

2008-07-24T16:23:00.000-07:00

After a rather painless flight to Australia - it helped being very very tired - I am now enduring the pain of working on remote desktop. That's right! Despite running CloudFutures all of my computing power is tucked away in our little computing cabinet control by our own (in house) IT department. There - I've admitted it.

But what I wouldn't do now to have it all residing in the cloud. I access my cloud services - mostly GApps and Exchange and its a dream. Speed that don't make me want to throw my laptop at a wall. Where as Remote Desktop is aching slow and frustrating. So lesson learnt, next time I'll have everything I need in the cloud or buy a laptop that can withstand sudden - hard - impacts!

Savings in a downturn

2008-07-14T01:46:00.000-07:00

Reading through a friends' copy of Country Life magazine this weekend I noticed some top tips for well-to-do country folk to save money during the downturn. One helpful hint was to ditch the car for short journey's and instead use horse and cart. If only we all could think up such innovative ways to save!

This got me thinking about how cloud computing will fare during the credit crunch. We all know that the significant challenges of the crunch will come alongside huge opportunities. Well, is cloud computing one of them?

Looking at the maths/stats/hype (call it what you will) cloud computing offers a very compelling alternative to traditional computing. And when many companies are looking to downsize will CEOs frantically be looking for other ways to save, reduce risk and innovate?

I can see plenty of companies looking to cloud for the low-risk, low-cost, low-hassle benefits it offers. And cloud companies needs to be ready to entertain the more traditional computing users should they wish to woo people into the cloud.

Cloud could emerge from these turbulent times as the victor and where as now Evangelists are preaching for the cloud in the future we may see a mass awareness of what the cloud can offer.

Security issues in the cloud

2008-07-11T07:04:00.000-07:00

Now there's phrase we seem to be hearing a lot and whilst cloud vendors all dismiss companies concerns it is a hurdle they will have to overcome to capture lucrative business.

A helping hand in this may be a recent deal between HP and the US DoD. The DoD has made a deal with HP to supply a Rapid Access Computing Environment (RACE). This will allow the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) to avoid the cost traditional incurred with hardware and only pay for what they use.

More of the story can be found at www.cloudfutures.com.

The crux is: with the DoD trusting the cloud to deliver computing capacity - albeit for testing and development systems - how long will the view that the cloud is not secure last. Simple maths: all cloud provider have so much more to lose than any company hosted in their cloud!

So cloud users can sleep tight as if you data is not secure and it affects your business you'll be taking down a lot of others with you! Not reassuring I know...

So much noise in the cloud

2008-07-10T07:55:00.000-07:00

During months of following the ever incresing hype on cloud computing I have constantly been reminded of what someone told me during a research call: -

'People always exaggerate the short term impact of technologies whilst underestimating the long term'

Unfortunately, the person that told me this escapes me but the truth of this is becoming more and more apparent. My research into mobile has reinforced this as time and again I speak with enthusiastic technologist about what mobile is capable. What they seem to miss is that technology is built for a user and without the user being ready the technology lies dormant.

The great thing with the cloud is that more and more people are becoming ready to use the cloud. Many use the cloud without realising it! And this is a huge positive for the industry. But we have to remember that in the short term the cloud will be slow to gain traction and often disappointing whilst in the long term it will transform the way we all use computers, software and the web.