Before you buy
Computing is moving inexorably into the cloud—an important paradigm shift to keep in mind as you contemplate any software or hardware upgrades or additions.
Cloud computing?
In cloud computing—“cloud” being a metaphor for the Internet—your applications and data are stored online by a service provider instead of residing on your own desktop, laptop or handheld computer. You access these resources remotely from anywhere, via a standard web browser. The concept has been around for a long time, but it was impractical until cheap and pervasive high-speed Internet connections became a reality.
There has been a lot of buzz about cloud computing in the enterprise computing arena the past couple of years, as businesses look for ways to streamline the delivery of information technology. The idea is that IT resources will, in effect, be pooled out in the cloud by service providers, and companies will draw upon them as needed, much the same way that we draw electricity from utility power grids rather than generating our own.
With this utility model, companies don’t have to over-engineer their computer networks to accommodate peak-capacity demands. They also save a lot on implementation, management, upgrades, and user training and support—ongoing costs that typically dwarf the purchase price of computer software.
It’s “greener”
Cloud computing offers a greener solution, too, requiring less total hardware and using less energy. Cloud computing also lowers barriers to entry for startup businesses, because there are no huge, up-front capital expenditure outlays on an IT infrastructure. Having that infrastructure out in the cloud makes companies a lot more nimble.
What does all this mean for us as individual consumers of computer technology?
Actually, while businesses continue to stick a few tentative toes into the cloud computing waters, we consumers have unwittingly and enthusiastically been leading the charge. Web-based e-mail services such as Yahoo and Gmail are a form of cloud computing. So are the online backup services, and the growing body of Google applications, and YouTube and other social media platforms and services.
It will be easier
I personally can’t wait until all the applications I use are available via the cloud. I currently use three different devices—a desktop computer in my home office, a laptop computer for offsite meetings and travel, and a smartphone—to access applications, data, and the Internet.
It is a major challenge to be syncing Microsoft Outlook Business Contact manager data (e-mail, contact database, calendar, projects) across all three of these devices. I would be much more productive if I didn’t have to deal with this. And if the application and my data were out in the cloud instead of on these devices, I wouldn’t have to.
How fast this will take place is a matter of conjecture, but Gartner Inc. expects smartphones to overtake desktops and laptops as the primary Internet access device by 2013. Putting business-quality applications on these tiny devices with their limited battery life is not really an option; it takes my smartphone about 15 minutes just to boot up my aforementioned Outlook BCM contact database when I need to check a phone number. This migration to the use of smartphones as primary computing devices can only take place by moving such applications out into the cloud.
Recognizing this imperative, industry behemoths Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard kicked off the New Year by announcing a joint investment of $250 million over the next three years to “significantly simplify technology environments via cloud computing.”
What about security?
Entrusting our own information to the cloud is quite uncomfortable for a lot of people. The primary objection I hear has to do with information security. However, the reality is that a quality service provider’s systems are actually a lot more secure, and leave our data a lot less exposed, than the personal devices we connect to the Internet every day.
Get ready to shift
This paradigm shift to cloud computing is very uncomfortable, like virtually all paradigm shifts. But we can’t stop this train. We can jump on board, or get run over.
