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Got My Head In The Clouds

Tags: Cloud Computing, Eric Knorr, InfoWorld, LinkedIn

January 7, 2009 9

Got My Head In The Clouds

I was basking in vacation glory last weekend when I received an e-mail from Eric Knorr, Editor in Chief at InfoWorld. He drew my attention to his excellent December 23rd post on cloud computing. Here’s my favorite excerpt:

“We don’t expect the controversy over what cloud computing really means to end anytime soon. When you’re the only exciting game in town, everyone is going to want a seat at the table, even though some players may have a slightly different game in mind.”

Spot on. Cloud computing’s on everyone’s mind. Every pundit has a unique perspective, every vendor has a different end game in mind, and none of this is gonna change any time soon.

I see a demand for clarity. Eric explained that that’s exactly what InfoWorld is planning to provide, and he asked me if I’d be interested in sharing my opinion. Of course I said yes—I love adventure. So keep an eye out for my new Cloud Computing column on InfoWorld, coming soon.

9 Comments

Todd
Jan 7, 2009, 7:32

Seems the unnecessary “controversy” of what cloud computing is just boils down to the same old attempts at vendor lock by various companies.

I personally have always equated the term with freedom from vendor lock, breaking free from the slavery of the desktop OS, “power to the People”, etc.

Yesterday’s announcement by Apple that the iTunes store is now accessible OTA and songs can be purchased and download directly to one’s phone is a very good example of regular folk’s non-geek cloud computing.

I wonder if my definition is secretly being shared by those so desperate to inject confusion into the term and stave off their obsolescence for a few more fiscal quarters ( and share holder meetings ).

Mary
Jan 7, 2009, 8:01

Hi!
Speaking of cloud computing. Salesforce went down for a while yesterday. As someone who is moving more and more towards the cloud this was a little disconcerting. Nothing like a hiccup at Google or Salesforce to remind us how much we depend on the Cloud and the possibility of risk.
Congrats on the column gig!
Mary

[...] friend Whurley will be writing a column on cloud computing for [...]

Meg
Jan 7, 2009, 10:03

It will be interesting to watch the public mindset shift as they begin to understand cloud computing and even web 2.0. Maybe it’s just me and my optimism, but I think that as soon as public gets a better understanding of concepts like cloud computing, society as a whole will advance faster that ever before!

Meg