How Well Has Cloud Computing Weathered 15 Years Of Marketing Hype?
Written by Todd L. MichaudMay 5th, 2010
Franchisee Columnist Todd Michaud is tired of all the hype associated with cloud computing. It is not new news. The concept of having someone else manage critical business and IT processes has been around as long as IT. He understands that "cloud computing" sounds a whole lot sexier than "software as a service," "managed hosting" or "virtual servers," but that doesn't mean the offerings are any better.
How is it that the term "cloud computing" came to be? Granted, it's better than all its predecessors. But a cloud is about the most unstable thing Michaud can think of. It moves whichever way the wind is blowing; it may disappear; it may become a terrible storm. Exactly what marketing genius is responsible for this term catching on?
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2 Comments | Read How Well Has Cloud Computing Weathered 15 Years Of Marketing Hype?
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-Christine
May 7th, 2010 at 8:25 am
The term came about because network people would commonly draw “the Internet” as a cloud on their architectural drawings. Since the physical makeup of the real Internet not only is unknown but doesn’t matter anyway, it was much better than a rigid (and incomplete) icon.
Systems architects then began pushing apps to vendors located somewhere on the far side of the cloud. It turned out their physical infrastructure was considered as irrelevant to the business as the network. After that, we just referred to the whole thing as “the cloud”.
May 7th, 2010 at 12:18 pm
I just wanted to clarify a couple points. SaaS is a business concern. It means you are leasing a service, not buying a software license. The cloud is a delivery mechanism. You can have SaaS with our without a cloud back-end. They often complement each other but are definitely not the same thing.
Cloud computing has one HUGE advantage over anything that preceded it. Because cloud instances are virtualized, you can bring up new instances from an image in minutes. You can also resize cloud instances on demand. Gone are the days you had pay for overcapacity then pay some more when you reached it.
Also it’s a common misconception that cloud instances are inherently load balanced, always available, etc…they are not! You definitely need to load balance them and build a network infrastructure around cloud instances.
The cloud is convenient and the pay-per-use model helpful in offsetting infrastructure costs with revenue. It’s not all new but it sure is clever.