Cloudy or Sunny?

There's a lot of buzz lately about cloud computing. While it sounds like a new and improved way of forecasting the weather, the people at The Weather Channel have nothing to worry about.

Cloud computing is basically anything which involves delivering hosted services over the Internet, such as IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-Service), PaaS (not Easter eggs, but Platform-as-a-Service) and SaaS) Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). Computer people like cute and catchy names, and this one comes from the cloud symbol that represents the Internet in various flow charts and diagrams.

So what does this really mean? The whole point of the Internet is to deliver services efficiently. If it's a public cloud, it sells to anyone and everyone. Amazon.com is a public cloud. There are private clouds which are proprietary, such as a hospital portal that allows access only to doctors who are affiliated with that hospital. What's really key about cloud computing are the forces that are driving it.

Microsoft is seriously looking at a new way for large corporations to buy MS Office under a new license called "Union." It would charge companies the same amount for software whether it is hosted on-site or in the cloud. SD Times reported that this new license would address various degrees of software usage. Regular and heavy users may require an on-premise server version. Light users may be able to use a version that is hosted by Microsoft. The "Union" bundle might combine Office 2010 (which is currently in the beta stage) with office web applications and store it from Sharepoint Online. It sounds, well, nebulous, but it's all about the money. Microsoft is hoping to maximize revenue without driving customers to seek inexpensive or free solutions.

More small and mid-size banks are paying considerable attention to cloud computing because it may be cost-efficient for regulation, compliance and security. Accessibility is also a driving force. Yet a survey by the think-tank, The Financial Services Club, reported that 37.9% of retail banking firms are not even considering cloud computing, in part because they are unsure of what it is. A survey by Wall Street & Technology found that that 12 percent of executives in the capital markets are dismissing cloud computing as a marketing gimmick.

The bottom line is that until there is more evidence for effective cost-cutting and until more large companies use it, cloud computing is remain a niche for people in IT. A word to the wise: Learn!