Information Collection: Business Builds Big Data In the beginning there was the electronic computer. It was a tool for defending freedom, useful to use in breaking enemy communications codes and crunching equations for the Manhattan Project. Eventually it became the plaything of hobbyists and garage experimenters. In their garages, they eventually cobbled together machines that were useful and practical for real people. These earliest personal computers were essentially toys until the first “killer apps” were created. These included the earliest forms of computer spreadsheet. A spreadsheet seems a simple thing, and it is for just about any computer. With this
business relationship
Making Cloud Adoption in China a Reality (In Spite of Data Privacy and State “Secret” Laws) Cloud computing has become a hot growth area in China, driven by both large-scale government initiatives and private investment. However, as alluring as the cloud is in China, for foreign firms trying to do business there, the uncertain legal environment can create a number of serious challenges. Comprehensive, national regulations on data privacy remain in the draft stage, so for now, data privacy rules are “vague” and are often at the mercy of government interpretation. The legal framework for cloud services is flexible to
What’s Special about the Joyent Funding Round? There is nothing special about small companies or startups getting funding, other than the obvious vindication of the opportunities in cloud computing. In fact, such funding stories have been the focus of several articles here (See the latest one: Cloud Computing Startups Raise Big Money: UPDATE 8). However, there’s something different, and in my opinion, special, about the $85 million round of funding closed by San Francisco cloud services provider Joyent (http://www.joyent.com/). What’s special about this round of external financing is not the amount (which, by prevailing standards, is quite impressive) or the
