Should Cloud Computing Service Providers Screen Potential Customers? The World Wide Web is full of articles advising consumers on what they should look for when choosing a cloud provider, how they should negotiate contracts with providers, what danger signs they should be aware of and a plethora of other advice. However, an extremely illuminating article that I read recently on IT World (See: What should cloud providers know about their customers?) made me think from the other side of the fence – “Should cloud computing service providers screen potential customers?” Many would consider this line of thinking ludicrous. After all,
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Foreign Invasion Through Cloud Computing “India Conquered and dominated China culturally for 20 centuries without ever having to send a single soldier across her border.” — Hu Shih (1891–1962), Chinese philosopher and scholar As is evident from this quote, a foreign invasion does not have to be on the strength
Is Cloud Computing a Lunch Break Creation? There have been allegations that “cloud computing” is just a marketing term, with the underlying principles and technologies having long existed. Personally speaking, while I do believe that a lot of cloud computing as it exists today did exist before Ramnath Chellappa used the term in a 1997 lecture (See: A History of Cloud Computing), there’s a lot that is different from earlier grid computing and utility computing paradigms (See: Cloud Computing vs Utility Computing vs Grid Computing: Sorting The Differences). Therefore, it may come as a surprise that a recent report cited
Healthcare in the Cloud: Good and Bad and Around the World What field isn’t the cloud revolutionizing right now? From music to entrepreneurship, virtually every relevant sector is capitalizing on some aspect of the cloud in order to improve efficiency and — one hopes as a byproduct — creativity as well. Healthcare is not immune to the effects of cloud, either. The data storage concept is equipping the field to streamline and adapt to modern medicine. However, cloud’s advantages to healthcare come with both a good and bad side. Let’s start with the good news: cloud computing is set to
Cloud Biggies and their Partnership Programs One of the best ways to encourage sales is through specialized partnership programs, and IT companies have long employed this strategy to promote their traditional offerings. Now they have started similar initiatives for their cloud computing services as well. While some companies have tried to get buy-in from end-consumers, even going to the extent of offering services for free (See: Ninefold and Rackspace Battle for Australian Startup Mind Space and Why is Rackspace targeting Startups?), others have started targeting their channel partners, all in the hope of grabbing larger shares of the expanding cloud
Usually, it’s the presence of clouds that affect precipitation. However, this time round, it is rains, and the consequent floods, that may end up affecting the cloud. By cloud, of course, I mean the virtual world of cloud computing and not some fluffy ball of water vapor in the sky. As you must know by now, cloud computing does not mean there’s a tangible substance called the cloud – it is merely a construct that resides in cyberspace and is powered by tangible servers in the real world (See: What Is Cloud Computing? Yes, another Perspective). Of course, some believe
How Companies Are Adopting and Adapting to Cloud Computing There have been several studies attesting to the growth of cloud computing, and some of them have been covered in earlier articles (See: Where Is Cloud Computing Going? Up, Up And Away! and How BIG Is the Cloud Computing Market?). Now, KPMG has come out with study that shows not only how fast cloud computing is growing, but also what is compelling this change.According to the study conducted among 806 executives, many from the C-suite, 81% responded that their organizations had already moved at least some business activities to the cloud and
Top Cloud Computing Enablers Gaining Mind Share in 3Q 2011 Are you wondering who is gaining mind share in the 3rd quarter of 2011? Well wonder no more. Lets take a look at the Top Cloud Enablers Gaining Mind Share, and The Leaderboard (Up and Coming Cloud Innovators, Movers and Shakers). As you know, Cloud computing has gone mainstream, and large enterprise information technology companies must continue their rapid restructuring to an on-demand model enhancing their portfolios largely through acquisitions. So lets see how they’re doing. Here are the most recent changes this quarter, and a quick look at the 2011 acquisitions (2010 activity can
