posted on Monday, September 29, 2008 1:06 PM
There's a lot of talk about Cloud Computing, how The Cloud is different than The Grid, and what the risk assessment for The Cloud is.
What people aren't talking about is something that all AppDev folks need to know... How does it impact them.
Frankly, if my app must be developed differently to take advantage of The Cloud, then frankly, Cloud Computing has already failed. That's why there's not a Grid in every enterprise. But Teh Cloud is new and kewl, Teh Grid is full of fail, right?
The other thing that architects have to care about is "who has the data", and not surprisingly since Cloud Computing is the buzzword of the year, that seriously depends on which company you're talking to. For the most part, it stays "in the cloud", and no doubt you need to implement security agreements to make certain that your data doesn't become your biggest competitors' prospect list. Or at least if it does, you've got a legal recourse spelled out. Just something to be aware of. Some company's risk managers won't tolerate your data floating around in never-never land, so maybe that's a moot point.
And that doesn't even touch the ridiculous range of definitions that Lori brings up.
Recreating the mainframe (again) is hard work, so Cloud Computing can't be that, right? Teh Cloud is Teh Fun (tm)!
Keep your eye on the ball, for now address "Cloud Computing" from the definition that your business partners or prospective vendors use. Who cares what the pundits say, you've got a job to do and have realities to deal with. Sure, Academia probably says that your definition of Cloud Computing isn't the definition of Cloud Computing... But don't let that bother you, if you're adding value or increasing adaptability within your organization, who cares what academia calls it?
Don.
