Tech Vendors Poised for Arms Race in a Cloud

I agree with Jerome, that cloud computing is much like a "Platform as a Service" than just a Big Iron.  Sometimes it is a prepackaged OOTB software like CRM, Email and MS-Office alike, sometimes it is just a platform where you build applications on top of it like Windows Azure and Salesforce's Appexchange, sometimes it is a infrastructure capability like Amazon's Elastic cloud.

I disagree with Jerome on the comparison of Google and Microsoft.  Microsoft's cloud offering actually does have same capabilities as Google for prepackaged software like Office, Email and also PaaS.  I think you have confused with MS message on cloud that it supports "Scale Out" option where you can build the capability inhouse to start with and move it to Cloud.  Actually in the past 2 years they have studied the market and approaching Cloud in all the fronts, like OOTB application software, Infrastrucuture and Platform.

{ Gaja; }

http://gajakannan.wordpress.com

I agree that the future of IT hardware vendors depends on their software and services. And what better way to promote both than together -- calling it a trendy name?

Still, it will be interesting to see what if any really new models for products and services come out of EMC and others as a result of this trend.

Going up a big hill when the clouds are low and standing in the clouds.

Cloud is around you, you can just reach out and "grab" some.

That would be my idea of things.

Anyway, the thing that I find fascinating is how a lot of people (I just used Microsoft and EMC as examples) are getting into a "building" race.  Traditionally you wouldn't think of an IT company outside the equipment manufacturers morphing into situations where there financial statements are (hugely and grotesquely) laden down with buildings and equipment - but I imagine that's where we could end-up.

Something like Microsoft or Oracle or Google, or eBay, etc. deciding they want to become a PTT.

And let's say they're all building-out to that extent; it changes their businesses in a very fundamental way.  Like a race to build themselves into being crowned King of the Railroads.

To me, it's also spooky in a "world paved over with 500 story buildings and no grass" sort of way.

I agree that the arms race in the cloud can be revolutionary; however, it will depend on the models that are created to truly take advantage of the technical designs and new options it can offer.  If it becomes just another avenue for selling technical products and solutions in another round of competition with the same players, it will fail.  If it unleashes new alignments of services that provide better capabilities and new pricing models that solve business problems, I believe that can lead to a new competitive race for truly revolutionary services.

 As with any change, the breakthroughs in new direction come from the replacement of the old with something we find that works better!  A new design and packaging of services on demand and integrated communication networks hold the promise of new solutions and added value.

DHagar

I disagree, cloud computing does represent a major shift in how industries will be shaped in the future. Cloud computing offers major advantages in increasing flexibility of computing power, storage or the use of applications. "Pay for what you drink" is essentially the main message. The big players offer huge price advantages over anything small and midsize firms can achieve, and in the future perhaps large multinational companies.

The big players in the industry however, arent tech vendors at the moment. Amazon, Google have big scale advantages over new entrants like microsoft. Google's cloud has been up and running for a while and it is rumored to have more then a whooping 150.000 servers. 

However, I do agree that there are still a lot of security issues that need to be worked out. The bigger question therefore will remain which business model will become the standard?????

Google and Microsoft are going head a head again, where google is aiming for a "pure"  form of cloud computing. Where everything is stored in the cloud, data, applications etc. The only thing you need is to access the cloud through a browser no need for anything else eg. operating system. This is offcourse a huge threath for microsoft who core business has been for the last 20 years operating systems and licencing software. 

Their solution for cloud computing is more of a dual approach, where the user will keep a physical copy of everything that he or she works on in the cloud. This forces users to have a operating system, however it also provides users with additional redundancy / security.

Other security issues will be worked out soon. All players are pooring money into this new business

Warren,

Thank you for bringing up this topic.  But I would like for you and all our readers to think about this?  How is the cloud computing that is being so highly touted any different from renting MIPS and DASDI from IBM?  I submit that it is not.

This is not new.  It's not even news.  This is the same mentality that existed when mainframes were the only players in town.  "I have invested in this large, expensive piece of equipment of which I am only using 0.1%.  So, to justify my expense I am going to invite people to use my equipment and charge them a rate that will return my total investment and in just 5 years if I can get enough subscribers.  After I have paid for this giant machine, everything else is just gravy"

The only difference between then and now is that any johnny-come-lately can set up a server room using commodity 386's runing Slackware Linux and FOSS software and compete.  Now, they package it as a "Green Initiative"...  (not to disparage the truth behind greening up, but to point out that the Marketing Wonks --yes I called them WONKS have found a way to take a truly noble idea and sully it) .

I spit at the cloud.  The concept is unreliable for Enterprise class businesses and the thought of putting any sensitive data (or transactional data) on a system that is not behind my firewalls under my direct control is sickening. 

So to all the Marketing WONKS in the ether, hear me now... don't come knocking on my door trying to tell me that this is something new.  "There is nothing new under the sun... and this too is vanity"