Re: [clouds] A cloud ref. framework for your review and comments

[Sam Johnston <[e-mail]>]

On 2 August 2010 20:21, Paul Unbehagen <[e-mail]> wrote:

I think most who attend a cloud bof also get the analogy to the public
> electric grid as a similar model for cost savings for IT, but in that
> analogy not every source of electric power is always from the public grid
> and for that matter where it is from a utility it's not the same public
> utility provider in different places or applications.
>

Indeed people still use generators today - primarily for backup and off-grid
applications - but the quantity of electricity delivered by such systems is
negligible compared to that generated by large power stations (capable of
producing in the order of 1,000 megawatts *each*). I see no reason why the
same wouldn't happen in the IT industry now, 100 years later, and am quite
sure the generator industry at the time presented similar arguments in its
defense as we're seeing from the private cloud parade today.

Let's also be sure not to become too myopic and forget that not everyone
> will connect to a giant public cloud. There are and will be more private
> clouds in the market. As there is more to the decision of using the cloud
> than just economic such as legal, security, and proximity.
>

As people necessarily become more objective about these decisions I believe
market forces will ultimately win out. Server huggers are placing themselves
at a huge disadvantage to more agile "digital native" organisations who can
differentiate by spending resources on the application rather than
maintenance of IT.

In any case I believe this strip covers all the pertinent issues in adequate
detail: http://goo.gl/AaKB ;)

Sam