Cloud computing is here to stay. But the concept is still new enough that many businesses and consumers have only a hazy notion of what it means, and, even more frustrating, cannot figure out how to get the most advantage given investment.
Meanwhile cloud service providers are stumbling about as start-ups come and go, technology and competitive environments rapidly change rapidly with it all leading to a bit of a circus-like atmosphere. If you're a business that fears for the safety of your cloud data or cannot decide if you want to invest in building your own cloud platform, your concerns are well-founded. The sands are still shifting.
Cloud computing lets users share files via the Internet while the Web-based service hosts the programs users need. Remote machines run everything from e-mail to word processing to complex data analysis programs, while the user's computer runs software that hooks up to the cloud, like a web browser. Web-based email is an example of a cloud service.
The concept of "Fog Computing" as envisioned by networking and connectivity giant Cisco Systems, is about extending cloud computing to the edge of a network. Inside that all-encompassing fog is a proliferation of devices that have cloud access and can send data to and from laptops, desktops, smartphones, tablets, servers and an ever-growing army of technology-infused machinery including cars, jet engines, television sets, even appliances. This makes bandwidth a tremendous consideration as well. Can the current state of cloud and network technology handle the crush? Some, like Roman Stanek, founder of GoodData, seem to have their doubts.
"Imagine if your electric company didn't know whether it would be up or down -- if they told you, 'No guarantees, but we believe it will be mostly up,' " Stanek said.
Stanek's company hitched its cloud to Amazon Web Services at first, and then decided to switch to a local private cloud, Rackspace. Stanek wanted more control, which the local service seemed to offer. However, Rackspace ran into increasing competition and resulting financial issues. These developments will probably lead GoodData back to Amazon Web Services again or to another big cloud provider, according to Stanek.
"In a couple of years, you will be able to go to Google or Amazon and say, 'Give me the features I need, the service agreements and a good price, and I will have no reason to build my own cloud,' " he said.
The lure of the cloud to many businesses is its cost efficiency. Mark DePristo, a VP for SynapDx, a company that searches hundreds of thousands of genetic markers, said "Without the cloud, I'd need $1 million, plus staff, just for the computer.
Companies such as SynapDx frequently employ the services of the biggest heads in the cloud, companies that include Amazon, Microsoft, Verizon, and Google. It is clear that Apple is fixing to join this club soon.
But whether big names and reputations are enough to drive faster cloud adoption by busineses and users is still open for debate.
