Cloud Computing Needs Better Definition

Cloud computing didn't come up in the vice presidential debate recently but if it did I guarantee you it would have been every bit as vaguely referred to as some of the other items that that were addressed. But while we expect vagueness from candidates (sad to say), technology markets need a little more precision to function optimally.

Cloud computing is so hot right now that even VMware had to jump on the bandwagon. But its not so much the hype that’s the problem as the fact that vendors are pushing the definitional envelope and now the term itself has become almost absurdly elastic. As Herb Torrens writes in a news story on our site and Doug Barney blogged about, Larry Ellison and has been quoted as saying "I can't think of anything that isn't cloud computing…it's complete gibberish.…When is the idiocy going to stop?" Three words: thank you Larry.

In the Torrens article, Matt Rosoff, an analyst from Directions on Microsoft, is quoted as saying "I don't believe we are moving to a world of thin-client terminals accessing everything on the Internet. We'll see more of a blend of local and online storage and thick-client and server-based apps, but it's not going to be a complete replacement." This is certainly true and seems fairly obvious for the short term given the huge base of fat clients out there. (iPhone for one, as it becomes more and more biz-friendly, will see to that.) This view of the market and technology curve is also nicely reflective of VMware’s vClient approach which centers on the idea of universal clients rather than everything moving en masse to thin or zero clients.  

If you’ve got any thoughts about cloud computing madness, fire off an email to [email protected].

Posted by Tom Valovic on 10/05/2008 at 12:49 PM