Cloud Computing - Downsides?

Peter Schooff, ebizQ editor, asked the following question on the Cloud Computing forum today:

"Certainly one of the main concerns with the cloud is security, but with this mad dash towards the cloud, what are some of the other downsides to cloud cmputing that need to be considered?"

Hmmmm... Where to begin? The top 3 for me include:

1. A fear that the vendor hype will set unreasonable expectations and ultimately cause disillusionment with a very viable business and technology platform.
   
2. The critical need for standardization to enable portability and interoperability.
   
3. Technology purists getting hung up on names and implementation details rather than achievement of benefits.
   

* Originally posted in the ebizQ Cloud Computing Forum on May 18, 2010

Fact or Fiction - A Fifth of Enterprises Will Hold No IT Assets by 2012?

It's a fact if you believe Gartner quoted in this discussion as saying that a fifth of enterprises will hold no IT assets by 2012 as Cloud Computing and Virtualization practices become commonplace.

My take is not so fast...

Let's analyze this a bit more. As a far as a fifth of all companies I could agree because almost all startups and many of the smaller size companies are “clouding” their IT assets. But that does not mean a fifth of ALL IT assets will be in the cloud. I think the fraction of all IT assets that are “clouded” will be significantly less than one fifth as most medium and large businesses as well as the Fed will be skeptical about “clouding” their IT assets for the foreseeable future. Do I hear someone say “private” cloud?

So the nutshell:

One fifth companies - Yes, it's possible.
One fifth of all IT assets - Not so fast.

* Originally posted on the ebizQ Cloud Forum on May 11, 2010

It's official.. Again.

A press release announcing my appointment as Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at CALIBRE was released yesterday (May 5, 2010).

Here's the direct link:

CALIBRE Systems, Inc. Announces Appointment of Vice President and Chief Technology Officer