HP Slashes 9000 jobs - Blame the Cloud?

Today's hot question on ebizQ's Cloud Computing forum - Are the 9000 jobs lost from HP as it shifts its data centers to cloud computing a harbinger of widespread IT job losses due to the greater automation that cloud allows?

This question has a BIG assumption built into it - that all 9000 people laid off worked in HP data centers watching consoles, loading tapes, running/scheduling batch jobs, etc.

It is simply NOT true.

For example, HP at a single stroke halved their R&D people based in Bristol, UK and slashed its five remaining laboratories in Bristol (HP Labs) to two as well as closed all of its Japanese research.

Another example: HP is cutting 5,700 jobs in Europe with some 700 to go in the UK, with the primary focus on its manufacturing plant in Scotland where products have become increasingly commoditised and the sites are under-used. Given the current economic climate and continued pressure on costs it seems reasonable that manufacturing work is going to the Czech Republic.

The above examples of jobs lost (R&D and manufacturing) have nothing to do with Cloud Computing. It's just good, old fashioned business.

* Originally posted on the ebizQ Cloud Computing forum on June 22, 2010.

Cloud 2.0? Really?

There's been some interesting conversation about Cloud 2.0 recently on ebizQ including a podcast and a follow up question about whether it was time for Cloud 2.0.

Already?

I did not even realize that we have a tangible enough Cloud 1.0!

Anyways, my response to the question about whether it was time for Cloud 2.0 is sure if you can answer yes to each of the following three questions:

1. Is there a universally agreed upon definition of Cloud 1.0? (Just think of all the debate around the "private" cloud)
2. Are questions around security and privacy of data, interoperability and portability between clouds, and auditability sufficiently answered?
3. Do we have adequate, agreed upon, and universally adopted standards for Cloud 1.0?

Answering yes to the above questions would imply that we have reached or are close to a "steady state" for Cloud 1.0, which in my opinion is a prerequisite for Cloud 2.0. Think about it: when Web 2.0 came along, could we not have answered yes to all of the above questions for what we now refer to as Web 1.0?

* Originally posted on the ebizQ Cloud Computing Forum on June 15, 2010.

My Podcast - The Coming Cloud Computing Standards: Talking Cloud with Tarak Modi

Listen to my latest podcast The Coming Cloud Computing Standards: Talking Cloud with Tarak Modi.

Feel free to send comments. I look forward to your feedback and suggestions for future podcasts