You Think It's Bad Now: Get Ready for Cloud-* – Defining Cloud Computing – Cloud Conference Week, Part 2

While some conference glow from last week, no doubt, pulled itself across the weekend, it’s safe to say that this cloud stuff has turned into a dog that’ll hunt on both the technological, but more importantly, the marketing angle.

Cloud Aspirations

Even though there’s little agreement about what “cloud computing” means (showing that IBM, really, wasn’t so bad off for being so scatter-shot back at Pulse – they’re just as wild-eyed as the rest), over these last few months, it’s fast jammed itself into the semiotic rocket-car that SOA has been jetting around in: that word we describe to our aspirational desires for IT architecture.

When people talk about “cloud computing,” they’re signaling a conversation about how they’d like things could be. A lucky few are spinning around on making it so, which is much welcomed.

Dodging Cloud Cynics

This word-weasling gets us out of two anti-cloud darts:

• “Cloud Computing means nothing and is, worse, fad-talk.” Indeed! As with all new technologies that come along, iterating through the journey to meaning is about 2/3 the point. Remember “blogs,” “Web 2.0”? We’re still chunking up on “Enterprise 2.0,” but we know it’s better than spending time thinking about “Enterprise 1.0.”
• “I knew grid computing, and you my friend are no gird computing.” There’s a Darwinian evolution of the exact definition of cloud computing running around. We’re about a country mile away from “knowing when I see it”, which is excellent progress. The cloud to everyone’s silver-lining has enough material to write a 3 volume desktop reference at this point.

Someone even told me Merrill has a report on this topic. Tally-ho over the shark to the Jackhammer of Disillusionment!

Disclaimer: IBM is a client.