Computersight -

            Cloud computing is an amorphous, emerging concept. It has many aliases, including: grid computing, utility computing, and on-demand computing. Indeed, one of the hindrances to the development and adoption of cloud computing is the lack of understanding of what it is – and isn’t – amongst both private and public sector leaders.

            The term “cloud computing” has at its core a common element – in that with the cloud model, computing services are delivered over the Internet, on demand, from a remote location, rather than residing on one’s desktop, laptop, mobile device, or even your own organization’s servers. For an organization, this would mean that for a set or variable, usage-based fee – or even possibly for free, it would contract with a provider to deliver applications, computing power and storage via the Web.

            In a nutshell, the basic idea of cloud computing is that computing will become location and device independent – meaning that it increasingly will not matter where information is housed and where computation/processing is taking place. This enables computing tasks and information to be available anytime, anywhere from any device – so long as there is access to the Internet. The cloud concept also means that for individuals and organizations alike, computing will increasingly be viewed as an infinite, not a finite resource. This is because computing is taking on an on-demand, scalable form, as additional network bandwidth, storage and computation capacity can be added as needed, much as people simply use – and pay for – more (or less) electricity as their energy needs change. For this reason, many – even in the industry – refer to this as the utility model.  

            If industry analysts are correct, we are at an inflection point – a true paradigm change – in the evolution of computing. The history of computing consists of a series of such shifts, from the era of the mainframe to the advent of the personal computer (and now, to mobile devices and netbooks), from the client-server model to the networked model, and from the age of isolation to the age of the Internet. Many believe that cloud computing is poised to be the next major paradigm shift.  And while there are many, many uncertainties about the how soon, how far and how much questions – one thing does appear very certain, in that quite soon, “business-as-usual” is going to be very different in our work and personal lives because of the advent of cloud computing.

            The question has been asked “Why now?” The answer lies somewhere in the development of many, often disparate enabling technologies, including nearly ubiquitous connectivity, new devices for connecting to the Internet, and widespread use of server virtualization. Yet, the roots of cloud computing are derived not just from the technology developments, but from a developing mindset about technology. This is the Web 2.0-enabled idea that we are always “on,” and as such, we should have access to our data, our applications, and our web-based communications anywhere, anytime, and on any device. 

            Cloud computing offers a number of benefits, including the potential for:

·      Rapid scalability and deployment capabilities (providing just-in-time computing power and infrastructure)

·      Decreased maintenance/upgrades

·      Improved resource utilization – elasticity, flexibility, efficiencies,

·      Improved economies of scale

·      Improved collaboration capabilities

·      Ability to engage in usage-based pricing, making computing a variable expense, rather than a fixed capital cost with high overhead

·      Lessened IT infrastructure needs – both upfront and support costs

·      Capacity for on-demand infrastructure and computational power Green-friendly – reduced environmental footprint

·      Improved disaster recovery capabilities.

            There are a number of issues however that must be addressed before cloud computing can take hold for government. These include: 

·      Security and Privacy (How is data secured and protected?)

·      Jurisdiction and regulation (Where and how will cloud computing be governed?)

·      Ownership of Data (Who owns the data in the cloud?)

·      Data Portability/Vendor Lock-in (Can you migrate between services?)

·      Data Retention/Permanence (What happens to data over time?)

·      Intellectual Property

·      Reliability, Liability and Quality of Service (What happens when the cloud fails?)

·      Government Surveillance (How much data can the government get from the cloud and under what circumstances?)

·      Government Regulation (Guarding against a possible monopolization/ oligopolization of computing).

    Many believe cloud computing represents nothing less than a new era in computing. The cloud model is quickly changing how all of us interact with computing resources and how computing power will be procured and managed. As such, it is important to understand the nature, use, challenges and risks, and prospects for the “cloudy” future of information technology.