The overcast skies here in New England – plus the intensive explorations of information management issues I had over the past couple of days – provide the perfect inspiration for today’s exploration of cloud computing … but perhaps not in the way you’d expect!
The model’s advantages have been discussed ad nauseum, both here and elsewhere: it makes system implementation, scaling, maintenance, and management relatively simple, it makes costs more predictable and digestible, etc.
But there are a host of tough questions (you should forgive the pun) that are much less obvious to the casual executive and observer, and thus warrant special attention to ensure they are considered as well. Questions like:
• Is cloud computing merely a new name for an old model?
• Are cloud vendors on the path to service price collusion?
• Is there a tradeoff between cost and security?
• Should an organization’s cloud strategy include demands for tighter service agreements?
The answers, in a nutshell, are:
• Yes, essentially
• Certainly the potential is there
• Perhaps
• Absolutely!
These answers were developed, in large part, during a fascinating recent conversation I had over breakfast with veteran industry pundit and intellectual property attorney Arthur Gingrande, who’s a partner in IMERGE Consulting and a long-time valued friend and resource of mine.
The audio of our dialog is available FREE to subscribers to this blog, who need only to log onto our Bonus Materials page to download it. (It’s just over 9 minutes long and worth every one!) So have a listen and let me and your fellow readers know what you think.
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