First there was centralized computing, and if you were big, you owned the center, if not you rented access.
Then everyone owned their center, and the centralized data center was king.
Then along came PC's & networks, and everything became de-centralized.
Then managing all those machines became expensive, and the thin client centralized system returned.
Now along comes 'cloud' computing, where you rent the center---somewhere and purchase "only what you need to use."
Right. And instead of having to maintain all that expensive equipment in the data center, you now only have to maintain all those slightly less expensive workstations--while hoping that whoever you are renting storage & processing from keeps their equipment up to date and your data safe.
He is right about one thing:
If 'cloud' computing is going to become a big business, it needs much better security.
My clients are small law firms--some of their competitors actually bought computers 5 years ago. Some still haven't.
All of their data is sensitive, and yet massive amounts of legal data flow un-encrypted via e-mail between firms and the courts.
I'm happy when they finally figure out that it's faster to do research online...security is a hard sell, in large part because these firms all operate on the edge of profitability, and like all small businesses they have little spare capacity to spend learning new things.
Different businesses need different data models. No data model fits everyone.
Cloud seems a good fit if your needs radically vary over time in both directions, but if your needs are stable, then it may or may not make sense--you must remember that the guys selling cloud have to make a profit and support all of the equipment whether or not it gets used--and like everyone selling time, if it isn't sold, it's gone.
The customer pays those bills.
And you give up some control, and some security and what else...?
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