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sigh

voyager529 24th Aug 2010

Lemme break this down, since it appears that half of ZDNet doesn't get it...

If someone gets the data off the server rack in my office, regardless of how they do it, it's my neck on the line.

If someone gets the data off a server rack in $IAAS_PROVIDER'S data center, regardless of how they do it, it's my neck on the line.

If I feel that a security measure is necessary, I can very easily implement it on the servers in my office. I have quite the uphill battle to get an IaaS provider to make a change on my behalf.

If my data is on my server rack and i decide that I want to use a competitor's software, I'm responsible for making the change and migrating the data, as it sits on hard drives I can physically touch. If I want to change to a different IaaS provider, I may or may not get my data back, and even if I do, I have absolutely no guarantee that they'll actually delete the data once we terminate the contract.

If I want to update a piece of software on my servers, I can do so on my timetable. If Google decides to update Google Docs and I don't want them to, I have no say in the matter (yet am still bound by point #1).

If a SaaS provider has my data, they therefore have no incentive to continue innovating their software, since we're paying the bill whether they're coding or not.

Cloud computing seems great on paper, until you have your first conference call with your SaaS provider, they tell you "we won't do what you want us to do". If you sir have not hit that point yet, drop by my office one day and I'll introduce you to a few people who can tell you story after story after headache-inducing story about how the few SaaS providers we HAVE been using have been nothing but hell to deal with, to the point where people are begging to go back to the terminal emulators on our 25 year old AS/400 system.

Joey