What Does 'Cloud Computing' Mean, Exactly?
A lot of people aren't sure, but one thing is for certain: Dislike for the phrase has brought together some strange bedfellows.
October 1, 2008
By Andy Patrizio
http://www.internetnews.com/software/article.php/3775346/What+Does+Cloud+Computing+Mean+Exactly.htm
With so much talk about "cloud computing," it's easy to feel lost in the clouds. If you either don't understand the term, or don't see a reason for it, you're in good company.
Take Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, for one. During his recent Churchill Club appearance, Ballmer dismissed the uniqueness of the concept by saying, "When people talk about cloud computing, they're talking just about taking some stuff, putting it outside the firewall, and perhaps putting it on servers that are also shared or storage systems."
Oracle's always-quotable CEO Larry Ellison went one better, according the Wall Street Journal. Ellison declared during a recent analyst conference, "The computer industry is the only industry that is more fashion-driven than women's fashion. Maybe I'm an idiot, but I have no idea what anyone is talking about. What is it? It's complete gibberish. It's insane. When is this idiocy going to stop?"
According to Gartner, you can blame hardware and software vendors for the confusion -- and the apparent outrage it's spawning. David Smith, a vice president and research fellow at the analyst firm, said he agreed that "cloud computing" represents another take on well-worn concepts, brought about as vendors slap the latest buzzword on their products if they think it will help them sell.
Full story at InternetNews
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