The Big Switch is Not about Cloud Computing

The Big Switch is extremely well written, with lots of fascinating historical stories and analysis of potential changes to society resulting from technology. But I think that the description on the back cover – “The Definitive Guide to the Cloud Computing Revolution” – is misleading. Because, in my opinion the book is not really focused on Cloud Computing.

2.0 Has Lost All Credibility

There was an article in the June 15th edition of Business Week entitled Cloud Computing 2.0. This caught my eye as it was one of three stories featured on the cover apparently designed to entice readers to want to buy the issue. My reaction was the opposite. Cloud Computing 2.0? This is the height of insanity! Anyone who is the least bit educated in the concept of Cloud Computing knows that it describes a future vision for how IT will be delivered. The author and publication were, no doubt, using 2.0 to get attention and sell magazines, which brings me to my point. Too many people are using 2.0 as a strategy to get attention. Consequently, “2.0” has lost all credibility in my opinion.

Cloud Computing and Batman

When I first heard about the concept of Cloud Computing about 18 months ago, my first reaction was – “This must be a joke!” How is “Cloud Computing” different than Utility Computing; Grid Computing; On Demand; Storage Service Providers; Storage as a Service; Software as a Service; and Application Service Providers? These are all new terms created by the IT industry over the past 10 years to describe the arrival of the ultimate, disruptive paradigm shift in computing. All of these terms are just variants of the same business model – hosted services managed by a third party provider with virtualized architectures, rapid scalability and a usage based billing model.

Sajak’s Law of Technology Marketing

If you are in the technology sector you are probably familiar with Moore’s law, which describes the exponential advances in computing hardware that have occurred over the past 50 years. Specifically, Gordon Moore, who was one of the co-founders of Intel, observed that the number of transistors that can be placed on an integrated circuit doubled every two years. There have been several adaptations of Moore’s law in other computing sectors. For example, Butter’s Law describes how the amount of data coming out of an optical fiber doubles every nine months. In this post, I will introduce a new principle in technology marketing which I refer to as Sajak’s law, named after the host of the popular game show Wheel of Fortune.

Wheel of Fortune and Technology Marketing

If you have ever watched Wheel of Fortune, the letters RSTLNE probably have special significance to you. These popular letters are pre-selected for contestants in the bonus round of the game. I think we should adopt a similar practice in the technology sector, in which a certain group of buzzwords are automatically assumed for any vendor.