It’s a downpour! As an advertising exec, I am on the comp lists of numerous business magazines and IT publications. In the last few months almost every one that lands on my desk has featured a cover story on “Cloud Computing.” It’s a virtual deluge, you might say (if you had your head in the clouds and were looking for a corny pun, that is).
I have found that many average computer users are a little cloudy on what the fuss is about. What cloud? The IT industry has a precise definition of what they mean by the term. But for normal folk, the simple definition is stuff that’s not on your own computer. It’s “out there,” as they said on X-files.
The idea doesn’t seem so new. When MSN first launched as part of Windows 95, we were already familiar with the notion of having conversations and exchanges that could be accessed from anywhere. At least, our kids were. Even grade school kids knew that you could have fun with that stuff and mess with it; and sometimes you would put stuff out there that you wished you could take back. But you couldn’t take it back, because you didn’t control it anymore. And we, the “end-users” got used to that.
The big idea now is that forward-thinking companies can store their business data “in the cloud.” Of course, we’re talking about highly secure, locked-down containment facilities where only the owner gets access to the data. But still, it’s not on their own computers. The idea that data is not physically in their possession can be frightening to business managers. Kind of the way recognizing they don’t really “own” the brand is frightening to a lot of marketing managers. It’s a matter of control.
That’s why this cloud thing is all over the business mags, and all the corporate IT guys are fretting about how they can look like they’re joining the revolution, without actually letting go. They should take a lesson from the end-user community. That’s us.
Putting stuff out there and sharing it around is natural to us. Yes, we demand security and, yes, we want control over privacy, but at the end of the day it’s simply what we want to do. It uses advanced technology, but as it turns out it’s just a response to basic human nature. The corporate world can either facilitate this or try to stand in the way, but they can’t actually control it.
So if they’re smart they might as well hop on. The cloud is big enough for all.
- Patrick McGovern
The cloud concerns me. Is it my Big Brother paranoia gene kicking in? Or is it just wise to be wary of any promise of benefit about storing and protecting all of my data in someone else’s locker. I understand the benefits, I think. But the risks are not being discussed with the same intensity of coverage, from what I can see.
Jumping on the bandwagon can be attractive. In this case, it might be unavoidable as digital vendors see the cloud as a strong growth opportunity. But bandwagons can be unstable, raucous affairs that often travel a road characterized by hysteria and cheerleading.
I would like to see more sobriety on this little trip to digital nirvana.
Where might I find that?