There is too much hype about the cloud these days but the PAAS definition is pretty much how I look at it. However, it isn't worth it if you have to turn your application inside out to run in the "cloud". You hit it right on the head Steve when you stated that the cloud has to provide the necessary set of abstractions or it doesn't offer much, if any, value. Finally, if it isn't just as secure as what I'm doing now, I can't justify using it.