Steve Jones - Editor (4/15/2009)
Excellent points, dphillips, but cost isn't always the reason to do something. Web hosting companies are cheaper for some people, not others. They are also better run in some cases, not in others. Depends on who you are. Sometimes outsourcing for more money, and more convenience, and less investment risk, is worth it.Cloud computing is vaporware now, and I think it will be for a few years, but VMs were like that as well. I've been VM'ing since 99, and it's come a long way.
I believe we are agreed. However, the "Depends on who you are" part is a little off though. It is more like, it depends on what you know, what resources you have, and how to make the best use of time. Time is the most critical asset. While most of my statements focus on cost and thoughtful planning, there is the "Brain Damage" dimension that says, "I don't want to deal with this facet, and am willing to pay the price to keep focus elsewhere."
For example, in a past life, I was a mechanic... an airplane mechanic. These days, I don't want to do mess with that type of work anymore, and would rather pay someone else to do it (at a greater cost to me) to not have to deal with being a grease and fuel monkey.
The problem is, most conversations about the cloud make it sound like some rosy cheap and fast place to forget ones responsibilities, as they will magically be wisped away. That is the pitch given to execs. "Everyone is doing it, it must be the financial responsible thing to do!" Most do not know how bad the decision was until 1.5 to 3 years down the road, and have costly decisions to make. It too closely follows the model of temptation and eventual entrapment, and quite often pushes aside sound cost and functional analysis.
It is not new technology; it is simply repackaged centralized computing, on a far grander scale, but plagued with the same issues that centralized vs. distributed have always dealt with. But boy it sure looks more zingy and "blue sky" than ever!