So What, Exactly is Cloud Computing, and What Is It Not?

The CloudGazer remembers when the first data base management systems (DBMS) started to emerge (Cullinane's IDMS, Software AG's Adabas, IBM's IMS/db and a few others).  These products replaced old-fashioned indexed-sequential (ISAM) files that provided more limied indexing. Any vendor lacking one felt at a competetive disadvantage. So what did these hapless vendors do? They tinkered slightly with their products and rechristened them as DBMS. 

So too with Cloud Computing. Anyone today running a hosted service of any description is tinkering with it slightly and renaming it as an SaaS aervice that is delivered as a Cloud application. Put out a press release. Crank up the hype. Tell the stockbrokers. They've got a Cloud Computing application.

Not so fast. Cloud Computing is not (as pointed out in GoogleGazer) Mainframe Bess in a new dress, and it's not any old Internet application running on a rackserver someplace.

Cloud computing is designed to handle many different clients at once, and to scale (in both directions) in minutes not months. This  requires a different mindset and a different approach to writing code. And right now, let's be honest about it, the tools aren't all there yet. 

Remember when most websites were developed directly in HTML? It was difficult, tedious work, and the sites were mostly static "brochureware.". Well, it took a few years, but now "any dummy" (meaning me) can create decent-looking updatable, interactive sites. E-commerce can be added with a few clicks. 

Well, Cloud Computing today is roughly at the stage the web  was 15 years ago, but it's maturing at an even more rapid pace.

We'll plumb the depths of Cloud Computing in future posts.