[Discuss] What Happens when a cloud service shuts down

[bogstad at pobox.com (Bill Bogstad)]

On Fri, Jan 20, 2012 at 4:15 PM, Jerry Feldman <gaf at blu.org> wrote:
> Very specifically, cloud is just another way of saying mainframe
> computing the way it used to be.
> Historically, computing has decentralized since the 1970s, especially
> with the advent of the PC. Now, companies are using the "cloud" to
> essentially bring data back into the control of the IT people. In a
> business, generally the IT people have the mission to protect the
> integrity and security of the data.

I see "cloud" as inherently implying leasing/renting access to other
peoples' equipment.   In some sense, it is an extension of
outsourcing.  Except you may only outsource pieces of a long chain of
steps rather then the entire system and there is an implication that
you can adjust your outsourcing on the fly.   In the mainframe days,
there were certainly service bureaus; but I don't think the
granularity of the outsourcing was a fine back then as is being
discussed now.   I think "cloud computing" and "software as a service
(SaaS)" are related as well.  Particularly if you think in terms of
different pieces of middleware being done as SaaS.   I've seen people
refer to "private clouds" where you use many of the same technologies
to quickly reconfigure systems; but you actually own (or at least
long-term lease access to) the equipment.

Bill Bogstad