Tuesday 28 October 2008

Cloud computing

These two buzz words "cloud computing" have been in my attention lately and I really wanted to find out what they stand for. I got a classic and short definition from Wikipedia:

"Cloud computing is Internet-based ("cloud") development and use of computer technology ("computing"). "
see full definition....

It seems like it is time for the internet to prove what it stands for, the ultimate computer!?

Yes, from the look of things, all of the applications and databases of humankind are going to be on the internet. At the office we will not have "server rooms" any more, but just PCs with Internet browsers. Developers, will be the only kind of IT people that will stay back in the office, they will sit very near to the boss together with Business Analysts and IT Managers. Modern day developers of the future will be using the browser, and rapidly building applications, maybe with "declarative programming". Is it already hapenning? If you look at the business model of companies like Salesforce where they market concepts like "No Software!" and Software as Service (SaaS) and Oracle's hosted rapid application development environment called Oracle Apex one can easily start seeing The Clouds gathering in the sky. How about the Greenplum the Mega-Giga Titanic Datawarehouse for everyone on the Internet. A datawarehouse internet appliance where everyone can put their datawarehouse and access it from anywhere on the earth on a browser and do analysis. No Servers, No hardware, No Software just a login to a workspace on the internet and that's it. Everything you need, tools, spreadsheets will be there on the internet wating for you.

I wonder what will happen to all those other IT guys, SysAdmins, DBAs. Will they lock them up in huge data centres somewhere in the countryside? Will they be needed at all?

Tom Kyte an Oracle Expert was asked a smilar question on his website and here is Thomas Kyte's comment on Cloud Computing.

Or is it going to be as Tom Kyte says that with 'Cloud Computing', databases will just get larger and larger.





1 comment:

Kubilay said...

Cloud computing is getting popular day by day. Read this on the Oracle Magazine. Apparently you can even backup databases in the cloud.

http://www.oracle.com/technology/oramag/oracle/08-nov/o68interview.html