Cloud Computing: the Next Big Thing or Incremental Improvement?
Having recently launched the Global Access Partners' National Standing Committee on Cloud Computing, I invited Dr Robert Atkinson, president of Washington DC based technology policy think tank, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), to speak to an informed audience about the cloud.
I worked with Dr Atkinson for six years at the Democratic Leadership Council and Progressive Policy Institute in Washington DC. Please find below my reflections on his discussion.
Rob outlined the ability for the cloud to give organisations flexibility and agility. He said it lets you focus on your core business and can be less expensive than keeping data in-house.
Market research and analysis company IDC estimates the market for public cloud products and services at $16 billion in 2010, growing to $56 billion by 2014. Gartner more optimistically estimates the cloud market at $150 billion by 2013.
Despite the impressive statistics available, Rob believes the cloud should not be described as a big “revolution”. It was referred to this way at a meeting he attended with the technology advisors of former US Vice President Al Gore some years ago. They believed it was going to transform the world.
Rob said it is more accurate to describe the internet as a revolution, but believes the cloud is an “incremental improvement” because it simply relates to where data is stored and what you can do – it improves functionality and is evolutionary rather than revolutionary.
Key issues surrounding the cloud are security and privacy, while the most important component is sovereignty.
Rob recounted how he was meeting with several Japanese government officials recently who said they weren’t sure about storing data in the cloud offshore. However, faced with the earthquake and tsunami, many of them had changed their mind and thought it was a good idea to hold data in a cloud like environment – out of harms way.
This is supported by a McKinsey Global Institute Study that found that disaster recovery and business continuity increased by 22% when data is held in the cloud.
As the Japanese have discovered we should not be afraid of sovereignty. It is important to understand that if someone is going to store your data it comes under the control of the original company that you have a contract with. If you are working with an Australian company, it has to be covered under Australian law. He said you should not be able to wave your liability by dumping data somewhere else.
Activities surrounding security and privacy are largely emotional reactions, Rob outlined. He said security in the cloud is more at risk simply because there is more data. This is similar to equating that banks are a more attractive target to bank robbers simply because they hold large amounts of money.
The beauty of the cloud is that it gives you the ability to increase your computer’s capabilities in a very short period of time. It gives companies the ability to manage systems and concentrate on their core businesses at a lower cost.
This is supported by the McKinsey survey which found data in the cloud lowered the unit costs of IT departments by 29% and increased business flexibility by 70%.
Looking forward, Rob said it is important to strengthen laws governing computer fraud and abuse. We should avoid geographic restrictions on where providers can store data, use data security or privacy laws to disadvantage foreign firms, he said.
There should be tax incentives and tariff reductions to spur ICT investment and we should actively encourage digital innovation and transformation of economic sectors.
Dr Robert Atkinson is founder and president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation and one of the USA’s foremost thinkers on innovation economics. With an extensive background in technology policy, he has conducted ground-breaking research projects on
technology and innovation, is a valued adviser to state and national policymakers, and a popular speaker on innovation policy nationally and internationally.He is the author of The Race for Global Innovation Advantage and Why the U.S. is Falling Behind (Yale, forthcoming) and The
Past and Future of America’s Economy: Long Waves of Innovation That Power Cycles of Growth (Edward Elgar, 2005). Before coming to ITIF, Dr Atkinson was Vice President of the Progressive Policy Institute and Director of its Technologyand New Economy Project. Ars Technica listed Atkinson as one of 2009’s Tech Policy People to Watch. He has testified before a number of committees in Congress and has appeared in various media outlets, including CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, NPR, and NBC Nightly News. He received his PhD in City and Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1989.
Lisa Middlebrook currently serves as the executive manager of the National Standing Committee on Cloud Computing. She is also Executive Manager Strategy & Policy, at Global Access Partners (GAP). Previously Lisa spent two years as Director of the Federal Labor Business Forum, and prior to that, she served as the Director of Business Development at the Lowy Institute. Lisa spent six years with the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) and Progressive Policy Institute in Washington DC where she was a Senior Adviser on trade policy and was also responsible for external relations with the corporate community and non-profit foundations. She was instrumental in helping establish political relationships for Australia with regard to the US/Australia Free Trade Agreement. Prior to the DLC, she served at the Australian Embassy in Washington working on US Congressional Relations and trade issues. Lisa is a graduate of the University of California Los Angeles (political science and international relations) and serves on the Board of Directors of the Johnny Warren Foundation and the organising committee for the Steve Waugh Foundation.
Lisa Middlebrook is Executive Manager Strategy & Policy, at Global Access Partners (GAP). Previously Lisa spent two years as Director of the Federal Labor Business Forum, and prior to that, she served as the Director of Business Development at the Lowy Institute. Lisa spent six years with the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) and Progressive Policy Institute in Washington DC where she was a Senior Adviser on trade policy and was also responsible for external relations with the corporate community and non-profit foundations. She was instrumental in helping establish political relationships for Australia with regard to the US/Australia Free Trade Agreement. Prior to the DLC, she served at the Australian Embassy in Washington working on US Congressional Relations and trade issues. Lisa is a graduate of the University of California Los Angeles (political science and international relations) and serves on the Board of Directors of the Johnny Warren Foundation and the organising committee for the Steve Waugh Foundation.
taxman123
November 29, 2011 at 12:20 am
Cloud Computing
Excellent article Lisa, I agree it is certainly a evolutionary step, the technology for some, including those of us in the industry, is still a little complicated to use and understand and many will be left at the door. A culing of old and new I guess.
I have found some great resources on the subject and post a link below.
Books on cloud computing
rayanclouds1
July 4, 2012 at 1:53 pm
Cloud Computing an ecomomic leverage
Your article is very informative and the points explained in the post are clear and all are proving what you have written in. I strongly agree with the benefits of the cloud and how it can change IT and econmmic facettes , Here is an amazing post in the cloud computing blog in which the author explained The Cloud” as it is affectionately known is in the process of becoming a jobs growth machine. A recent study by IDC shows that cloud spending in 2011 was $28 billion and generated $400 billion in revenue. The net result was 1.5 million jobs created. By 2016, the number of new jobs created by the cloud will be in the neighborhood of 8.8 million. The amount of IT innovation that is a by product of cloud services frees up capital for other projects, which in turn leads to the jobs growth that is anticipated.
centrica123
July 30, 2013 at 9:08 am
Totally Agree with this
Totally Agree with this article also We have been proud of our personal cloud storage services that simplify the process of communication within a company, between the company workers and increase productivity as well as reduce time fraud for increasing the company revenues.
kyle35
October 23, 2013 at 7:01 am
It is important to understand
It is important to understand that if someone is going to store your data it comes under the control of the original company that you have a contract with.