Inventory Slapstick- the life and times of an SMB/E. Who takes care of what? There are arguments for and against cloud computing. Every one fares differently and I think you too will find similarities in where your eggs reside and in their relationships.
Inventory Slapstick- the life and times of an SMB/E. Who takes care of what?
There are arguments for and against cloud computing. Every one fares differently and I think you too will find similarities in where your eggs reside and in their relationships.Here's a snapshot of our wares:
Why did I use Tier I, II and III labels? Just to keep my sanity.
Tier I seems logical to all remain in the cloud. The paradigm of the future will be those that manage their own services will pay more.
Included in Tier I are anti-virus, anti-spam, web management tools, web payment processing
Tier II can be a pay as you go or pay as you need model. I've needed Adobe reader nearly everyday but I only use Adobe Distiller monthly. When I want to convert a .wmf to flash occasionally, then a pay-as-you-need model benefits me and fairly compensates the use of the tool. Putting the desktop applications in the cloud to pay as you go would be a different model as opposed to licensing. Updates along with upgrades are done in the cloud in lieu of pushing them down to the servers or users onsite. In a traffic conscious world where efficiency is important, would the traffic be less or the same in a hosted model? Will the Telcos, cable companies and ISP's policies kill the chance for cloud computing? Will they become the dreaded Meter Maids? Could they take these tasks over? Why can't users experience any software that makes sense for them without buying into a hardware model?
Tier III are communications, backup and file centric needs. Notice I left out "voice." Thus, my first argument in favor of cloud computing being- 'I don't know if this phone is such a good idea.'
In cloud computing it seems like three strengths within the cloud must exist: Web Services (Tier I), Applications (Tier II) and Communications (Tier III).
Is it possible that home, SOHO, and SMB/E could use a dumb terminal or hardware device other than a PC or MAC and connect to the cloud? Does this spell an end to "too much stuff" and make it easier to be 'greener'? (Doing more for less, less hardware churn, less ownership of wares)
I believe this all ties in to human behaviors at least involving mature economies. Does it signal an end to consumerism? I also think that convergence of software and services will have more notable and quantifiable benefits than just converging voice. Clearly, on the data side- there is way too much to converge and to improve besides voice. After all, voice is just voice--isn't it?
Now, that should get a rise out of someone.
