Exalead Blog - The blog of Exalead

The concept of “cloud computing” has been getting a bad rap lately, with Richard Stallman and Larry Ellison weighing in heavily on the “anti” side.

It is true that “cloud computing” is nebulous in nature.

We at Exalead have our own view of the cloud, perhaps better termed the “enterprise content cloud.” It is a cold, hard truth that enterprises are generating more and more information and that this information is becoming disassociated from the businesses users who need to access it. Data exists…well…everywhere– on a slew of devices, behind the firewall and outside of the firewall– and it has become a challenge to not only access this data but to even find it to make effective business decisions. Given all of these different silos of information, it is no wonder that there is a rapidly expanding chasm between the business decision makers and the information they need. In fact, only 10% of executives report that information to make a decision is usually there as needed. The data is as far away and, sadly, as inaccessible as the clouds in the sky.

Taking a step back, this fracture between information and business decision makers within the enterprise can be extended to mirror the growing disassociation between the enterprise and meeting its computing needs. Stallman’s arguments against cloud computing are rooted in his open source zealotry, so there isn’t a whole lot to say to that in response. Ellison may feel that cloud computing is antithetical to what he has accomplished at Oracle and maybe feels as if he missed out on an opportunity to capitalize on a growing movement. Regardless, both pundits should pay attention to what Galen Gruman pointed out several months ago– sure, cloud computing is nebulous, but it is most clearly realized as a way to meet business needs without a lot of investment in new infrastructure, new employees, or new software.

On-demand computing represents a multi-billion dollar market that touches a variety of verticals and has an all-star line-up of players. If you look at the software companies that have had the most IPO success over the past few years, it has been on-demand companies– SalesForce.com, Taleo, RightNow, Omniture, and HireRight, to name a few. When you are faced with a juggernaut, you have to adapt to its presence, which often requires tagging it as a way of identifying what you are dealing with– and so, cloud computing was born.

Bad rap or not – cloud computing is very much a movement that is forcing new opportunities and challenges onto enterprise users.