With Cloud, Everything Old Is New Again

A friend writes about cloud:

Those notions have been around for decades. I take the hype with skepticism, and there’s a huge amount of hype.

Granted! So let’s do things differently this time. Let’s clear away the hype and just talk about what cloud is, specifically and objectively.

Okay? Are you ready? Or are you already skeptical? As another friend said to me recently, “Any time you hear ‘This time it’s going to be different,’ what you’re really hearing is ‘This is not a new idea.’ ”

Well … cloud itself is not a new idea, not by the longest shot; both friends are right. (Most “new” ideas aren’t new! See: Apple Macintosh; Facebook; electronica.) So I’ll bet that you’ve already read or heard more than enough statements about cloud that are specific, objective, and reasonably hype-free.

But can we agree that this is just fine? Because at our current stage in this very young—not new, but young—trend, our best efforts will be spent looking at what’s already been said about cloud and just trying to clarify it. Add anything really new to the conversation will just make things more confusing and complex.

My plan, then, is to rehash and retread! And to make this is a skepticism-rich zone, because that’s what’s needed. There is real and revolutionary value that cloud offers and that nothing else does, and we’ll only be able to understand it clearly and directly if we cast critical eyes on what’s already been said. Because I’m sure it’s out there somewhere, only waiting to pass this test.

Follow Guy Currier, one of Dell’s subject matter experts on cloud computing, on Twitter: @GuyCatDell.

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Ana Cantu

Managing Editor at Dell

Ana Cantu is Tech Page One’s managing editor for business content. Before joining Dell as a blogger and social media manager, she was a multimedia journalist, and was a member of the Los Angeles Times team awarded the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news reporting. She is one of the company’s subject matter experts in cloud computing and data management.