Cloud Computing: Game Changer or Next Buzz Word
“Cloud” computing has garnered a lot of attention lately. Not as much as the iPad, but sufficient
buzz to warrant the examination of this phenomenon and to determine what impact, if any, it has on the legal landscape, i.e. is this sufficiently different to require new legal approaches and what aspects of agreements relating to cloud computing should be examined carefully with this delivery model?
Over the next few weeks in this blog, we will examine how we got to this point, how cloud computing differs from previous delivery models and how it is similar. We will look at the evolution of computing and the evolution of legal concepts to address such evolution and we will try to determine what changes in contract language and deal structure need to occur to address issues unique to cloud computing.
One of the values of growing old (possibly the only one) like this writer, is the opportunity to observe things and changes over a number of years. An examination of the business computing climate from the time the writer first became involved (circa 1988) until now, reveals the evolution of several deliver models of computing resources that culminates (for the present) with the cloud computing model.
I have heard the “cloud” described as a metaphor for a mainframe. There is a fair amount of disagreement about this.
However, I think in the interest of basic understanding, the “cloud” can also be viewed as a metaphor for the computer cord (i.e. the cord or the mechanism connecting the workstation or terminal with the source of the computing resources) but what it really is, is that the "cord" has been replaced by the internet and the vast array of virtualization layers and ever shifting storage devices and servers on the other side.
What difference does this make, you might ask? We'll explore that question in the coming weeks.
