Keeping Cloud Computing Real with InfoWorld Columnist whurley

January 21, 2009

Cloud Computing.  It's a term not well known outside of geek circles.  Theoretically, it's supposed to make hosting affordable for just about anyone setting up a website or application and will solve one of the hugest problems in the industry--the huge energy suck that is the modern data center. According to a study conducted over three years ago, total data center electricity consumption in the U.S., including servers, cooling and auxiliary equipment, was approximately 45 billion kWh, resulting in total utility bills amounting to a whopping $2.7 billion out of the $7.2 billion spent by the entire world. In a world where green is becoming more of a necessity than a trend, understanding how to reduce data center energy usage is vital to our economy and well being.

Unfortunately, no one really understands cloud computing actually is.  The term gets thrown around by so many marketers it has become a meaningless cliche.  Since people feel it's the salvation of the modern data center, InfoWorld columnist and BMC Open Source Strategist William Hurley, or whurley as he is known in geek circles, has decided to dispell the myths in his InfoWorld blog about Cloud Computing.

MICHELLE:
You've often been a critic of people who so freely use the term "cloud computing".  Why you gotta hate?

WHURLEY:
Remember grid computing?  Application Service Providers?  Software as a Service Vendors?  Google "cloud computing" and you get 9.6 million hits.  9.6 million!  I don't hate the playa, I hate the buzzword game.  None of the promise of cloud computing has been realized.  The only thing that's improved is the marketing.  Cloud computing ain't a magic bullet.  I'm just keeping it real.  If cloud computing is ever going to add value to the marketplace, somebody's got to.

MICHELLE:
And so I ask you, what IS cloud computing?

WHURLEY:
I just dedicated my first InfoWorld blog post to that very question.  Some people think it's all about virtualization.  Others think its process management.  Still others think resource management is the heart of cloud computing.  It's the most ill-defined technology in history. Everyone's got a cloud solution for you; no one can tell you what makes their solution cloud computing in two sentences or less.  If cornered, I'd say "hardware and software resources available as a service over the Internet" is a nice, vague start.  I'm hoping to help drive the industry towards a definition this year.

MICHELLE:
Hosting companies like RackSpace use the term cloud computing as do software as a service companies like SalesForce.  Will we need to have some sort of smackdown to decide who is using the term properly or is the term too cliche now?

WHURLEY:
A smackdown might actually be interesting. I'm fine selecting standards via CEO Death Matches as long as I'm running the book.  I'd love to get a working definition and test it against existing vendors. We gotta try, or cloud computing will meet the same fate as popular past buzzwords.

MICHELLE:
What should and should not be hosted on "the cloud" and why does no one even discuss this?

WHURLEY:
That's entirely up to the consumer.  Whatever there's a demand for will end up on the cloud.  Some companies love hosted e-mail; others don't trust it.  Some companies pay for web hosting; others do it themselves.  I know two things: if people will pay for it, someone will offer it; and until we know what people will pay for, anything and everything will be available with a cloud computing flavor by Q3 '09.

MICHELLE:
Are you going to get into any rumbles with writers at InfoWorld over this?

WHURLEY:
Shoot, "Earthquake" is my middle name.  I took the gig at InfoWorld because I like their approach to covering "the cloud."  They haven't lost their minds, and they offer a balanced, realistic viewpoint.  I'm sure at some point we'll clash, but I know Eric Knorr and I will always do what's in the best interest of the audience.

MICHELLE:
Is there anyway I can nominate you as an evil genius?

WHURLEY:
Sure. I'll need a sheep's heart, three dollars, and a cheap bathrobe.  I get nominated for silly stuff like that all the time.  I was named "Best Evil Genius 2008," but my recent bid to win the Evil Genius Shorty on Twitter was foiled by none other than Darth Vadar.  I'll take it any way I can get it.

MICHELLE:
How can people help spread your message about cloud computing?

WHURLEY:
Subscribe to the blog. Leave feedback.  Add the following link to your blog rolls, websites, and available t-shirt and forehead real estate:

<a href="http://weblog.infoworld.com/whurley/">Cloud Computing</a>

Comments

[whurley]

Hey Michelle,

Thanks again for taking the time to do this interview. Can't wait to see more coverage of all the other cool stuff your connected to in Austin.

l8r,
whurley

[Giovanni]

Michelle,

I'm totally psyched that Discovery tapped you to cover the Austin tech scene. Great interview here...entertaining while at the same time still delivering relevant info on what whurley is doing on his new InfoWorld.com blog. Keep it up!

-giovanni