From the Editors: Clouds in the rear-view mirror… and windshield



Email    print   
January 2, 2009 —  (Page 1 of 2)
What happened in 2008? When you get beyond the mortgage meltdown and the business slowdown, the single biggest advance may have been in cloud-based computing. In fact, the increasing attractiveness of the cloud dovetails well with 2007’s biggest trend, that of service oriented architectures, and with today’s financially challenging climate.

The cloud grew out of initiatives from famous Internet companies, like Amazon.com, Google and Saleforce.com, and over the past couple of months it has been embraced by more conventional platform players, namely Microsoft and Sun. What makes the cloud work? Web services. How does the cloud work with enterprises? Through service oriented architectures. Open specifications, whether based on WS-* or REST, are at the heart of most cloud initiatives, making the cloud-based applications relatively easy to deploy and integrate.

While SOA and standards make development teams happy, the economics make the executive suite happy. The cloud is the classic pay-as-you-go model for information technology. You don’t need to buy servers or provision a data center; you don’t need to purchase licenses for Windows Server or Oracle. Instead, you get a monthly bill that’s keyed to the amount of network traffic or the number of gigabytes of storage. What could be simpler? What could be more affordable and cost-effective?

The power of the cloud also plays well with other 2008 trends. Smart mobile devices, like the Apple iPhone or RIM BlackBerry, or based on the Google Android stack, are connected to the Internet and can be very happy working with cloud-based applications. Rich Internet clients haven’t yet been tied to the cloud, but there's no doubt that Adobe’s AIR/Flex, Microsoft’s Silverlight and Sun’s JavaFX all have a natural affinity for the cloud.

What about the software development team? Like the cloud, they’re not only location-independent, but increasingly location-irrelevant. Whether you’re playing follow-the-Sun development with offices distributed across North America, Europe and Asia, or whether you’re just trying to save a few dollars by outsourcing, cloud-based development and test platforms are readily accessible.



Related Search Term(s): cloud computing, SOA, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Salesforce, Sun

Pages 1 2 


Share this link: http://sdt.bz/33144
 
Most Read Latest News Blog Resources

Add comment


Name*
Email*  
Country     


  • Comment
Loading




close
NEXT ARTICLE
The year was tumultuous
The big story was the problems with the economy, but beyond that, the software industry had its own twists and turns. Among the highlights was the strengthening of agile programming, the profitability of cloud computing and the continued enhancement of mobile devices Read More...
 
 
 
 
News on Monday
more>>
SharePoint Tech Report
more>>


   

 
 

Download Current Issue
FEBRUARY 2012 PDF ISSUE

Need Back Issues?
DOWNLOAD HERE

Want to subscribe?


 
blogs tab
Are you at risk for burnout?
Burnout is a severe problem and it can strike at any time. Here's how to tell if you are nearing the edge.
02/09/2012 02:16 PM EST

Agility, mom, and apple pie
If we're to evaluate the state-of-the-art in software development, we should start with the values espoused in the Agile Manifesto.
02/07/2012 11:57 AM EST

RIM woos developers with free tablet
How do you get more apps ported to the BlackBerry PlayBook? By giving every developer a free tablet, of course!
02/04/2012 01:57 PM EST

GitHire: Use Headhunters to Find Your Perfect Programmer
Are you a hiring manager tired of scouring the job boards? Check out this new service that will find 5 people interested in your jobs.
02/03/2012 12:17 PM EST

Facebook claims hacker cred
Facebook's SEC S-1 filing form includes a short essay on the Hacker Way by Mark Zuckerberg himself.
02/02/2012 08:26 AM EST

Ryan Dahl steps down
Ryan Dahl, creator of Node.js, steps back from his position as gatekeeper for the project.
02/01/2012 04:58 PM EST

 
Events calendar tab
2/13/2012 to 2/16/2012
Santa Clara
TechWeb

2/26/2012 to 2/29/2012
San Francisco
BZ Media

2/27/2012 to 3/2/2012
San Francisco
RSA

3/4/2012 to 3/7/2012
Las Vegas
IBM Tivoli

3/5/2012 to 3/9/2012
San Francisco
TechWeb