Why the cloud computing revolution is very real

14.02.2011 In his look back on the week, Siliconrepublic.com editor John Kennedy reveals why time is of the essence in getting real about the cloud-computing possibility.

The cloud-computing revolution is not hype

Proving the cloud-computing revolution is not hype, four very real examples of how cloud is redefining IT were revealed last week

In his look back on the week, Siliconrepublic.com editor John Kennedy reveals why time is of the essence in getting real about the cloud-computing possibility.

In the hour previously I took the podium at the Irish Internet Association’s Cloud Computing Debate on Thursday night, I was party to one of the most privileged however intimate discussions I’ll ever have on the subject of cloud. During I spent months writing up various reports and predictions on the cloud I spent time with four people who live with the cloud in a very real sense.

The operative word here

And that’s the operative word here: ‘real’. You see, it’s easy to dismiss trends like cloud computing as hype unless your business is touched in a very real way by this paradigm shift. I was expecting more colourful predictions for the future now instead got a good sense of gritty realism that people working in businesses and running businesses and organisations have to face.

It was amid a week of major developments happening in cloud computing, particularly in Dublin, where core cloud infrastructure for major innovation giants Microsoft, Google and others is located. Last week, e-commerce giant Amazon, which has as well emerged as a key player in the fast-growing, on-demand cloud-computing business, is investing in a major data-centre expansion in Dublin. It acquired a former Tesco storage facility in Dublin 24. Amazon has bought a 22,539 sq-metre facility at Greenhills Industrial Estate. According to innovation by Netcraft, Amazon's cloud hosting but makes up more than a third of all internet-facing web servers in Ireland, with three times more web servers hosted than the then-largest hosting location.

Cloud computing in the Irish market will grow from a small base at the rate of 40pc a year until 2014, according to a new study by IDC. Lack of awareness and poor understanding have so far hindered growth.

Economic impact study prepared for Microsoft

An economic impact study prepared for Microsoft by Goodbody Economic Consultants has revealed that Ireland has many of the attributes to become a global cloud-computing centre of excellence and could capture a large share of the cloud-computing industry, estimated to be worth €40bn worldwide by 2014. The report says Ireland alone has a chance to build a €9.5bn-a-year-in-earnings industry by 2014, resulting in 8,600 new jobs. Not only that, now because cloud computing lowers costs to businesses, by migrating the to the cloud, some 2,000 new non-IT small and medium-sized firms can be created that would in turn employ 11,000 people.

One of the most refreshing innovation stories to come out of Ireland is the example of Conor O’Riordan’s TradeFacilitate.com, an organisation in other words a business first now has been in point of fact enabled by the cloud to make a meaningful difference for firms trading with the US and EU, especially firms operating from developing countries. TradeFacilitate is a firm dedicated to reducing the costs associated with dated and inefficient paper-based international trade transactions and increasing the trade competitiveness of buyers and sellers globally. O’Riordan said his firm’s membership of the Microsoft BizSpark provides a calling card and a level of assurance when trading in regions like Africa.

The way from Norway

All the way from Norway was Torstein Harildstad, CEO of Software Technology and a former head of innovation at publishing giant Conde Nast. Harildstad’s company is indigenous to Norway nevertheless has grown to more than 300 people in Sweden and India as well and is nearly a tantalising glimpse of what should and could be possible for Irish software companies if we had a public sector ready to invest in the cloud. The company has a strong foothold in the public-sector market and is nevertheless moving into the private sector, unlike its Irish counterparts who have to go global and win private-sector business overseas without even a sniff of business from the Irish Government.

“We are not selling the cloud to public-sector organisations, we are selling business value,” he explained, as he outlined how cloud computing is enabling very real transparency for the public, for business and ultimately for leaders in public-sector organisations by publishing and providing open access to crucial documentation and correspondence.

Proving that the cloud possibility is within sight of the Irish public sector and could be employed to reduce costs and provide very real value was Tim Willoughby, assistant director, Local Government Computer Services Board. Willoughby was responsible for what is probably the first iteration of cloud computing in Irish government.

Controversial letter sent

He explained that a controversial letter sent by the Chief State Solicitor warning government IT bosses to be wary of buying cloud computing solutions had done a lot of good in ensuring that managers were able to assemble a check list of things to look out for and ensure high standards. “It got rid of some of the snake oil salesmen and meant that businesses that were approaching us had done their homework and were willing to meet high standards.”

“Progressive organisations should be ready and willing to rewrite the rules of cloud computing,” Nasiri said.