"To cloud" or "not to cloud" may become another of the great back-and-forths of the IT industry. We already have it between insourcing --> outsourcing and thin-client --> fat-client. There's never any one-size-fits-all solution. Often it is a back-and-forth between the two sides of the coin as the needs, strategies and personnel of the business dictates.
On 10 March 2010 12:46, Carl Houseman <[email protected]> wrote: > Cloud computing is just the next version of "outsourcing". So how did > outsourcing work out? Lately I'm hearing of companies insourcing jobs that > didn't do so well when outsourced. Learning experience achieved, albeit at > great expense. But will this new-found knowledge stick, and will it be > applied to similar situations in the future? > > As I said, over-enthusiastic execs at some companies will see the cloud as > a panacea for their problems and jump in before realizing it's not right for > them. I don't know that predicting that future here will help to make some > think twice, but I feel better for having said it. :) > > Carl > > -----Original Message----- > From: John Hornbuckle [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Wednesday, March 10, 2010 7:37 AM > To: NT System Admin Issues > Subject: Cloud Computing (Was: DNS Server service shuts down shortly after > the DC boots) > > For all its flaws, I don't see cloud computing as a passing fad. It's not > likely to go away, so the best we can do is to work to improve it. > > I can tell you that my own organization is a big fan of it. Why? Well, > we're a school district. Our core competency isn't the maintenance of > complex IT system. We don't have the staff with the knowledge to maintain > such systems, and we don't have the money to hire that staff. Our staffing > levels have actually shrunk due to budget cuts, while the number of various > systems and applications we're using is continuing to grow. Every new app > means more storage space, more backup job complexity, more hardware > utilization, more support requirements, more time troubleshooting, more time > upgrading--the list goes on and on. > > So what can we do? Outsource the maintenance of as many systems as possible > to companies who specialize in that type of work (so they can almost always > do it better than us) and who gain economies of scale (so they can almost > always do it cheaper than us). Put the app in the cloud, and let someone > else worry about things like backups, upgrades, and support. And having it > web-based has the added benefit of there being no client-side software for > us to have to worry about. > > Reliability hasn't been a factor for us with our cloud-based apps. Our > Internet connection is pretty reliable. If it goes down, we have alternate > means of connecting to our most critical apps. Security? Well, the best we > can do there is to have a good contract stipulating our requirements and the > consequences of security breaches. I'm the most advanced tech in our > organization, but I'm not a security expert--I'm a technology generalist, > not a specialist. That means these companies can handle security AT LEAST as > well as we can, and often better. > > It's not right for every organization and every application. But for us, > cloud computing offers significant benefits. We're leaning more and more on > it all the time. > > > > John Hornbuckle > MIS Department > Taylor County School District > www.taylor.k12.fl.us > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Kurt Buff [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Tuesday, March 09, 2010 11:36 PM > To: NT System Admin Issues > Subject: Re: DNS Server service shuts down shortly after the DC boots > > Oh, yeah. > > Somehow, though, it seems to me as if 'the cloud' violates the CIA > triangle of security. > > At the very least, > > a) availability is compromised (if you don't have Internet > connectivity, among other things), > > b) integrity is compromised (new ways of breaking out of VMs to the > underlying host, and you don't know who you're sharing a physical host > with, not to mention issues with network traffic from the various VMs > on a physical host being sniffed.) > > Color me deeply skeptical. > > On Tue, Mar 9, 2010 at 17:34, Carl Houseman <[email protected]> wrote: > > Seems the 'cloud' is the new buzzword for how we're going to increase > > profits next quarter. The cloud will save us! The cloud will reduce our > > expensive fixed costs! Has Dilbert done something on the cloud yet? If > > > > not, it's just a matter of time. > > > > > > > > From: David Lum [mailto:[email protected]] > > Sent: Tuesday, March 09, 2010 5:00 PM > > To: NT System Admin Issues > > Subject: RE: DNS Server service shuts down shortly after the DC boots > > > > > > > > True, but I’ll use OpenDNS way before using Google or MS DNS servers… > > > > > > > > The cloud the cloud…everything is cloud around my office with exec’s > > …“SharePoint’s broke and we have no expertise here…move it to the cloud! > > Exchange, Live Communications Server, ship –‘em all out!” > > > > > > > > From: Carl Houseman [mailto:[email protected]] > > Sent: Tuesday, March 09, 2010 1:26 PM > > To: NT System Admin Issues > > Subject: RE: DNS Server service shuts down shortly after the DC boots > > > > > > > > Not everyone wants to depend on DNS services 'in the cloud' even if > they're > > free... > > NOTICE: Florida has a broad public records law. Most written communications > to or from this entity are public records that will be disclosed to the > public and the media upon request. E-mail communications may be subject to > public disclosure. > > > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ > ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ > > > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ > ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ > > -- "On two occasions...I have been asked, 'Pray, Mr Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~
