The Politics of Cloud Computing

Andrea DiMaio of Gartner discusses in his blog two political issues likely to arise from moving to a cloud computing platform:

1. Some lawmakers are more cautious about new projects to develop physical data centers when cloud computing would be cheaper
2. Tax laws related to the same ala Microsoft’s decision to move Azure development outside Washington State

He thinks these arguments are similar to the ones that arose when open source software first bolted onto the IT scene.

Podcast: The Free Business Model and Geospatial

How do you benefit from giving technology away? This week we look at a trend - all sorts of things (data, technology and Web services) are being offered for free across the technology landscape. It’s happening in geospatial too. So, here’s today’s question: How will companies’ free offerings compete with one another?

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Pay-as-you-Go Windows Azure…Microsoft Prices its Cloud Computing Services

One of the big questions facing CIO’s with regard to cloud computing is…"how much will it cost." In an article in CIO Today, author Mark Long provides specific details on how Microsoft will price its cloud services through Azure but warns that comparing it to Amazon’s and Google’s cloud services needs more than just price shopping…the differences reside in the service level agreements. Details on Azure according to CIO Today:

The Azure platform includes a Web-based relational database in Microsoft SQL Azure together with connectivity and interoperability with .NET services. Microsoft said it will charge $9.99 for the basic Web edition of its SQL Azure database, which includes up to a one-gigabyte relational database; and $99.99 for the business edition with up to a 10GB database. By contrast, .NET services will be 15 cents per 100,000 message operations, including service-bus messages and access-control tokens, the company said. And when it comes to network bandwidth, Microsoft said it will charge between 10 and 15 cents per gigabyte for Windows Azure, SQL Azure and .NET services.

Register for the Location Intelligence Conference for $199…limited time offer

Attendees may register for the Location Intelligence Conference for just $199...a savings of $600. This is a limited time offer and the deadline is Aug. 24 or the first 200 registrants.

Our offer to you is simple. Register for the full conference for $199, which includes meals, workshops and our conference social event. You will need a special code to receive this special offer…it is listed below.

Use the code: db4e9281.

The Fine Print:

• The offer is good until August 24th and limited to the first 200 registrations.
• All payments must be made by credit card.
• No refunds. Registration is transferable to someone else.
• After August 24th or 200 registrants, attendees will pay the regular registration fee of $795 (still a great deal!).

Also, we will give you a $50 rebate to those attendees that stay two nights or more at the conference hotel, the Westin Westminster, just for showing us your hotel receipt.

We’re putting a focus on cloud computing and our distinguished speakers will touch on this as well as their enterprise IT implementations that have helped their company become more "location intelligent." I hope you will join us in Westminster, Colorado, for #LI2009 (follow us on Twitter @locationintel) October 5-7. You can join our LinkedIn Group that now has over 1000 members.

Is Cloud Computing a Disruptive Technology for Geospatial?

Would you consider cloud computing the next disruptive technology for the geospatial tech sector? In an article published by ZDNet, the author, Ric Telford, explains that, in general, cloud computing " is not a disruptive technology in and of itself, but a disruptive IT delivery model which leverages key technology ideas (like grid computing, utility computing and Software as a Service) to deliver IT in a much more efficient model. Because of this, cloud computing has undeniable characteristics of a truly disruptive innovation."

If we look, then, at the geospatial tech sector, cloud computing may become disruptive in the way we deliver and store data, at least at first, followed by applications. Geospatial technology is a notorious data hog and as such continuously fighting for more storage. While today we look for technologies that will compress and then decompress data (think, LiDAR point clouds), the future may present us with better, cloud-based options, especially from some of the satellite data providers. And why wouldn’t they become a cloud provider for all data, not just remotely-sensed information?

Also, as we discussed yesterday in our podcast, we understand that IT managers do not have the bandwidth to "do it all." Because of the shift of geospatial technology management from the backroom and siloed fiefdom of the geospatial techy to the CIO, the CIO now has to outsource some services that they may have once believed to be solely under their control. It’s just makes better business sense to move some services to the cloud.

Telford believes that cloud computing is "an effective service acquisition and delivery model for IT resources, and if properly implemented within an overall technology strategy, cloud computing can help improve overall business performance while controlling the costs of distributing IT resources to the organization." The point of departure for me about this statement is that I don’t believe most IT departments have thought this far ahead. I think Telford may be right, but which services move to the cloud and which are better managed internally will be a battle fraught with both political and technological significance.