Read this post on why “Cloud Computing is Not Burger King.” It claims that cloud computing hasn’t reached a mature age where customization is possible. The author, Lori MacVittie, highlights control as the key aspect that is needed by IT departments in order to effectively customize the cloud — and says we aren’t there yet. She says that “what customization implies and requires is control, and that is exactly what is missing from the cloud offerings of today.”
We also see that control – and the perception that you are giving up some of it – is a central factor in cloud adoption. Now all of sudden you have clients writing code to your services that don’t work for you, with good intentions but maybe some occasional bad code. Or… you’re using lots of these services and have no idea what data is moving in and out of your company. I think we’re starting to see progress in a few cases. A lot of the CTOs I speak to are already addressing control – and some elements of customization and policy enforcement up front at the same time that they are addressing other factors like reliability and security. We’re already starting to see these companies on the bleeding edge of the cloud address control.
