The Cloud eh?

Where I work 90% of what we do is transitioning to "The Cloud". Another term I've heard used is the "Hosted Environment". The name of and type of business is being with held to protect my employment status.

I've been given extensive training. Unless I'm way off base they wouldn't invest the time and money in said training unless they planned to use me somewhere.

Having said all that I view "The Cloud" as a means for companies to cut down on their expenses. In other words a 50% of that is get rid of a lot of people.

SCREW THE CLOUD.

Depending on the company, it could very well mean savings on equipment, IT costs and not necessarily people. It could mean smarter deployment of the people working there to say, sales or contact.... maybe even customer satisfaction or other aspects of service. Could also mean more jobs if the company uses the money saved on diversification...

...other terms that are fast becoming urban myths Doc. Too many companies really dont care what the customer thinks anymore.

I must agree with Chasbo on this. It is a beginning of downsizing IT departments that is coming upon us. Speaking as an IT person, I don't WANT to be in "sales" or what have you. IT is my chosen profession and I'll stay there until there is no need ( or I'm outsourced to India )....

Back in the 70s - it was IBM Mainframes.  Granted it was purely company specific, but all you had was a dumb terminal. The brains were all on the big iron.

In the 90s, it became Thin clients.  What is a thin client?  A dumb terminal connected into a large host that did all the crunching.  This was not a company specific thing as some companies offered services so you could have a dumb terminal connected to a medical application server from your own doctor's office.

Now comes Cloud computing.  Same thing, just again on a larger scale (now anyone can have a dumb terminal connected into some humongous server somewhere in cyber space).  IT loves the idea of big Iron/Thin Clients/ Cloud Computing as then all control rests with them and the user cannot do much.  It is actually the opposite of what the PC was designed for, and as what happened in the past, so it will in the future.  It is merely a fad.  That has it proponents, but unfortunately not its customer base.  Google has been talking about the Internet OS for years, and nothing has come of it.  This will be a fad that will be replaced by some new fad in another 10 years.

The Genie is out of the bottle, and no amount of praying to the gods of Big Iron are going to get him back in.

The difference this time is the availability and cost effectiveness of high speed internet services. Yes, "cloud" is just a buzzword but the "big iron" is now more easily located at a corporate data facilty instead of at the local facility data center (server room). Thus, the reduction in local IT staff.

I'm not sure it means "getting resized", fellas. Maybe relocated? People have to go where the work is, it won't come to you unless you establish some Cloud presence and do consulting/extra work on the side. Some folks' jobs make use of the fact that they don't have to be physically present in a certain place and enjoy the freedom that gives...

Doc, in my company the people aspect has become a bloodbath of sorts. There has been a whacking of IT people. No need for IT people when there is no on site equipment and no they are not transferring to other jobs. They are being let go. "The Help Desk" has taken over.

We used to be able to physically go get one of our guys to fix an issue with a MAC or PC. Now we have to call "The Help Desk" and a ticket is made and God knows when the issue will be resolved.

For example there were 4 or 5 MACS where when the time changed in the Fall, the time on those MACS didn't. Couldn't do it ourselves because we didn't have Administrative rights. I went and got our on site IT guy and he said he couldn't fix it! He said I had to call the Help Desk. Took two days before the issue was resolved. It could have been resolved in 30 seconds!

And what do you do without a local copy of apps needed to run your business when you Inet goes away for 2-3 days. Not to mention that Licenses that aren't attached to a box (you own per say), will be highly susceptible to price fluctuations based on the service providers whims. Whims that we know have F'all to do with Customer loyalties or Business needs, just PROFIT MARGINS...

Who owns the data stored in the "Cloud" the business who creates iot or the service provider as it is the gear after-all.

Where is that data stored? Could be a Warehouse in Cambodia for all anyone knows. What are their Laws on copt protection etc etc.

Some basic questions a Business might investigate before jumping into the "Cloud" game.

Sounds like your employer doesn't have a firm hold on things there.Responsiveness and flexibility are major concerns. Perhaps a 'Hybrid Cloud' model is or would be better for the enterprise you work for. Can't tell as your privacy is very important, Chasbo. I most certainly agree with that.

Physical as well as IP security and security vs hackers, etc. are valid concerns and I have mentioned that in my prior articles. I'll reiterate that here as well.

I also wish to state that while I bring information, I do not necessarily agree with it nor espouse it and any ideas behind it.

I am only reporting things here to keep all abreast with developments they might not understand: To bring knowledge about them.

Your own informed comments and experiences are valuable to me, and I respect them.

So many new things in the IT world seem to be coming our way lately. 

I think the key here is who will use it.   It may take off or not.  You don't have to use it.  The consumer or end user, unless I've missed something here, will still be the controlling factor.  I don't see Microsoft or any other company not selling you copies of it's newest software so you can put it on your computer.

Like most things that are presented to us, most are never asked for by the consumer, they are developed to see whether we buy into it or not.

Now that's a very good question. If the data is stored off shore with a 3rd party, the company who is offering the 'Cloud' service might be able to avoid legal responsibility for data lost and privacy.

The Cloud is yet in it's infancy. Takes time for things to shake out such as legal and security issues.

When you hear a company mention implementing a new IT "process" to increase productivity, reliability, etc. it's usually corporate code for man vs. machine (tech, robotics, etc.) and how they can cut the bottom line....labor being a real biggie in any corporation. I've seen so many things introduced as the next "big thing" in IT that created nothing but problems throughout the system although it did cut some jobs in the process.  IMHO, this is yet another IT job killer.

That would seem to negate the corporation's best interests....at least to me. I think there will be IT jobs for quite some time.

Take a look at projected occupational growth 2008-2018 HERE

Computer software engineers, applications  and Computer software engineers, systems software are on the list for rapid expected need/growth.

Doc,

For the most part it appears that most of us responding here are actually in IT. Trust us, this is a local IT job killer. There is an ever increasing trend towards centralization and outsourcing going on. The CEO's and Stockholders know squat about the real world of IT and what it takes to be efficient. All they are concerned with is the almighty $$ and how to afford their next summer home. A highly glossed over sales presentation look great to them and no consideration is given to the end user level of frustration and the local IT staff stability.