In the clouds

I commend you to read the Financial Times main editorial on 4th Jan 07 entitled "A cloudy future for computing".

As readers know I have been banging on about SaaS (from when it was called ASP) since at least 1995 when I forecast that most software would be provided as a service in the future. Although progress towards this end has been made - it has been painfully slow.

The main inhibitor towards the take up of SaaS - or Cloud Computing - is the slow move towards my other pet subject - Holway's Martini Moment. I.e. the availability of fast internet access "anytime, anywhere and on any device". Cloud Computing is currently just about feasible on my home computer connected via 'always on/unmetered broadband'. But the moment I step outside my home, Cloud Computing is either expensive or slow (or both). Indeed in many places it is not available at all. I certainly couldn't practice Cloud Computing on the train up to London. Let alone on an airplane or in many remote parts of the world. Until Holway's Martini Moment is ubiquitous, I'll still need copies of all the software I use (and associated data) on my laptop. Which means I need it on my PC too. Hence, Cloud Computing will not come about (in the Holway household at least) until that moment arrives.

Holway's Martini Moment will come about but I don't want to be as wrong on the timing as I was 13 years ago!