Is Cloud Computing Really a Good Idea?

Those of us in the IT world are generally in favor of all the latest developments in the computer technology field. For instance, the explosion of the Internet from a handful of local bulletin boards to a global network was universally accepted by geeks the world over. We were equally impressed with HTML, Java, scalable servers, and the new tablet computer. But one emerging technology has some of us a little nervous. The technology I'm referring to is cloud computing.

In the simplest possible terms, cloud computing is Internet computing. In other words, the typical desktop PC is a self-contained unit with its own GUI, applications, drivers, and so forth. But with cloud computing the PC is really non-existent. The box on the user's desk is nothing more than a modem which connects to an internet mainframe where all function takes place.

Perhaps you've heard the hype regarding Google's attempt to create its own operating system called Chrome OS. If you're confused between Chrome OS and Google's Chrome web browser, don't worry; that's the intent. Chrome OS, and its open source twin, Chromium OS, are both cloud-based operating systems. They consist of a modified Chrome web browser which connects you to a cloud. The cloud is where all your applications reside and work. Your email, media player, office suite, and productivity software are all in the cloud.

This may sound like a great idea to a lot of people. But the concept is rife with dangers and pitfalls, not the least of which is personal privacy and security. We already face a mountain of privacy invasion just based on the fact that we use the Google search engine which mines data from our machines and uses it to target us for advertising. We also continue to hear the horror stories of corporate computer systems being hacked and compromised.

The fact is that while centralization may improve efficiency and cost, it also opens the door for exponentially increasing problems. Take retail business for example. In the traditional environment, every store in a national chain operates its computer systems independently. If one store goes down none of the others are affected. In a centralized model, a main server that goes down may cripple every store along the east coast. This very scenario happened with a major retailer just a few weeks ago.

Where computing is concerned, centralization requires more complicated technology and infrastructure to accommodate the needs of everyone involved. And the more complicated a system becomes, the easier it is to bring the entire system down. Cloud computing is just a scenario.

If the whole world were to be operating in a handful of clouds, it would take very little effort to bring it all to a screeching halt. Until security experts demonstrate a consistent ability to stop attacks from hackers and malware within our current framework, moving to the cloud is a big risk many of us are unwilling to take.

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