I started my work week mulling over a couple of commenters on my post “Don’t Hit Snooze on the Cloud Conversation.” Part of the commenters’ critique of the cloud conversation was that there’s plenty hype, but too little hard information to support it.
Nasimson said: “Every time I read the over-hyped sponsored blogs on benefits of cloud without any solid real-business case studies measuring tangible benefits, I shrug my shoulders and press Alt+F4.”
To which, Anand asked: “Why do you think there is so much of overhype without any solid real-business case studies. Do you think this overhype will reduce in coming days?”
Well, some of the cloud claims tossed around are insupportable, but others can be supported and are. Animoto, ADP payroll services and Salesforce.com, present concrete examples of how cloud computing can benefit business.
In Gartner’s 2010 Hype Cycle on Emerging Technologies, the hype over cloud computing, private cloud computing and cloud/web platforms was high. But the down slope is ahead, as is the leveling off point.
So, where are we in the hype cycle at this very moment? I don’t know, because the technologies that make up the cloud aren’t riding the hype cycle’s curves in a neat bundle.
In a May Q&A in Cloud Computing Journal, Gartner VP Mark Raskino made a point that should be stressed more often: Cloud computing isn’t about one, single technology and at any given time, those technologies could dot different areas of the cycle. The lesson here: It’s important to keep in mind how mature, not how buzzworthy, a technology is. As an example, he compared the IaaS with the more mature SaaS.
“It’s important to mention that the hype cycle informs the buyers as to how mature a technology is,” Raskino said.
“If you are a CIO or CEO of a company, you need to find out if the technology is in a state that is easy for you to use. It’s up to you to decide to ‘play early’ or to get into the technology rather late—at a time when it is already mature.”
And as cloud technologies mature, quantifiable examples of tangible benefits should increase too.