Cloud computing – a shot in the arm

I came across an article which discusses how ‘cloud computing’ may be one facet of how the global economy may be able to kick-start itself.

“Economists and pundits have long feared the emergence of what they called “hollow corporations,” or businesses that don’t actually produce actual goods or services themselves, but instead act as brokers or intermediaries relying on networks of suppliers and partners. But now, thanks to technology, successful businesses surprisingly are often brokers of services, delivered via technology, from providers and on to consumers. Where are these services coming from?  Look to the cloud.”

Interestingly, it goes…

Cloud, SaaS, etc

Introduction

When talking to people about ‘The Cloud’ and ‘SaaS’ I have found that the terms are often either not fully understood, or used interchangeably (me included !), or both. There are also a few associated terms that are used as well. So I thought a discussion of this space would be useful.

So what is ‘The Cloud’?

‘The Cloud’ as defined by Wikipedia is: “the provision of computational resources on demand via a computer network. Historically, the term ‘The Cloud’ is used as a metaphor for the Internet.

Cloud computing can be compared to the supply of electricity and…

Common problems facing the GIS industry (part2 – process/system focused)

This is Part 2 of a discussion about problems that appear to be facing individuals and organisations within the spatial industry. As per Part 1, I would appreciate your comments, even if you disagree, and your examples of these happening in the real world.

In Part 1 the focus was on data issues, in Part 2 the focus now moves to process and system problems.

8. LACK OF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN PROJECT STAKEHOLDERS

Multiple stakeholders of a project are rarely on the same page (information is not available, or hard to…

Sneaker Net is still ok

In 1998 I started work at a Government Department in the Jurisdiction I went to university in. Coming from a fairly locked down and resource constrained university network I was excited by the capacity of my new employers network. At that time email was starting its rapid growth rate and web sites were still mainly brochures. One of my tasks was to distribute copies of some geospatial data. Once a month I would copy (using ftp) from a server down to my workstation where I would burn a series of CD’s. I would then pop the CD’s in sleeves,…