It is interesting that GOOGLE is trying to dominate in so many markets but seems not to be joined up (see Googled by Ken Auletta –http://www.amazon.com/Googled-End-World-As-Know/dp/1594202354). Its Chrome browser has been launched to try to wrestle control of the browser from IE (and FireFox) and provide usage data back to the Google corpus. Huge amounts were clearly spent on advertising in the UK – yet those developing it failed to include the very features Google have added to IE and Firefox – namely the toolbar. Having switched to Chrome I am left with even less Google-developed features than before. (e.g. try Google Sidewiki on Chrome).

Why is this important for the Cloud? Because the browser is the key access mechanism for Cloud services (particularly SaaS) and Google aims to be a key player in both providing the browser and providing the Cloud services. If its browser is problematic then its offering might be suspect.

I am currently in Korea at a Joint UK/Korean eScience workshop. One of the questions raised was that Web Services is a requisite for cloud – a precursor to the ability to move data-analysis jobs into the cloud. Similarly this rests on whether a problem can be effectively parallelised on CPUs with poor interconnects (since the networks in Cloud Providers are not the same as in a supercomputer). Unlike Grid or Clusters undertaking collaborative analysis using nodes on a cloud provider will require a more detailed understanding of the network infrastructure (and the virtual-machine distribution) of servers on the network.  This network issue should form part of the SLA when cloud services are commissioned.

One of the issues which seems to be missing from the debate is the nature of addressing. A key benefit of Grid and High-performance computing is the idea of global addressing of files and this seems a major drive forward for Cloud. Imagine if files are not locked to a server (i.e by a URL where the first part is a server – http://www.bbc.co.uk for example), but instead can reside anywhere and be addressed easily from anywhere. Why is this important? Because files live longer than the servers they reside on, and may not remain in the same place/country.

SSRN-Cloud Computing: The Business Perspective by Subhajyoti Bandyopadhyay, Sean Marston, Zhi Li, Anand Ghalsasi.

http://community.mis.temple.edu/stevenljohnson/2009/11/18/statistical-analysis-via-cloud-computing/

Various Publications on Cloud Computing research papers collection | Mendeley.

Defogging the Cloud: Applying Fourth Amendment Principles to Evolving Privacy Expectations in Cloud Computing

David A. Couillard

The Economic Impact of Cloud Computing on Business Creation,Employment and Output in Europe

Federico Etro

A Break in the Clouds: Towards a Cloud Definition

Luis M. Vaquero1, Luis Rodero-Merino1 , Juan Caceres1, Maik Lindner2

• This paper provides a useful table of definitions of Cloud from the literature (page 52), and most usefully a table comparing Grid and Cloud.

Haibo Yang, Mary Tate(2009) Where are we at with Cloud Computing?: A Descriptive Literature Review 20th Australasian Conference on Information Systems 2-4 Dec 2009, Melbourne

• As a descriptive review of the literature on Cloud Computing within Information Systems this paper is necessarily limited. Little research has been done and hence the conclusions cannot be strong. That said it is a very useful piece with lots of material and a systematic analysis.

Posted on the AIS World list; I have not reviewed them yet:

A Transaction Cost Perspective of the “Software as a Service” Business Model. By: Susarla, Anjana; Barua, Anitesh; Whinston, Andrew B.. Journal of Management Information Systems, Fall2009, Vol. 26 Issue 2, p205-240

Campbell-Kelly, M. “Historical Reflections The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of Software as a Service,” Communications of the ACM (52:5) 2009, pp 28-30.

Choudhary, V. “Comparison of Software Quality Under Perpetual Licensing and Software as a Service,” Journal of Management Information Systems (24:2), Fall 2007, pp 141-165.

The following seems to sum up the use of the Cloud for users (it is from a internal Sun Beta of OpenOffice).

(Source – Jonathan Schwartz’s Blog.)

CloudCamp. A set of free events outlining cloud computing issues… the sponsor-list alone is a useful database of cloud providers.

Open cloud’ plan sparks dissent

via BBC NEWS | Technology | ‘Open cloud’ plan sparks dissent.

I clearly missed this last year – it would be interesting to explore the business rational behind the “open cloud” for IBM – and the desire for lock-in vs. open standards for the big players listed (Microsoft/Google). I suspect, given the article, that this was an attempt by IBM to grand-stand and appear a white-knight rather than a serious desire to lead an option initiative. That inter-operability is supported by SAP/AMD/Red-Hat/AT&T , SUN and CISCO is hardly surprising since their businesses are set to gain from any move to the cloud… by any provider.

Press release on BC report ‘Cloud Culture’:  Also for a introduction see: http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/leadbeater10/leadbeater10_index.html

This report discusses (in a round about way) the issue of the cultural impact of cloud computing ideas. In particular how the exposive growth in cultural heritage on the web, plus the explosion in its availability (through cloud) , will create a new “exponential growth in mass cultural expression” which is “the cultural cloud”.

Cultural relations is dominanted by small centers of production (e.g. hollywood) and Leadbeater argues a rather old argument (but still relevant) about the dilusion of local culture by this hegmony by fluid mobility (Ulrick Beck is introduced here). In summary Cloud Computing will provide a greater diversity of cultural expression. Technology cost is no longer an issue (as it was dominant in the time of Hollywood in the 1960s).”decentralised, plural and collaborative; less hierarchical, proprietary and money driven; the boundaries between amateur and professional, consumer and producer, grassroots and mainstream breached, if not erased”.

In contrast however he warns that this is not a guarentee. Power, vested interest, governments and companies may struggle to resit this change.

Campaigning is an interesting case in point. Authoritarian governments close the web and mobile network in times of difficulty (Iran, China, Thailand etc).  DoS attacks on platforms, and the shere numbers of people v.s activists make a dent. He points out that 0.027% of Iran’s population of internet users provided tweets during the recent demonstrations.

He argues that cultural exchange using Clouds demands:

1) Free-speech and association (supported by the internet tools)

2) Copyright issues and intellectual property issues be addresssed.

3) Avoiding corporate control of the cultural cloud.