Is it Time to Get Our Heads Out of the Clouds Already?

Over the past couple of years, cloud computing has been a hot topic of discussion for providers, agents and customers alike; so much so, in fact, that "the cloud" seems to have eclipsed the technology landscape. With so many businesses looking to reduce their technology expenses and free themselves from on-premise IT encumbrances, companies of all sizes are looking to cloud-based solutions as the future of technology consumption and delivery. However, some critics argue that the cloud computing hype has immensely surpassed the reality.

It's no secret that there's cloud hype – it will provide carriers with consistent revenue and predictability, so they push the profitability and simplicity of adoption and implementation on providers, who in turn, sell it to the customer. While it is true that there are many benefits to employing a cloud solution – such as lower IT costs, increased efficiency, and greater resource access to name a few – there is an issue with the fact that often what is promised ends up falling short of performance and functional expectations. As the CEO and President of the 2112 Group, Lawrence M. Walsh put it, "there's a lot of vaporware in the cloud (ironic imagery, eh?)."

The hype has already generated an ambiance of uncertainty. Companies both large and small are striving to determine their ideal cloud strategy and establish what should remain on-premise and what should go into the cloud. Small and start-up businesses are especially perplexed by the hype due to the fact that they have a decreased risk tolerance for making mistakes.

What's worse is that almost any carrier or vendor with a service or product that touches the web and gives off a "cloud vibe" dubs it a cloud offering, regardless of its authenticity, in order to stay competitive in the growing market. And they have good reason to; cloud computing has been projected to top $150 billion by 2015.

When it comes down to it, the bubble of cloud perception is believed to be on the brink of bursting. (Tongue twister anyone?)And while there’s no doubt that the over-use of the term "cloud" and the discontentment it brings along with it will manifestly cause a backlash, the question that remains is: how bad will it be?

What do you think? Tell us your opinion of "the cloud" and if you think it can deliver as promised.