Cloud Computing & Journalists – An Analogy

By Guy Bunker | April 8, 2009 | Leave a Comment

I was reading the article on how a national newspaper is now using cloud technology to great effect and increase the amount of time the IT can spend on helping build revenue streams. It’s always good to hear positive user stories on how new technology really helped.

I have been using an analogy to explain cloud computing which uses journalists as a key part of the analogy and it goes something like this…

A lot of papers and magazines have the need for external writers, either because in-house they don’t have time or the necessary skills. So, they contract out – they find a writer who has a good reputation, capacity and at the right price to do the work for them. When it’s done, they get paid and the writer moves on to the next job. If they decide that they need that writer (or particular skill) in-house then they might enter into some longer term arrangement, or hire the person permanently. It makes for an efficient process of getting what needs to be done, done – and in a timely and cost effective manner.

So… onto the cloud. The premise is very similar, you have the need for something to be done because you don’t have the time or the skills in-house. Unlike an outsourcing arrangement, this is something that needs to happen ‘today’ so lengthy contract negotiations are not an option – and it’s probably relatively short term, so a ten year outsource deal looks a little unwieldy! So you go to ‘the cloud’… find a service provider, someone who has the service required and the capacity you need. Currently there aren’t too many providers, so ‘reputation’ is derived based on their name – and that’s OK. You upload the data or the application along with credit card details… and the problem is solved. At the end of the time the results come back in and the agreement terminates. It’s a win-win situation. Of course, if the service is one that you decide you need more often, then you might bring a copy in-house or create a longer term contract.

So, the similarities between the cloud and the contract writer are, from 30,000 feet, reasonably analogous. Of course, the quantity of data and its sensitivity are very different in the cloud – security is an issue. The journalist may get sick which will affect their availability – in the same way that the cloud being ‘off the net’ will affect it’s availability.

Where does that leave those wanting to use the cloud? Well, the trick here is to know what it is you are trying to do, what the data is you want to push into the cloud and how sensitive it is and then to know what questions to ask the service provider.

Security and the cloud is the topic of my upcoming InfoSec talk later this month at Earls Court in London. See you there.

Bookmark It