07 Nov What Does Obama Revolution Mean to Cloud Computing?
The technology blueprint of President Elect Barack Obama, if implemented as promised, bodes well for the future of Cloud Computing. Let me consider some of the Barack Obama’s Technology proposals and explain how it is relevant to the success of Cloud Computing. His proposals include: Protecting the openness of Internet, Safeguarding our right to Privacy: One of the biggest concerns for consumers and businesses when it comes to Cloud Computing is the issue of Privacy. They are worried that their data will not be safe in the hands of Cloud vendors, government might use the subpoena power to confiscate user’s data, etc.. By safeguarding our right to Privacy, Barack Obama’s administration can help remove this concern in the minds of users regarding putting their data on the Clouds. Stronger regulations to protect the privacy of users data will help develop the trust we need in the Cloud Computing marketplace. Opening up government to its citizens and bringing the government to 21st century: In other words, this can also be construed as moving the government to the Clouds. By moving important public government data to the Cloud, it is possible to provide a more transparent form of government. This also helps in promoting a much wider adoption of Cloud Computing. If government can trust the Cloud and put sensitive data on it, why not consumers, small businesses and enterprises? Deploy next generation broadband and extend it to every single American including those who live in rural areas: One of the important requirement for the success of Cloud Computing is the ubiquitous availability of broadband. If broadband is available everywhere in the country and if the providers are encouraged to offer much higher speeds with superior technologies, it is very easy for users to put their data in the Cloud and use the SaaS apps from any part of the country. This will greatly enhance the adoption of Cloud Computing. Broad adoption of standards based health record systems: This is nothing but a healthcare SaaS system. Companies like Google and Microsoft are already pushing such apps to the users. If the insurance companies and healthcare providers come on board and help put patients data on the Cloud, the way we do healthcare will change forever. It will help us get better healthcare as our data will always be accessible from anywhere in the country at anytime.
SYS-CON Media, By Krishnan Subramanian, November 6, 2008