“Cloud computing is real. Cloud computing is a game changer- it requires new skills, is an opportunity with benefits, costs, risks and legal implications. Cloud computing can be an engine of growth.”
-Larry Dribin, Panel Moderator

Recently, our CTO, Michael Topalovich, participated in MIT Enterprise Chicago Forum’s event, “Cloud Computing-Practical Guide to What Belongs in the Cloud and What Doesn’t.” Personally, we are tired of answering the question, “what is cloud computing?,” and were excited to discuss cloud computing more in depth.

Alongside Mike sat Chad Thibodeau, Director of Project Management at Cleversafe, Brandon Freitag, Cloud Specialist at VMware, and James Kunick, Attorney and Principal at Much Shelist. All the panelists added great insight from different point of views on cloud computing.

I’m just going to run through some of the Q&A during the event and keep it short and sweet. If you have any further questions or want to hear more about the event, comment below.

Is the cloud safe?
We expected this to be the first question, it is always the first question. Bottom line, of course it is safe. Security is measured in a lot of different ways, and there is a lot of room for potential security breaches and area for vulnerability. Chew on this: if you store all of your information locally, such as on a laptop, what happens if you leave that laptop somewhere? It can easily be hacked, more easily than hosting your data in the cloud. Rather than storing it on one device, the cloud allows you to protect your data in multiple locations, through multiple passwords and ip address verification. We used Salesforce as an example (since it’s what we know best), Salesforce knows what they are doing and do it well. They have experience keeping your data safe, companies depend on it, and have a great history of securing sensitive information in the cloud.

How do you determine what to put in the cloud?
This question is hard to answer because every company approaches the cloud differently; every company has different requirements and will use the cloud accordingly. A good cloud candidate is email; almost every company, if not all companies, could utilize email in the cloud so you can access this anywhere with internet access.

If a company puts their whole business in the cloud, it has to spread out across multiple vendors. Doesn’t this get nasty?
It is continually getting easier to manage your cloud applications. For Delivered Innovation, we integrate almost all of our cloud services, such as Quickbooks, Basecamp, and Optify, into the Force.com platform, directly into our Salesforce. This makes it easy to manage four different cloud services from one service provider. Yes, the concept is complex, but it is getting easier, and will continue to get easier over time as more companies such as Jitterbit and Snaplogic provide more cloud service integration.

If a company is interested in putting an internal application in the cloud, how much architecture is actually involved?
This is a heavy loaded question- how much architecture involved depends on the situation. The dependencies are what do you currently have in place, what provider you are depending on, how much you want to move to the cloud, etc. Force.com is actually a big leap of a faith, solely because it is completely different than say, Amazon or Azure. However, if you are looking for a basic cloud service with little architecture, you might want to consider something like Amazon, but you won’t get all of the benefits of the cloud such as multi-tenancy.

Force.com (and the cloud in general) was described as a ‘leap of faith,’ what else would you say to give skeptics comfort about making this leap of faith?
To be honest, it is hard to make people completely comfortable with the cloud before they start using it. However, the selling point usually comes when they see the capabilities; when they see how much more you can do now that you could not to previously. This is when concerns start to melt away.

I inserted Larry Durbin’s direct quote at the top of this post because I think it summarizes what was discussed during the panel. Can cloud computing be a risk? Yes, but a risk worth taking. Cloud computing is something to get used to, but once you start to get involved in it, you really start to see how the vast majority of benefits outweigh the small amount of setbacks. We enjoyed sitting in on this panel, and hopefully people found the Q&A to be helpful.

If you have any other questions about this panel, our responses, or cloud computing in general, please feel free to respond below. We welcome any discussion!

ServiceMax, a field service management solutions company, built their service chain management and field service support business entirely on the Force.com platform. “Force.com is the backbone of our business from a technology, sales and marketing, and services standpoint” says Stacy Epstein, VP of Marketing. “Everything we do runs alongside or on top of [Force.com].” ServiceMax was also able to create an iPad app through the platform and Database.com. If you would like to hear more about how they utilize Force.com, watch the video by clicking on the link below.

• Cloud Talk: ServiceMax Builds an iPad App in Just 2 Weeks with Force.com

Recently, there have been a number of incidents in cloud security and service, including issues with Amazon, Dropbox, and Sony’s Playstation. However, despite these setbacks the cloud is still steadily growing with both companies and consumers switching to the cloud. This means that even though there are still a few kinks to be worked out, the cloud is here to stay. ”Taking advantage of the cloud is the most scalable and the most cost-effective way to provide computing resources and services.” Cost alone is a huge reason why many companies are jumping on the cloud bandwagon, but also it is quicker, often times safer, and conveniently always there when you need it.

• Why Is There a Steady Migration to the Cloud Despite Reliability and Security Concerns?

Kell touches on an important and often overlooked aspect to the cloud: choice. Cloud computing allows for choice in almost every way. Consumers are free to choose which platform they use, can pick between many different cloud applications, and if they don’t love any, there are many resources out there to help you design one yourself (or even have a company like Delivered Innovation design it for you). You “are free to choose from any and all available technologies at any time.”  Moreover, not only are there many choices in the cloud, but these choices are only growing. Every day new applications are developed, technology gets wiser, and the cloud becomes easier to use.

• Interoperability in the Cloud

Carlberg highlights some newly released apps from last week- The Chatter Game, salesforce.com CRM Dashboards, and Mass Lead Converter. With The Chatter Game, you can “reward target behavior with points” to those employees who use Chatter often and effectively, which motivates employees to use the app. salesforce.com CRM Dashboards provide reports and dashboards for Marketing and Sales Executives, Managers, and Salespeople, making it easier to manage business. Lastly, Mass Lead Converter allows you to convert multiple leads at the same time, cutting down on time. All of these apps are easy to understand, install, and make our lives a little easier.

• Apps Aren’t Just for Kansas Anymore

The two most desirable features of PaaS are revenue generation and commodity pricing, according to Warfield. “PaaS vendors need to embrace these two features and nail them before worrying about much else.” If your company’s PaaS is not producing traffic and thus, not delivering revenue, that must be fixed. However, this is usually the hardest thing to do, and if you do not have a solid traffic stream, Warfield suggests either repurposing or looking into partnering opportunities. Give it some thought, and add your input to the discussion.

• The Two Most Desirable Features of a Platform as a Service

Recently, Salesforce has undergone many large and costly acquisitions, such as Radian6, ManyMoon, and DimDim. WSJ argues that these acquisitions are the result of Salesforce “fighting the perception” that their technology is “not as advanced as it once was.” However, we’d have to disagree on this one. With the continual quick changing, always advancing technology, companies must learn how to easily adapt just as quickly as new technology is coming out. Salesforce is doing just that- improving their services to cater to new technology and new needs of their customers. If companies do not do this, then they will simply fall behind in the eyes of consumers. It is crucial for any company to learn how to adapt, and Salesforce gets it.

• Under Pressure, Salesforce Steps Up Acquisitions

IDC/IDG Enterprise conducted a survey at their Cloud Leadership Forum, and posted questions about the cloud to the top information technology executives who attended their forum. Of those studied, over 70% believed that “by 2014, a third of all IT organizations will be providers of cloud services.” About 80% “felt that cloud service brokers that provide integration, management, security and other services” will emerge as “powerful industry players by 2014″. Most of the responses were hopeful about the cloud, and certainly proves that the cloud is on their minds, if not already in the works, at their companies.

• Cloud Will Have Dramatic Impact on IT Organizations, Vendors and Enterprises According to Survey of Top Tech Executives

Swete quickly outlines five reasons why SaaS and on-premise enterprise software make a “positive difference” for both vendors and customers. ERP software upgrades are costly and complex, whereas Workday’s SaaS has no additional cost, and customers can choose to activate it or not. Some of the benefits of their SaaS updates include the ability to embrace- not avoid- change, to keep current with innovation, to provide customers with a short update cycle, and give way for a lot of commonality and communication with the community.

• Five Reasons Why SaaS Updates Are Better Than ERP Software Upgrades

This summer, Force.com is letting us preview some of their APIs that are currently in developer preview. These include the Apex REST, with lets you “write killer integrations, easily,” the Chattter REST, which will make syncing Chatter to your mobile devices and other apps “in a much more intuitive fashion,” and Streaming API, which will “bring push technology to your apps.” Note though, that since these are still in developer preview, details may change.

• Summer of APIs: Streaming, Apex & Chatter

Infosys Ltd is India’s second largest software exporter, and they have reported saying that they see ” big opportunities in cloud computing.” CEO Kris Gopalakrishnan stated that the Confederation of Indian Industry is already preparing a draft on their cloud policy and is going to submit it to the Government next month. Gopalakrishnan stated, “The opportunities are huge for [a] country like India in providing citizen services.” The cloud will allow them to operate on a pay-per-user model, which cuts costs and makes it easier for their customers.

• Infosys sees big opportunities in cloud computing

Toyota is introducing Toyota Friend, a private social networking for their customers, powered by Salesforce’s Chatter. Toyota Friend will be a resource to Toyota users to find out more about their cars, dealerships, and the company. “Toyota Friend will provide a variety of product and service information as well as essential maintenance tips, creating a rich car ownership experience.” The private social network will also be accessible to customer’s friends and family through Twitter and Facebook, as well as can be accessed through smartphones and tablets.

• Salesforce.com and Toyota Form Strategic Alliance to Build Toyota Friend Social Network for Toyota Customers and Their Cars

On average, computer systems can grow 10 times under their current architecture, called the 10x effect. This effect makes old technologies obsolete and paves the way for new technologies. With over 100 billion active internet users and 100 million active websites, we are forced to design our IT systems differently; “The old architecture is completely unable to handle the new compute load, so we must re-architect the systems on all levels.” Thus, cloud computing comes into play as the new architecture.

• Cloud Computing and the 10X Effect
  

An on-going discussion about how the cloud will change the IT department. Opinions range from the cloud not impacting IT at all to IT already being impacted by the cloud; join the discussion and off your insight on the matter.

• How will cloud computing change the IT department?
  

Apigee is creating a new way to distribute enterprise grade APIs from a central point to the edge of a network. Speed, performance improvements, and more availability are just a few examples of how an improved enterprise grade API would function better.

• A CDN-Style Service for APIs

Don’t forget to sign up for the Force.com Developer Meetup in Chicago on June 7th! Festivities start at 6pm and include an introduction to the Force.com platform, a Force.com workbook lab, and the chance to network with other Salesforce enthusiasts.

• Chicago Force.com Developer Meetup

As more and more companies move to the cloud, it is important to keep in mind what actually constitutes as “the cloud” rather than another software claiming to be in the cloud, when in reality, it falls short. Steven John lists 10 critical characteristics of a true cloud application (such as multi-use, regularly updated, and seamless integration); if your company does not follow these guidelines, you’re not truly “in the cloud.”

• 10 Critical Requirements for Cloud Applications

An infographic that takes us back all the way to 1991 when the first website was developed to the present day. Interesting to see how far we’ve come in the past two decades with web technology.

• Web Design Evolution: Two Decades of Innovation

On Thursday, multiple Amazon Availability Zones went down, taking Foursquare, Reddit, Heroku, and many other websites with it. Fast forward 24 hours, and Amazon is still trying to resolve the issue. Rather than blaming the cloud, however, we should embrace the situation and learn from it. Warfield offers his opinion, stating that, “the trick is in making your infrastructure sufficiently metadata driven,” as well as test the production of your infrastructure for any possible downtime to prepare for when a crisis actually occurs. If you think ahead, many issues can be resolved quicker when they actually arise.

• What to do When Your Cloud is Down

There is a lot to be optimistic about when it comes to the cloud. According to a new Sand Hill Group survey, cloud computing and SaaS will drive the largest amount of spending in the next 12 months. Moreover, over 100 software companies expect their businesses to grow by at least 20% by the end of 2011, which will result in significantly more jobs. Over 50% of said respondents believe that cloud computing is imperative to increase efficiency and reduce costs.

• Cloud Computing to Drive Industry Growth in 2011
  

This Earth Day, instead of coming up with ways to take less time in the shower, consider moving to the cloud- it might save you more energy than you think. In fact, a recent study performed by Accenture and WSP Environment and Energy found that moving your small business to the cloud, “can reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions on a per-user basis by 30 to 90 percent versus running those same applications on-premises.” The cloud is not only an efficient resource for businesses, but also an important part of our earth’s future and helping the environment.

• Earth Day 2011: Cloud Computing… Can it Help?