Cloud computing in the Atmosphere

Nicholas Carr at the Google one-day conference called "Atmosphere" on Cloud Computing:

Windows 7 SkyDrive brings popular cloud computing one step closer

Microsoft today launch Windows 7 in the UK. One of the features of Windows 7 is SkyDrive which provides 25Gb of free online storage space, which can be used to backup your PC or to share files and folders with friends or the public.

To see MS Windows7 promotional video, click here

It is possible to use SkyDrive even if you are running on a previous version of Windows. All you need is a Windows Live account [such as an MSN login or a Hotmail account] to be able to upload files to your SkyDrive. However it is quite cumbersome as you need to upload each file in turn. Nevertheless quite a handy feature, if you are heading off on a business trip and need to be certain to be able to access key files anywhere around the world. The key advantage of Windows 7 appears to be that it allows for a more seamless back up to your SkyDrive.

Is Twitter making us stupider?

Podcast of Nicholas Carr, author of The Big Switch and Is Google making us stupid?, in conversation with Fritz Nelson on Twitter, Google and Cloud computing. The podcast is a short-cut to understanding Nicholas Carr's ideas.

Cloud Computing with Google

Domestic Cloud Computing has taken one step closer to becoming a daily reality as it is rumoured that Google is about to launch its GDrive.

For more, click here to link to an article from Sunday's Guardian.

Cloud Computing

Further to my previous blog post on Cloud computing, you might be interested to listen to Nicholas Carr talking about his book The Big Switch in an American radio interview [apologies for the advert at the front of the piece]

Cloud Computing and ICT Strategy in Schools

I have recently enjoyed reading The Big Switch by Nicholas Carr.

One of his main arguments is that Cloud Computing is set to transform the way in which both individuals and organisations use computers. He compares the present situation in computing with the one which faced most firms in the early twentieth century. At that time, each firm had its own power supply, but that in time they moved to electricity as a utility provided by a third party provider. Nicholas Carr argues that "cheap, utility-supplied computing will ultimately change society as profoundly as cheap electricity did." Firms such as Google, Capgemini and Amazon have made great moves into this area and are set to try to entice us away from our server rooms and PCs to on-demand computing from "the Cloud".

As the Head of a school that invests over £500,000 p.a. in ICT, I am attracted by the idea that one day I will be able to escape the arms race of constant hardware and software upgrades. I am yet to be convinced that there is sufficient reliability in what is presently available. It would be a very brave Head that would put his whole school data onto servers somewhere out there on "the Cloud". Indeed Nicholas Carr recognises this.

Larger companies "will need to carefully balance their past investments in in-house computing with the benefits provided by the utilities. They can be expected to pursue a hybrid approach for many years, supplying some hardware and software requirements themselves and purchasing others over the grid. One of the challenges for corporate IT departments, in fact, lies in making the right decisions about what to hold on to and what to let go." p.118

It is clear that Cloud Computing is the likely direction of travel and thus I am looking to include a Cloud-based aspect into our new network solution. I am keen that my ICT support team get some experience of this development, but I think that it is too early to commit to it fully. It is most likely that we look to use the Cloud as a secondary backup in the first instance.