Page 25 - How Cloud Computing Is Transforming Business and Why You Cant Afford to Be Left Behind

THE C L O UD REV O L UTION

The CEO has heard that the cloud is “the next phase of
Internet computing,” but what that means is now more mud-
dled than ever. He shakes his head as he walks away. If the
members of his staff are arguing about what it is, chances
are that they’re not going to be able to tell him the thing he
most wants to know: how’s it going to affect him and the

business.
Lately he’s heard that it’s what consumers are doing as
they increasingly use smart handheld devices to download
products such as iTunes. With seeming whimsy, these con-
sumers turn some companies into huge winners, while by-
passing others. So a subsidiary meaning of “cloud” is the next
phase of business computing. For such a thing to be true,

more of each business will have to move out onto the Internet.
Much of this book will discuss that prospect and what form the
next phase of business computing and business in the cloud
age is most likely to take.
But to answer the CEO’s question more directly, let’s try
to say what the cloud is. In late 2009, I saw Andi Gutmans,
CEO of Zend Technologies, address a gathering of 500 PHP
developers in San Jose, where he said, “I’m not going to try to
tell you what cloud is. Everyone’s got their own definition.”

Gutmans is coauthor of the modern version of PHP, which
has become the most popular language on the Internet; in its
5.3 release, PHP is undoubtedly the leading language with
which to build cloud applications. If Gutmans can’t say what
cloud is, I’m not altogether sure anyone else should try, but
we must still forge ahead.

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