Cloud Computing

Every now and then I recognize a pattern. In the information feed that is my mind-space, I'll notice that I've heard more than one conversation or more than one reference to a concept and then the interest is piqued enough to warrant research. I'm sure we're all like that. This week the pattern called my attention to Cloud Computing.

If you don't know, cloud computing "relies on applications and file storage that reside on a network--either a local area network, a district intranet, or the Internet itself." Nothing resides on a hard drive, it's all accessed and saved virtually. It's not like this is a new concept. I've heard it bandied about by techie-types for the last 5 years or so. When a CIO on my school's board mentioned it at a technology meeting the other day, I let it pass because, well, I'd expect something like that out of him. It wasn't until my boss at World Leadership School mentioned it that I perked up. My boss is certainly not a Luddite by any stretch. However, he's not exactly on the cusp of new technologies. He was excited by the idea that cloud computing might be the great equalizer for the developing nations with which we work. Not 3 days later, the most recent Learning and Leading with Technology comes out and "lo and behold" there's a cloud computing article in there. Okay, ETHER, I get it. I always knew that it was coming. I just didn't know it was HERE until just now.Creative Commons Image: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cloud_computing.jpg#file