Crystal Ball Sunday #13: Cloud Computing

The ominous 13th entry in my ongoing Crystal Ball Sunday series highlights a somewhat controversial and oft misunderstood computing space known as Cloud Computing. As I explained in my I'm Smarter Than Larry Ellison entry, Cloud Computing allows applications to be hosted in leveraged environments such that you neither know nor care where they're coming from.

Linux's place in Cloud Computing is, or should be, obvious: It is a cheap, viable Operating System that can be customized for any purpose--Cloud Computing being one of its easy triumphs. Linux is adept at serving applications either as a virtual host Operating System or as a primary application host. And for SaaS (Software as a Service) applications, its commodity status promotes it into front runner status in those Cloud Computing Data Centers. Can you imagine using 5,000 Windows Servers in your Data Center to deliver applications? What would your customers have to pay for that service in order for you to make a profit or for them to afford it? Do those same calculations with no Operating System cost attached.

My prediction for this Sunday is that the future of Cloud Computing and SaaS, as well as XaaS (Anything as a Service), depends on Linux and its specific development for Cloud-based applications and services. Linux will be the choice for future Cloud development and implementation.

Cloud Computing, using Linux of course, will be the basis for a gaggle of new SaaS-oriented companies that will result in the inevitable failures, consolidations, and eventual meteoric success of the survivors whose names will no doubt become as familiar and commonplace to us as Coke and Kleenex.

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