Tech Lover 9

Many enterprises are understandably reluctant in moving their core applications to the cloud, primarily due to security issues but also due, perhaps equally, to concerns of poor network performance. According to a recent report from the Yankee Group, many thought leaders, including Trend Micro, Cisco and CSL, say the issue of latency and poor performance is, at least temporarily, hindering the adoption of cloud computing.

This is not surprising. Quality of service delivery in the Cloud is intrinsically integrated with the network, its infrastructure and capacity. As migration to the Cloud continues, network operators face increasing challenges of upgrading the network infrastructure. This includes fixed infrastructure, including last-mile and first-mile as well as mobile networks like 3G and 4G. Many operators are already challenged with current unsatisfactory ROI – mainly due to flat pricing structures and “all-you-can-eat” data packages. How operators can justify increased investments in network infrastructure without changing pricing models remains difficult to see – unless they are, perhaps, also the Cloud provider themselves.

This is in fact the strategy Google seems to be pursuing by gradually increasing their network infrastructure possession. The latest example is their intention to connect up to 500.000 homes with 100Mbps fiber optic broadband connections (fiber-to-the-home), directly competing with the traditional telecom networks providers like Verizon. AT&T and Comcast. Google wants to provide rich Internet applications directly to the user – from the Cloud – eliminating network latency bottlenecks as much as possible. This probably includes bandwidth hungry high-def video applications, VoIP (Voice-Over-IP) and, of course, virtualized desktops a.l.a Google Chrome OS, where the desktop is actually being transferred to the Cloud and run from a lightweight network operating system (e.g. Chome OS). Google clearly foresees that all, or most, application will be run from the Cloud. Most likely, in my opinion, their vision will materialize in the coming years.