The Cloud Isn’t a Mainframe. Seriously.

siliconangle.net

3 points·rizzn··3 comments

So what is a Cloud? Its a data center you don't own. Since most users never visited a data center, the analogy isn't vivid. So we'll continue to hear the Mainframe analogy. Btw it IS much like a Mainframe when you have a static server cluster in the cloud. Thats not Enterprise but its pretty common, maybe more instances of that setup.

Here's the problem with oversimplifying it to client/server mainframe terminology - people get all caught up in the fact that client/server stuff isn't "new," and thus since it went out of vogue some time back, it's disproven technology.

The fact is, whether or not the "average user" doesn't understand the difference doesn't mean there isn't one.

The average user doesn't understand the difference between a lithium ion battery and a nicad battery.. The average user doesn't understand the difference between an internal combustion engine and a hybrid electric engine. Just because different technologies appear different on the surface doesn't mean that there aren't fundamental differences under the hood.

It's important to clearly define these differences, particularly for those who are choosing to participate in cloud punditry but can't be bothered to look up the wikipedia entry on cloud computing.

I think the point I'm really trying to make is that you can't just load a program into the cloud. The cloud is more like a software based mainframe if anything, but it requires a whole new set of architectures and a different way of thinking--and has radically different economic forces.

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