Podcast: Hurwitz on cloud computing
At the end of 2008, Judith Hurwitz sat down for a podcast to discuss what exactly cloud computing is, and how it relates to the enterprise architect. Hurwitz, co-author of the recently published second edition of "Service Oriented Architecture for Dummies," and the president of Hurwitz and Associates.
"It's a mistake to think this is something that is brand new, something that's never been done before," she says of cloud computing. Hurwitz (shown at left) explains that cloud computing is often simply providing computing resources that are hosted at a remote data center. But there are variations.
Cloud computing is still in the early stages of development, says Hurwitz. She highlights success stories like Amazon.com and Salesforce.com and how they seemed to have fallen into cloud computing, despite it not being part of their original goals.
Cloud computing could be a great resource for companies without a capital budget this year, Hurtwiz says. It eliminates the need to buy servers and to hire new staff, and with many companies struggling financially, it could prove to be the most valuable resource of 2009.
Hurwitz acknowledges that "it is a little tricky" to decide what architecture is best for you at this point, but she details the ins and outs of cloud computing and what to expect if your company decides to pursue the option.
