Raining Cloud Compute

The last 12-18 months has seen the emergence of multiple software companies coming out with their versions and models for what each one perceives Cloud Computing. To list a few famous ones:

1) Google App Engine with its Python development environment
2) Amazon EC2 - Elastic Compute Cloud
3) Microsoft Windows Azure
4) VMWare announcing its virtualised OS for the cloud.
5) IBM Big Table

What is amazing is that each one has their own strategy and model which is trying to address the needs for different markets and with a obivious goal of extending/protecting ones existing user base. A further drill down leads me to beleive that Cloud Computing is
provided as a service by each one in a way that differs as apples and oranges.

I see three broad classification in the way the Cloud ecosystem is evolving:

1) Cloud Application as a Service.
Eg: Google Docs, SalesForce, Hosted Exchange etc.

2) Infrastructure as a Service.
Eg: Amazon EC2 which enable complete host deployments including support for Windows, Linux etc. and also a variety of databases.

3) Platform as a Service. (Paas)
Eg: Microsoft Windows Azure Services, SQL Data Services and its suite of products aim at giving the developers their familiar development environment .Net and a highly scalable database with support for ADO.Net. to build and deploy enterprise services.

Read Microsoft's detailed strategy here:
http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/10/31/microsoft-azure-cloud-qa_1.html?source=fssr


The million (or should I say the billion) dollar question remains. Which strategy will deliver the thunder and how all this will affect the computing world as a whole. Computing is definitely in midst of an epoch no less than the PC revolution. Only time will tell ........