“Cloud computing definitely plays a role in several aspects of Big Data’s growing popularity,” observed Dr. William L. Bain, founder and CEO of ScaleOut Software, Inc., in this exclusive Q&A with Cloud Expo Conference Chair Jeremy Geelan. “For example,” Bain continued, “there are many use cases where very large datasets are analyzed on a project basis (rather than recurring analysis). In these cases cloud computing is an important enabler because a large grid can be efficiently provisioned, used for the project, and then released.”
Cloud Computing Journal: The move to cloud isn’t about saving money, it is about saving time. – Agree or disagree?
Dr. William L. Bain: It’s about both. For certain use cases the cloud saves money in an absolute sense (e.g., where large capacity computing is needed only occasionally, making it impractical to maintain a data center equipped for infrequent maximum use, a public cloud is perfect). We would add that time savings (e.g., from easy provisioning and a ready-made infrastructure) convert into money savings as well.