It is hard to believe that there was a time when “the cloud” didn’t exist. Then, maybe 50 years ago, a lot of cloud-like things started to happen, such as remote computing, networked computing, resource sharing, virtual networks, and then, eventually, the Internet. But it still wasn’t the cloud. Large-scale virtualization of computing and increasingly powerful ways of managing and sharing that computing power resulted in the term “the cloud.” Everything was up in the air for a while as various vendors tried to align their own ideas of what the cloud might be with other ideas, and to align their ideas with what was actually happening out there.
Now in 2013, the evolution of the cloud has really only just started. We don’t know in precise detail how it will evolve. The community is debating and working to address concerns of security and regulation, while trying to remain compliant with all the administrations in the world, and experimenting to develop business models that make sense both for the potential users and those who provide the cloud services. It is now obvious that the cloud, however it all turns out, is going to offer plentiful opportunities for new services and new ways of doing business.