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The Freedom of the Cloud

Most would believe that the main reason for cloud computing adoption is cost savings, and many articles and calculations have been written and done to support this. However, it looks like it is not as straightforward as that, and a recent survey from CSC states that “33 percent of survey respondents cited accessibility to information through multiple devices as the most important reason for their decision to adopt cloud computing.”

What I find fascinating about this is that, once again, human behaviour and not economics is the driver in adopting new technologies. Once upon a time, the only choice for personal computing was the desk based PC and there were only so many software options one could choose. Technology evolved initially with just the laptop bringing a little more freedom, but followed now by a real explosion of mobile devices that enable computing anytime and anywhere. And of course, people have taken full advantage of this, which led Marc Dean, one of the computer engineers who worked on the first IBM PC, to reach the conclusion that the PC is dead.

And I believe this is due to an inherent human desire for freedom, not to be desk bound or even office bound, and having various devices respond to that. Cloud computing enables this choice.

I have already touched on the subject in my article Why the Way We Work Will Never Be the Same Again, talking about how cloud computing has brought choice, flexibility, efficiency and convenience to the world we work in. There is a very strong relationship between the devices allowing people to be on the move and cloud computing services that allow for anytime and anywhere access. As I said in a previous article, Mobile + Cloud = The Future is Here, it is a match made in heaven.

But the freedom extends beyond individuals to businesses as well. For a company, cloud computing brings the choice not to be tied to specific solutions and software, but to adopt to exactly what is needed when they need it and, most importantly, to only pay for what they use.

In conclusion, cloud computing and the multitude of devices used by people today respond to a need for freedom and flexibility both individuals and businesses require. This is one of the reasons I believe cloud is here to stay, because it has such a positive impact on the quality of our lives.

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