IBM Formalizes ‘Cloud Computing’ Term
by Joe McKendrick
The “Cloud” has been a buzzword I’ve heard at conferences for many years now, usually referring to anything made available or transported via the public Internet. As of late, with the rise of SaaS, the term “Cloud Computing” has come into vogue, which suggests that data, as well as processing power itself, can be drawn from sources across the Internet. But it always was kind of an informal buzzphrase, along with “elevator speech” and “drinking the Kool-Aid.”
So it’s interesting to see that IBM has just opened a data center in China, officially called the “China Cloud Computing Center,” to be situated in a new industrial park inhabited by emerging software companies. The CCCC will provide each software company in the park with its own virtualized computing resource.
IBM first launched its “Blue Cloud” cloud computing initiative back in November. Perhaps not coincidentally, this announcement was also made in China. Do the Chinese seem to be getting this concept a little better than the rest of the world?
