What is so fantastic about cloud, anyway?

Cloud and cloud computing is being pushed more and more these days as a real alternative to traditional IT.

What is so fantastic about this online system?

Perhaps the real advantage, I think, is that cloud has some affinity with open source technology.

For instance, like open source, many of the offerings, such as software, of cloud computing are free or at a low cost. Equivalent software that you install on your computer can be very expensive. Accounting software is especially so.

A second reason is ease of access. Often software makers push consumers through hoops before allowing them to download a particular program. Open source software developers, however, resist this, and allow people to use fully functioning applications without charge. SaaS can often be like this with Google being an obvious example.

Further, access to all the functions is generally immediate.

A third reason is the ability for people to experiment without fear of a huge bill landing on the doormat. Firms particularly are more willing to try out different proprietary software without worrying about the cost.

Now obviously, it could be argued that this ‘everything is free approach’ can hurt businesses that make software, and charge for it. However, the latter often do not see the bigger picture of offering something for nothing.

Related to this, is the idea that by being able to try something freely encourages individuals and businesses to try out other products that may have a cost attached. In turn, companies can build up a real and solid customer base that will remain for years, if not decades.