Cloud computing has been looming over the business world for some time now (pardon the pun). The arguments for and against the adoption of cloud computing are well known: cost reduction and increased agility versus potentially decreased security. Can anything new be added to the argument? Actually, there have been several recent developments that, unfortunately, while relevant to the conversation about cloud computing, may not help advance the argument in one way or the other.
On the one hand, the increasing trend towards more mobile and powerful personal devices like the iPad (and ensuing tablets surely to come) and the Kindle point towards a consumer need to access data remotely, a feat most easily accomplished through the cloud. On the other hand, rising concerns about the privacy of information (think Facebook, Wikileaks and Blackberry in the UAE) seem to point in the direction for a desire to maintain proprietary control over data. Understanding that a company is but a collection of the individuals that work there and that, therefore, business decisions are usually reflections of those individual's tendencies, these two developments in the retail realm may help to understand businesses' future acceptance for cloud computing solutions.
The discussed trends, each pulling the argument is opposite directions may actually shed some light on the future of cloud computing. It seems that the most probable result is that rather than being a zero-sum game in which cloud computing solutions can only be adopted at the expense of more traditional in-house solutions, cloud computing will be adopted in those cases in which the need for flexibility and cost-reduction out-weight privacy concerns. Such a future may mean that potential businesses that once failed to get off the ground due to crippling IT costs may now flourish through the help of third-party servers and applications until their need for privacy and security is matched by their ability to afford secure in-house solutions.
Showing posts with label iPad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label iPad. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
The iPad and Apple's strategy
Since January, Apple fans have only had one thing on their mind. The subject of their dreams finally became a tangible reality for those in America on Saturday, April 3rd when the iPad was officially launched. While reviews are still coming in from all angles and users in general seem to be far from certain about the iPad, investors and analysts seem almost unanimously in accordance that the iPad is good news for Apple.
Pre-launch reports suggested that Apple's manufacturing partners expect to ship 2.5 million iPads between March and May, many more than the previous estimate of 750,000 units during the same period. It is because of estimates like these that investors are so keen on Apple, doubling Apple's market capitalization in the past year, driving it past the likes of Google and Walmart and at US$214 billion, making it worth more than every other American company other than ExxonMobile and Microsoft.
Because of an array of reasons, most of them rooted in practicality, it is readily accepted that a company's stock price should be used to gauge the success of that company and its strategic decisions. Apple's incredible recent performance in the stock market could be seen as affirmation of its strategy, which has wildly differed from that of many other players in the industry. While Silicon Valley has tended towards a culture of greater openness, Apple has maintained a stranglehold on its products, deciding exactly what kind of content can be used on them. The question that arises from the varying success that these divergent strategies have seen is which one is most representative of the way the industry will look in the future? While the answer is obviously far from certain, it may be that there is room for both strategies, even if each one's success is weighed in terms of their stock value: if Apple is a good example of maintaining control over its products, Google can be offered as an example of a company leaning the other way - Apple is trading at 23 times its profit from the past 12 months, Google's price-to-earnings ratio is 28.
Pre-launch reports suggested that Apple's manufacturing partners expect to ship 2.5 million iPads between March and May, many more than the previous estimate of 750,000 units during the same period. It is because of estimates like these that investors are so keen on Apple, doubling Apple's market capitalization in the past year, driving it past the likes of Google and Walmart and at US$214 billion, making it worth more than every other American company other than ExxonMobile and Microsoft.
Because of an array of reasons, most of them rooted in practicality, it is readily accepted that a company's stock price should be used to gauge the success of that company and its strategic decisions. Apple's incredible recent performance in the stock market could be seen as affirmation of its strategy, which has wildly differed from that of many other players in the industry. While Silicon Valley has tended towards a culture of greater openness, Apple has maintained a stranglehold on its products, deciding exactly what kind of content can be used on them. The question that arises from the varying success that these divergent strategies have seen is which one is most representative of the way the industry will look in the future? While the answer is obviously far from certain, it may be that there is room for both strategies, even if each one's success is weighed in terms of their stock value: if Apple is a good example of maintaining control over its products, Google can be offered as an example of a company leaning the other way - Apple is trading at 23 times its profit from the past 12 months, Google's price-to-earnings ratio is 28.
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