Blue sky thinking with the cloud: Erik Van Ommeren, analyst for Sogeti, and co-author of 'Collaboration in the Cloud', explains how cloud computing is changing the way businesses approach it and collaboration.(DATABASE AND NETWORK INTELLIGENCE)

We are on the verge of a revolution. The viability of cloud computing has opened up many possibilities for businesses to both streamline costs, and improve the way they collaborate, internally and externally. But before any discussion of cloud computing, it is important to establish a definition of what 'the cloud' actually is.

Regrettably, the definition of 'the cloud' is as vague and fluffy as the clouds in the sky themselves. The term 'cloud' derives from diagrams created in the early days of the internet, where the internet itself was represented by the image of a cloud. Over time, it has been repurposed to mean anything from software and services delivered over the internet, to virtualisation within a data centre. These days, if you ask three different people, you might get three different definitions back--there is little unity over what 'the cloud' actually means. The most common definition, and one that we'll stick to for the purposes of this article, is that it's anything that can be used over the internet--that could be anything from the infrastructure to office or CRM applications.

Interest in cloud computing has been steadily increasing for a number of years, but over the last year or so it has surged. For many organisations, the traditional IT set-up, buying licences and implementing dedicated business systems in-house, is no longer the most practical solution. The current recession affects us all, and its biggest impact may be that it has narrowed IT departments' focus right down to cost. New licences mean implementation costs, and maintenance costs, and as they look to expand the functionality of their systems, CIOs and CTOs are starting ask, "Is there a cheaper way of doing this?" For many, cloud computing is the answer. By delivering everything from applications to infrastructure over the internet, value, and return on investment, can be delivered much faster than it can with traditional licences.

But cloud computing offers so much more than just immediate cost benefits. The internet has changed the way we interact with each other, and the cloud is starting to have a profound impact on how businesses collaborate too. Traditionally businesses see collaboration as something that happens between people inside the company. This is no longer the case--companies need to regularly communicate and work together across cultural boundaries, such as other countries or regions, or organisational boundaries, such as other businesses. These boundaries can become barriers, creating bottlenecks as ...