Cloudwashing and Its Effect on the Cloud Computing Industry

But what often masquerades as cloud computing is really just a standard infrastructure hosted offsite. The imposters are nothing more than "cloud washing."

The Real Cloud
True cloud computing is three things: virtualized, scalable and automated. Businesses in the market for cloud services should investigate the vendors and resellers delivering the service to identify the real thing from cloud washing.

• Virtualization
  Virtualization is a must with any cloud computing service. Virtualization lets you connect from anywhere to the virtualized server. You connect to a virtual server through the application or through a login dashboard the host administrator provided for you. The virtualized server provides an interface for you to log in to the dashboard to edit the server settings. Some hosts only allow cloud computing services without the ability to log in to the server (something many cloud customers fail to recognize when they purchase the service). Cloud washing hosts sometimes offer a type of virtualization, but the core of the applications must be hosted on a local Web server, so companies do not get the full benefits of a virtualized host.
• Scalability
  Scalability is important for any system, but it is more important for cloud computing. When you purchase a cloud computing system, the system must be able to support a growing business. Many cloud computing vendors only charge a fee for the resources you use, so you can pay a low cost while you’re still growing. As the business grows, the cloud computing services are able to scale with the business, so any extended business services can be added to the cloud server without disrupting service or impacting performance. With cloud washing services, you pay a flat fee for a specified amount of disk space and bandwidth regardless of the business needs. The bandwidth problem gets costly for new businesses, and it gets even more costly when the business grows.
• Automation
  Automation is another required element for true cloud computing. When you need to connect to the host service or perform maintenance, the cloud computing host service takes care of any of the background processes. One of the benefits of cloud computing is convenience, so the cloud computing host service performs what you need to get the job done without the need to focus on managing your infrastructure. A host takes care of the backups and server maintenance needed to ensure that the servers remain available. If you accidentally get involved with cloud washing, you are probably going to be responsible for any maintenance, backups or resources needed to automate the cloud services.
• Customer service
  Customer service isn’t a required element of cloud computing, but an important feature to consider. Each host service should provide customer service, so if the cloud server has issues, you can get support at any time of the day. Watch out for cloud washing hosts that don’t provide 24-hour support, because you might find your cloud application down for several hours if no technical support is offered during the business’s off-hours.

If You’ve Been Cloud Washed
So what happens when you choose a cloud washing service and how do you know a cloud washing service when you see one?  Cloud hosting offers scalability and an economical approach for businesses, so a true cloud host only asks for payment for used resources. Cloud washing offers no economical advantages for the business.

Cloud hosts automate approaches to backup and maintenance services, so stay clear of hosts that require manual interaction. Reliability, uptime, and scalability are all lost factors when you choose a cloud washing service. These factors must be carefully evaluated when choosing a cloud host, or the company can find itself in a predicament with angry website users and lost revenue from poor cloud computing vendors.