Has the time now come to drop the term cloud?

Grazed from CloudPro. Author: Julian Box.

I’ve seen every definition of cloud computing; from old services such as a managed desktop services delivered through 10-year-old Citrix-based shared desktops, to software delivered like Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) but it’s really an application service provider(ASP) model rehashed but branded as cloud when clearly they aren’t, along with services that are spin-offs of the original area of cloud like Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS).

Has the time now come for service providers to drop the term cloud and become far more prescriptive about the different offerings being delivered under what is now a very broad umbrella of services? I believe that time is rapidly approaching, but I can also hear you saying WHY would we bother to drop the term cloud? This is what so many vendors are using to describe their offerings and users and customers have become use to the term and, therefore, does it not make sense we continue to use it?…

The concern I have with this, is that it’s already too fuzzy a term. Indeed, too much emphasis is placed on the technology that drives cloud-based services and not enough on the service itself. Along with the service delivery around it, the ease of use and, most importantly, the business alignment as it’s ultimately a combination of these that actually makes for a great service that meets clients’ expectations and allows them to focus on their core business functions – which in my mind is what this type of computing is all about…

Read more from the source @ http://www.cloudpro.co.uk/julian-box/5474/has-time-now-come-drop-term-cloud