Making a Fuss About the Mobile Cloud
July 16, 2012
Grazed from InternetEvolution. Author: Kim Davies.
What are we to make of the "mobile cloud," and is it something midmarket enterprises should be focused on?
It’s self-evident, I suppose, that mobile cloud computing implies a cloud architecture geared to serving mobile connections. Let’s take a look at an academic definition:
MCC is an amalgam of three foundations, namely cloud computing, mobile computing, and networking. The most promising and intriguing characteristics of MCC paradigm are mobility and rich functionality. We define mobile cloud computing as "a rich mobile computing technology that leverages unified elastic resources of varied clouds and network technologies toward unrestricted functionality, storage, and mobility…"
That’s a definition offered by researchers at the University of Malaya’s Mobile Cloud Computing Research Lab, and it has the merits of being both current and clear. Their 2012 paper on the subject, from which the definition is taken, is well worth reading in full…
In essence, the mobile cloud matches the potentially limitless functionality of cloud computing with the convenient connectivity of mobile networks. Some analysts are suggesting the midmarket move swiftly to leverage this capability. For example, Kevin Beasley of Wired’s Cloudline argued only last week:
When properly integrated with ERP technology, the mobile cloud will drive impressive breakthroughs for mid-market companies. Dramatic cost and operational efficiencies, expanded real-time collaboration with customers, vendors and partners as well as faster and more personalized customer service are among the key benefits for end-users.
I don’t disagree with Beasley’s assessment, and indeed mobility is an important consideration in cloud computing. My only question is whether we’re dealing with an important new phenomenon, or just looking at existing opportunities from new angles.
Let’s take a look at another learned citation, "The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing." I will assume that readers are familiar with this short, even terse, document. Here’s one of the five essential characteristics of cloud computing, as defined by NIST:
Broad network access. Capabilities are available over the network and accessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneous thin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, tablets, laptops, and workstations).
It’s already an essential element of the cloud, then, that it be accessible by thin — and indeed mobile — platforms. In other words, exciting though it sounds, and valuable as it may be to have researchers study it, the mobile cloud as such doesn’t really exist. Cloud computing, as we’ve always known it, is geared to serve mobile devices as well as desktops.
When Beasley, for example, promises to outline "some best practices for integrating mobile cloud technology and BI tools into existing enterprises," the word "mobile" can be deleted with no loss of sense.
Is there anything, then, to make a fuss about? Potentially, yes. As the Malaya researchers justifiably observe, cloud architecture can be better designed to serve mobile connectivity — among other things, they suggest reduced WAN latency and better-tailored billing options. But these are improvements to the existing cloud, not the foundations of a new "mobile" cloud.
Yet again, buzzwords seem irresistible. The mobile cloud sounds so good that it really should exist. It doesn’t. It’s just another way of looking at the amazing opportunities that arise when cloud services are engaged to enrich mobile platforms.