Ten Reasons Why Cloud Computing is a Bad Idea
If you haven’t jumped into the Cloud Computing bandwagon yet, here are ten reasons why you should reconsider.
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Cloud Computing makes your IT excessively dependent on the Internet
Cloud Computing exists on the premise that the Internet will always be as robust and reliable for all time to come. While one can be fairly optimistic, there is always the danger of the unforeseen. For example, Congressmen in the United States are pushing for bills that can shutdown/limit Internet traffic in the event of war, so that the sheeple stick to their prescribed content on television. If a Company loses Internet connectivity to its Cloud even for a few days, as a result of an Internet outage affecting either it or the Cloud Computing Service, there could be very damaging consequences. I am not talking about your E-store going offline. Suppose the daily activities of your Company were on a database on a Cloud? In such a scenario, you may wish your servers were in that makeshift bunker in your backyard, rather than on the Cloud.
And because of its dependence on the Internet, Cloud Computing can never perform as a substitute for in-house servers. For example, there are speed limits, related to hardware and bandwidth, when transferring data to and from the Cloud via the Internet. Using VPNs and SSL tunnels can further slow the speed.
Cloud Computing will attract clients mainly from Western markets
Cloud Computing implicitly assumes that the Internet is as robust throughout the world as it is in North America, Europe and some parts of Asia. But clients from countries where Internet connectivity is sporadic will be discouraged from boarding the Cloud. And no, I am not talking about Namibia. IT powerhouse India still has sporadic Internet connectivity. The general speed of the Internet is still very poor. The infrastructure is so haphazard that most Indian Internet subscribers prefer the limited speeds of wireless mobile Internet from the cell phone companies, rather than trust the cable/landline infrastructure. In addition, uninterrupted supply of electricity is still unrealised in India. A power outage affecting any intermediary can cripple access to the Cloud. Indian IT giants have learnt the hard way not to trust state infrastructure, even for electricity. They keep their own backup power generation on site. Adopting any trend that makes them more dependent on state infrastructure will require more than a leap of faith.
Cloud Computing makes you dependent on the goodwill of your ISP
Cloud Computing may require gratuitous bandwidth for the client, depending on what the client is hosting on the Cloud. And the same ISPs who are clamouring for bandwidth caps may charge and arm and a leg if the client exceeds his or her bandwidth quota.
Cloud Computing can expose you to the unethical practices of your ISP
Major ISPs have come under fire for spying on their customer’s P2P networks on behalf of the Recording Industry. Can these ISPs be trusted with sensitive traffic to and from the Cloud? We are told that everything will be encrypted through VPNs. But still, given the tainted role of ISPs, can ISPs be trusted for non-encrypted traffic?
Cloud Computing is against the spirit of Personal Computing
Personal Computers were meant to empower individuals, make them more independent and productive. Most of today’s industry heavyweights owe their success to living up to these expectations. Microsoft and IBM’s unexpected touting of Cloud Computing is more akin to Toyota adopting the business model of a car rental agency (If that were to happen, Toyota may likewise rebrand itself in the fashion of Silicon Valley, as a subscription based Transport Service Provider).
Cloud Computing makes your Cloud Data subject to American law
Since most of the major Cloud Computing servers are operated by companies based in the United States, data you put on your Cloud is subject to American law. And the American law in turn, is subject to overrides, loopholes, “Patriot Acts,” and exceptions, depending on which governmental agency (or which person/interest) wants your data. You may not even be informed that your data was compromised for the same reason Jack Bauer gets away with torturing his hostages/prisoners (national security).
And before reaching the Cloud, your data will pass through American ISPs that provide the Cloud with uptime. It could be intercepted by State Agencies even before it reaches the Cloud.
Cloud Computing can expose your Confidential Data to “Corrupt Elements” (and no, I am not talking about hackers and identity thieves)
Since corruption in Western society is more of an invitation-only club, most people refer to it only in couched terms. But unless you are really naive, it is a reality you must be prepared to deal with. Back in 2004, a Utah guy got an application for a major credit card. The problem was that the name and address on the application had only been provided to the Registry of Motor Vehicles.
The bad news is not that American State Agencies have backdoor access to American corporations. Rather, American corporations have an incestuous relationship with American State Agencies. If suppose you are a non-American corporation with your Cloud hosted by an American corporation, and your main competitor is an American heavyweight with backdoor access to the State Agencies, your confidential data on the Cloud may be just a few phone calls away. American corporations are known to use the State Agencies as personal armies, although very little of this gets documented. Worse, if the CEO of the Company that hosts your Cloud and the CEO of your competitor belong to the same fraternity, your confidential data on the cloud may be just a handshake away. Of course, your data on the Cloud is encrypted and cannot be accessed by anyone other than yourself. But then, there are always exceptions.
Amazon Web Services is considered to be a flagship of the Cloud Computing model. In July 2009, Amazon.com sneakily deleted etexts off its users Kindles. Ironically, the extexts deleted were George Orwell’s Animal Farm and 1984. Both these books deal with the suppression of dissent by totalitarian regimes. The furore that followed the move was attributed to the fact that Amazon.com had remotely deleted files that were on the user’s own device, and therefore the move was like a hacker-style intrusion. But if suppose the Kindle followed the Cloud Computing model, where ebooks were read and stored online instead of the device itself, Amazon.com would probably never get caught. And the unavailablity of these titles could be attributed to an innocuous server outage.
Cloud Computing is sounding more like a Lobby than a Trend
Suddenly, all ringers, gurus, and experts are clamouring for Cloud Computing. Articles are appearing in respectable publications weighing the pros and cons. Business heads are flaunting how they managed to cut costs. Does this remind you of Big Tobacco, Big Sugar, Big Science and Big Pharma? Do you buy into the pitch? Are you willing to “invest” your data in the scheme?
Cloud Computing may be of little consequence for the Average Small Business
The May 2009 issue of WIRED carried an interesting article on Cloud Computing, highlighting pros and cons. The key example cited in favour of Cloud Computing was an Eli Lily information consultant, who as a client of Amazon Web Services uses his iPhone to run “genomic analysis” on the Cloud. How many businesses executives can picture themselves doing this?
Cloud Computing may not contribute to your national economy
When you buy the hardware, software and technical expertise for setting up a server locally, you are supporting several local businesses. With Cloud Computing, you bypass all of these. But aren’t the major Cloud Computing providers American owned and American based? Yes they are. But when they get things figured out, they might consider outsourcing. And Cloud Computing is very feasible to outsource. Given their track record, they don’t exactly cherish employing Americans, unless Obama forces them to do so.
Tags: Amazon Web Services, Cloud Computing, Fads, Software as a Disservice, Trends
17 comments 
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June 3rd, 2009 at 3:17 pm
This reads like a buggy whip manufacturer trying to convince a consumer interested in an automobile in the 1920’s, that cars are just a passing fad so they ought to stay with their horse and carriage.
Sorry to have to be the one to let you in on this. But when Facebook and Youtube are better designed, better performing applications then enterorise resource planning systems like SAP, it’s game over!
It’s like trying to convince the masses to do their banking with a walk-up teller as opposed to an ATM. Over the next 2 to 5 years you’re going to see a mass exodus from the old paradigm as companies race to move their compute facilities into the cloud. It’s no longer a question of whether or not this will take place.
June 4th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
There is a difference between using cloud computing for uploading a diecoke + mentos video to youtube, twittering or updating your facebook profile versus putting your critical application databases on a cloud.
Some applications such as ATMs are dependent on the cloud. But that doesn’t mean every other application has to.
June 9th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
Email message from Richard Stallman (reproduced with permission):
Point taken! This article is about the aforementioned forms of cloud computing. The term cloud computing in general, is indeed cloudy.
August 10th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
“The term ‘cloud computing’ is so nebulous that we should not use it at
all. It is used to refer to many different practices, with different
consequences. Some cases have problems including the ones that you
describe, and others don’t.”
The term is just another marketing buzzword to describe the Internet. You could replace the phrase “cloud computing” with Internet or intranet and it would mean the same thing. The tech press is one of the dumbest, most buzzword-laden group of press in the world and invent all kinds of stupid terms to for people make money off of, from “blog” to “Web 2.0.”
August 10th, 2009 at 5:56 pm
a sobering article. and some thoughtful comments. love it.
August 11th, 2009 at 12:07 am
[...] O link com o artigo original em inglês contra computação em nuvem: 10 razões porque Cloud Computing é uma má idéia [...]
August 11th, 2009 at 3:39 am
I remember what we called ‘computers’ were just a terminal, (screen & keyboard), and all of these computers connected to a real computer(s) somewhere else. The data wasn’t yours you just interacted with it from a distance. That was a cloud.
If I remember correctly there was a big rush to get away from that kind of yoking, wasn’t there? …Enter the PC. Networking yes, cloud no!
August 11th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
I totally agree with you.
August 11th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
Cloud Computing as many people are realizing is a very efficient computing method. I agree with all the issues that the author specified in the article. This is interesting to what will REALLY happen at the end, an how the Cloud will be adopted. Also it is interesting to see which groups of people are notoriously for it, and those notoriously against it.
I have read over a 100 different articles in the past 5-6 days, both from business perspective and deep-down technical perspective about Cloud Computing, and unfortunately the only thing that most are mentioning is its great ‘advantages’, and the only disadvantage being ’security’. Yet much of the other issues are completely ignored, such as these just mentioned above. Adopting the Public Cloud model may eventually create
It is interesting to observe that lots of small/medium/large enterprises are suddenly starting to discuss more about Private Clouds, which basically means, keep your Data Center and run it, just convert it into a Private Cloud to make it far more efficient and scalable, and there are now many competing companies in the US that are developing just the software technologies (both proprietary and non-proprietary) to make it happen. Its just that small businesses are yet to realize this, especially when they realize that Google Apps will lock them in over time into a very tight cage from which it will be tough to get out of.
August 12th, 2009 at 10:07 am
[...] Small Business * Cloud Computing may not contribute to your national economy Found it here : Ten Reasons Why Cloud Computing is a Bad Idea by Hamad [...]
August 12th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
[...] 10 reasons why cloud computing is bad idea [...]
August 12th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
Quoting nugget,
In fact, what you are saying was characteristic of IBM during that period. At a time when other giants were moving towards personal computing, IBM stuck to mainframes with the “terminals” you described. IBM then disappeared from the race. Its currently owned by Chinese interests.
August 18th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
[...] 10 reasons why cloud computing is bad idea [...]
August 20th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
When you say “an executive from Eli Lilly” how did you surmise this? The article says nothing of Dave Powers title or role. When I read it, I assumed he was in sys admin.
Cloud computing is the next big thing yes. Is it going to take over the way we operate businesses? Until the legalities surrounding the “controversial” bits are sorted out, I highly doubt it. It is however a great alternative to small and mid size businesses who cannot afford the capEx required to build their own in house system.
Hamad Subani: Correction noted in main article regarding Eli Lily information consultant, not executive.
August 21st, 2009 at 11:54 pm
There’s a difference between cloud computing today and the old mainframe model. The mainframe was accessed by a dedicated network connection and was managed by experts who prevented any possible access from other parties.
Today, server and storage systems “in the cloud” can be accessed by anyone in the world connected to the internet. That’s a completely different risk level than before.
Many of the SaaS vendors are not experts at computer or network security and when they are breached, all customer data is accessible.
Many of the storage vendors don’t really provide bulletproof data encryption for both storage and network access.
Many of the server renting vendors leave security at the host level without any network security. As a customer, you are responsible for providing any software firewall rules or VPN requirement to the system(s). What happens when you get a rule wrong and can no longer access your rented server? Or worse, you don’t bother with this and get hacked for months before you (or anyone else) notices.
September 1st, 2009 at 2:47 pm
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November 23rd, 2009 at 10:47 pm
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