Cloud Computing: Four years after the prediction, where are we now?

Management concepts and business terms such as balanced scorecard, core competence, strategic intent, globalisation, “marketing myopia” and “glass ceiling” were all first given prominence in HBR. Indeed, the definition of “Information Technology” originated in HBR in 1958.

Four years ago, in summer 2013, HBR published an article by Alexandre-Pascal Calderon-Asselin called The Future of Cloud Computing. He predicted a number of trends that he saw being in play by 2020. So far some of his predictions have been spookily accurate, even if he did underestimate the transformative pace of change we are now seeing. So where did he think we would be four years from now and how did he fare in the art of prophesy?

How many of these trends are already industry standard, or at least in rapid adoption, a full four years ahead of Calderon-Asselin’s prediction? The answer is all of them! This demonstrates the disruptive nature of the Cloud – that everything predicted has actually come about three years early. The Cloud should not now be referred to as ‘the future’ when it is delivering today.

It’s not just the technology that has changed, but the business model of how we consume IT services, with the shift from CAPEX to OPEX. It’s been an exciting few years and the pace of change will continue to be relentless. Are you ready?

Andrew Wild

Cloud Product Manager