What Are the Disadvantages of Cloud Computing? A 2010 Perspective

12-24-2010 2010 was the year of “The Cloud”, this year, the concept of the cloud have finally gone main stream. This past year we saw growth and further promotion of; Google Apps (now Google Workspace), Apple promoting Mobile Me, and even Microsoft pushing Cloud Based Computing; among thousands of other cloud based services. These cloud based services move software and your files off of your desktop computer; storing them on remote systems connected via the Internet. This brings us many advantages, plus several disadvantages. These remote services do offer a number of advantages such as; Backup: A remote administrator is in charge of backing up your files on a regular basis, essentially eliminating the need for user backups. Users have consistently shown a lack of compliance with backups. Cloud based backups assign they responsibility to an automated backup system that is overseen and checked by a professional. Upgrades and Updates: When using software via “The Cloud”, your using software that is running off of a remote system, with very little to no software installed locally, aside from your standard web browser. This allows a remote administrator monitor, test, and install upgrades and updates to the software you use. Allowing the end user to forget about upgrades. Viruses and System Attacks: For as long as we have had the Internet and World Wide Web as we know it, there have been threats to our systems from malicious persons. Cloud based software eliminates much of this threat, as cloud based software are essentially write protected from changes to the core software. This creates one less weak spot in system security. Access: Generally, Cloud Based Services allow you to access your files from any computer that is connected to the Internet. For years, in order to transport our files; we’ve had to carry portable hard drives, USB flash drives, eat-mail files, burn DVD’s, CD’s, and floppy disks. Not only were these methods inconvenient, but they were prone to loss of the physical media, and there were often security concerns when sensitive documents were being transported with these methods. Most Cloud Based services use strong security and allow you to access your files anywhere without the inconvenience of bringing along physical media. With all the advantages, what could be wrong with moving to Cloud Based Services? I see several distinct disadvantages, some that will be eventually overcome and others that won’t. Accessibility of older versions of your files: In the past, you purchased a copy of a software program, and you could use that program for as long as you wanted; you could we-install it after a crash or put it on a new computer. Bottom line is that you always had access to that software, meaning years later you could access files you created with that program. With cloud based services, not only will updates take place automatically, they will be out of your control. In a few years, you may very well find it quite difficult to access your old files when the cloud based programs are no longer supporting older versions of software. Dependence on outside vendors at all times: When we use services like Google Apps we make ourselves dependant on the provider, Google to be able to access and use our files. While this doesn’t seem like much of a problem with a large company like Google where it is highly unlikely they will go out of business or abruptly discontinue access to a service. A smaller company offering cloud based services may offer more reason to be cautious. Let me give an example;

A cloud based service starts offering, a new accounting system that is targeted at Veterinarians. The system allows the vet clinics to store all client data, including medical records in “The Cloud”. This is quite an attractive service offering to a business that likely has little interest in managing computer systems and software upgrades. This data is likely stored in a propriety format at the service provider. So even if the customer backs up their data, (which is easy to forget when you know someone is backing it up for you) you rely on that providers cloud based software to be able to access your files. If this company suddenly closes up their doors, you no longer have any way to access your data.

This could be devastating to a business that has become dependant on a Cloud Based Service. Cost: Most cloud based services are going to charge monthly fees, these can in some cases add up to far more than the cost of software that you could have purchased and installed. Availability: You have two potential problems with availability;

1. The cloud based service does have the potential to be offline, while due to the distributed nature of the cloud, this is not always that likely, but should be considered a potential problem. 2. Internet Access: With cloud based programs, you are 100% dependant on having an active Internet Connect available and working.

With Cloud Based services if your in a location that doesn’t have Internet access or the Internet connection is down, you can’t use your files or the application that you have become dependant on. As more competition comes into play, the costs may be driven down, however, we will always have the potential for problems with “The Last Mile” – that single line connecting your home or business to the Internet. Speed: One last disadvantage I will mention, that I hope we will overcome sooner than later, is speed. For some applications, speed is not too much of an issue and even a slow DSL connection is fast enough. However, as we have more and more multimedia applications moving into “The Cloud”, many of the applications demand very high amounts of bandwidth. Many of todays fastest Internet connections are similar in speed to what was available 10 years ago. We’ve seen some of the DSL and Cable speeds slowly creep up, but for the most part, we have barely seen the speed of these connections double. 3MB DSL was readily available in many areas by 2000. Cable at 3MB to 5MB has been available even longer. I’ve waiting for the next big jump in connection speeds. Wether it is cable, DSL, or some new last mile technology is hard to say. Some cloud based services have begun to get frustrating, even with the fastest DSL connection available in my area. I’m finding cloud based backups to be especially slow as file sizes grow. I backup all my photos to Google, via their Picasa service, with photos, it is reasonably fast with my Internet connection, however, as soon as I start uploading video, that is when things really slow down. It’s pretty easy these days to fill up an 8, 16, or even 32 GB card with home videos. As an example; my 6MB DSL has a maximum upload speed of 768K, 1/2 of a MB. That translates to upload times of(under ideal conditions):

351 MB per Hour 4.2 GB per 12 Hours 8.4 GB per Day 59 GB per week

So that 32GB memory card for your video camera your trying to back-up could take you 4 full days to upload, while not using your connection for anything else. This is quite unrealistic for most people, as these intensive uploads often make the Internet connection nearly unusable for anything else. You can run your uploads only at night when your not using the Internet, but running that upload only at night, will cause your 32GB upload to take nearly 2 weeks to complete. It seems like I am constantly waiting for uploads to finish, often having to pause them if I want to use other services. For example, even when running uploads from Picas a in Conserve Bandwidth mode, streaming Netflix is almost impossible to watch.

I really hope that we see some type of upgrade in the speed of “The Last Mile” connections to the Internet. As more of these cloud based services are developed, we will need this additional speed more than ever.