Cloud computing is the buzzword of the moment. Any company announcing a move to provide Cloud computing (CC), or Software As a Service (SaAS) increases its stock value. Is it actually something new, a paradigm change or just an evolution of something we already knew? Is it the new IT bubble? And legally, what are the challenges, the threats and the opportunities that CC?
The recent Microsoft – T-Mobile misshap, where the two companies managed to lose a considerable amount of users‘ data seems to suggest that while people is concerned by new issues, getting back to the basics is also advisable, like “have a redundant backup”. Also for Free Software there is something new, something old, something borrowed.
If CC is a paradigm shift, Free Software is best placed to be THE driving force. But CC is – unlike “traditional” computing – a way to hand over the control of the IT infrastructure. Others are in the lead, others take all the decisions, the user just connects to the outlet. Copyleft relies on copyright, but needs distribution to be triggered, and in SAaS does not involve distribution. What‘s at stake for us? What we can do? Is it possible to have a less cloudy sky?
