08 Feb 2010

Cloud computing 'confusing IT staff'

Research carried out by Chadwick Martin Bailey (CMB) has shown 24 per cent of IT professionals are unsure what cloud computing actually is.

When asked to describe the technology, a significant proportion of respondents confused the technology with Software-as-a-Service or hosted exchange systems, while some felt it was a kind of outsourcing.

"With so many big players like Microsoft, EMC and even Google putting heavy investments into the value of the cloud, the confusion will go away and the value proposition will become clear," commented Don Ryan, managing director of CMB's technology practice.

Elsewhere, W Curtis Preston wrote in his blog for Ajax World Magazine that while keeping multiple copies of data in more than one location is good practice - such as in cloud computing infrastructure - data recovery professionals would always advise having a dedicated backup system to ensure that files can be recovered quickly in an emergency.