There has been much discussion around what cloud computing means over the past couple of year. You have some saying that it’s Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) like Salesforce.com, others saying it’s Platforms-as-a-Service (PaaS) such as Boomi, and still others saying it’s Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) such as Amazon. It is all these and more. It is said that one of the benefits of cloud computing is reduced operational costs and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). While the before mentioned offerings provide help drive these there are even more basic ways to achieve these benefits by leveraging cloud computing.
Consider this, most users don’t know or care if the database they’re using or their email is hosted down the hall, across campus, or across an ocean. But they do care where their applications, like SaaS offerings, are hosted. Migrating databases and email to cloud computing platforms to realize the benefits mentioned can be performed with virtually no impact on users. Obviously this still requires proper architecture and implementation. David Linthicum refers to this as “the invisible cloud”, for me I like to call it “Cloud 101” since it is simply hosting commodity applications on cloud computing platforms without to much change except in location.
As tax time in the US approaches I begin to look for any tax breaks that I can get having started my firm Oglala-IS in 2009. You things like office furniture, computing hardware, small business credits, etc.
To bad as David points out in “Businesses should demand a tax break for cloud computing”, there isn’t a tax break for leveraging cloud computing. As David mentions:
There are already tax incentives for using some types of computing technology…….If we’re providing tax credits for energy-efficient technology, then logically those using cloud computing should receive a tax break.”
Those of us you use cloud computing, especially small businesses, should start a petition and see if can’t get something started with this.
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