It's written in the cloud: the hype and promise of cloud computing

Purpose – This purpose of this paper is to discuss the emerging IT platform of cloud computing. Design/methodology/approach – This paper identifies where and how this has developed in terms of the collision between internet and enterprise computing paradigms – and hence why cloud computing will be driven not by computing architectures but by more fundamental ICT consumption behaviours. The approach has been based upon the discussion and recent developments of Software as a Service (SaaS) and associated ICT computing metaphors and is largely based on the contemporary discussions surrounding the impact of social, open source and configurable technology services. Findings – It is suggested that whilst cloud computing and SaaS are indeed innovations within ICT, the real innovation will come when such platforms allow new industries ways of doing business, connecting with and engaging with people to emerge. Originality/value – The paper brings together some of the recent discussions within the popular as well as business and computing press on social networking, open source and utility computing.