http://news.idg.no/cw/art.cfm?id=B3894FB7-1A64-6A71-CEAAA097234C65DB

There is no single model for how best to mix all the various cloud service permutations, but a few consistent models have emerged:

While those who developed the Internet had a clear vision and the power to make choices about the road it would take — factors that helped shape the Web — Georgetown University professor Mike Nelson wondered during a panel discussion whether the current group of developers possesses the foresight to continue growing the Internet.

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/200829/cloud_computing_will_surpass_the_internet_in_importance.html

“I think there is a chance that if we push hard … we can get to this universal cloud,

I got ‘ahead of the curve’ once concerning the previous government’s shenanigans when I predicted the imminent creation of an offshore Microsoft Azure powered G-Cloud for UK schools…which was duly dropped* in favour of a vague mixed provider option…which now has been canned altogether…I assume.

http://www.computerworlduk.com/community/blogs/index.cfm?entryid=3052&blogid=40

Little known to the general public is her commitment to Linux…Microsoft’s deadliest rival..as long ago as 2004 her CTO proclaimed that Open Source and Linux was the ‘key to the Internet’.

It is fair to say that phrase has achieved notoriety in taking the shortest time from buzzword-creation to CIO-cynicism.
There is no shortage of opportunities for IT leaders to listen to suppliers telling them why they should be going into the cloud. Cloudwash has replaced greenwash as the focus for marketing brochure hype.

http://www.computerweekly.com/blogs/editors-blog/2010/07/what-the-cloud-really-means-to.html

More than anything else, what “the cloud” really offers IT leaders is the opportunity to innovate.

Of course that still happens. Sometimes we dress it up in the guise of third-party advisors, so it’s not the client who is harassing the supplier directly, it’s the advisory firm, but things have matured. It’s clear that in most IT deals today there is more of a focus on best practice and a better appreciation of accountability.

http://www.ssonetwork.com/topic_detail.aspx?id=8392&ekfrm=6

As the British government tries to cut costs, Mark Kobayashi-Hillary warns that focusing on reducing costs rather than thinking strategically will lead to even greater problems

But this government faces two basic ICT (information and communication technologies) issues that could make or break their entire program, and both depend entirely on the Internet.
Firstly, can the government overcome its own internal ICT challenges, which are formidable, while reducing expenditure, losing headcount, migrating technologies, and reversing under-investment in infrastructure? It’s a task not unlike changing all four wheels on a car while it’s still moving.

http://www.internetevolution.com/author.asp?section_id=920&doc_id=194213&f_src=internetevolution_gnews

While there is a limited penetration of the market by cable service companies, the bulk of Internet connection in the UK is through landlines managed by the de-nationalized telco BT (previously British Telecom). The problem is that much of the existing network is good old-fashioned copper.

Indirectly, however, some are warning that swingeing public sector cuts and an increased reliance on the private sector as the main source of economic growth could bring extra pressure to bear on IT budgets, spending and procurement trends.
The coalition government’s first, interim emergency budget “supports a strong enterprise-led recovery” from record debt, according to the chancellor, George Osborne. “Yes, it is tough; but it is also fair,”

http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/analysis/2265266/largely-unscathed-austerity

But will measures be good for IT given reliance on private sector growth?

The GSA and federal officials are touting the promise of the new technology, but the Government Accountability Office warns that federal agencies remain concerned about potential security risks.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/25/AR2010062504339.html

“This is a very important program for the government because it addresses a couple things that have been inhibitors to cloud, the first being ease of procurement,” said Phil Horvitz, the company’s chief technology officer.

The GSA has given vendors until June 30 to submit bids that explain how they would install a cloud infrastructure for the government. Once all the bids have been received, the GSA will select viable contractors that federal agencies can contact for cloud services, the Washington Post reports.
“Cloud computing is inevitable,” said David McClure, associate adminstrator for the GSA’s Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies, the Washington Post relays. “It’s the speed and pace and direction that we’re always uncertain of, but it’s an inevitable move because the computing industry itself is moving in this direction.”

http://www.centerbeam.com/news/Cloud-Computing/Applicants-still-submitting-bids-for-government-cloud-services-CBOID65030686-GRPOID50590013/View.aspx

McClure’s assessment of cloud computing is accurate, based upon a recent report from IDC. Public IT cloud services revenue is expected to rise to $55.5 billion in 2014, which is nearly three and a half times as much revenue recorded in 2009

The budget finally came. When the public sector pay freeze was confirmed a dark cloud formed over us. We are not talking about huge sums of money – usually just a few hundred pounds a year from our salaries, but it means more when it’s taken away. There is an unpleasant sense of being put on ice, like a neolithic mammoth.
Then there’s the envy, which has the potential of getting in the way. There are only two departments protected from the forecast 25% cuts that we will all face – International Development and Health. Those two will get real-terms budget increases for the foreseeable future. Which is just fine for them. But what about the rest? Everyone might be blinded into submission by the summer sunshine but in the autumn the real pain will begin when the spending review is published.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/jul/01/diary-civil-servant

‘We need somebody in the back office, or the frontline will wither’