Cloud Computing Expo / SOAWorld 2008 in San Jose

J9 just returned from the Cloud Computing Expo and SOAWorld convention, held last week in San Jose, CA. The most common question we heard from convention participants who came by our booth was "What *is* SOA anyway?" Pretty telling that while there is a need and a place for SOA, it's not for everyone and it's not a trivial adoption.

Perhaps equally telling was the shadow the topic of cloud computing cast. On one hand, there was an expectation that everyone needs a cloud computing strategy, while at the same time murmurs of "it's just a fad." Like most technologies, it will turn out to be somewhere in the middle.

The trends of distributed computing, cheaper and more plentiful hardware, escalating power, cooling, and administration all lead to a situation where cloud computing makes sense for many applications. On the other hand, those pundits who notice the intellectual property, vendor lock-in, security, and reliability concerns of the cloud have valid points. Many companies will find that the potential fiscal savings cannot be outweighed by these business risks.

What's the J9 take on all of this? Pragmatism. For certain customers and applications, SOA and cloud computing make a lot of sense. We've developed deep organizational understanding of how to make customers successful with SOA. We are active consumers of cloud computing and intend to be active proponents where it makes sense for our customer's needs. As vendor offerings mature, we are confident that many of the current concerns, especially around lock-in, will be resolved such that cloud computing will make sense for more and more types of applications.