Cloud computing and open source face-off

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Cloud is no-win in most cases...

I'll ignore security issues for the moment and stick to the applications aspects of the cloud...

First, if one considers 'proprietary' applications being hosted in the cloud -- the end-user suffers from lock-in. If the user invests significant time and effort to put their data INTO an app -- and there is no path out -- they're stuck -- almost held hostage to the whims of the provider.

If one considers open source -- the ONLY way the cloud is going to overcome this risk is if they implement UNCUSTOMIZED version of the open source software -- this is the ONLY way the customer can be sure they'll have at least a CHANCE of migrating to either a locally hosted app or another cloud provider later. (Whether or not the host will even ALLOW the data to be transferred out is another question.)

What is the likelyhood of this?

Considering the big rally point about open source IS the fact that you CAN modify it -- then the moment a cloud applications company does that -- they effectively DO make the product proprietary (unless they ALSO release the same source).

It would CERTAINLY be necessary to clean-up and professionalize most FOSS software to make worthy and fully functional in a hosted environment, so I'd suggest that the client would indeed be held hostage just as they would to ANY other proprietary application.

So far, it seems that few of the major players in hosted applications are offering any 'export' capability, and none that I have found yet offer any access to the raw data -- so what options are there?

Posted by: Marty R. Milette   Posted on: 06/15/09 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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