Informatica Perspectives

Unless you've been hiding under a rock for the past few years, you've probably heard the term "cloud computing" enough to make your head spin.  This phenomenon is shifting the technology industry and getting a lot of exposure in the media, amongst the analyst community and more and more amongst our customer base. People have asked me how I would describe cloud computing, and in fact how an enterprise software company like ours has become involved in this, the biggest shift that I.T. has seen for some time.

The first thing you need to understand is that the "cloud" is just another word for the Internet.  I did a post on this in June during our annual Informatica World conference. Basically, cloud computing is “services and applications that are hosted on and accessed through the Internet.” I saw this as the simplest explanation so far in a piece entitled Cheat Sheet, or as I like to call it, "Cloud Computing for Dummies."   It breaks down the components of cloud computing as well as the value of doing business in this way.

So how do we fit into the picture? 

Well, one fundamental change about cloud computing is that your data doesn't live in your servers anymore - the data lives in the cloud.  To some who are accustomed to the traditional "on premise" data model, this concept can be terrifying.  So how do most organizations approach cloud computing?  They dip their toes into the pool… er, cloud.  And this means your data is living a double life - sometimes living in a cozy server in your office, and sometimes living in a server up in the clouds.

Keeping track of - and maintaining control of - your data when it's living a double life can be a scary proposition.  And that's where data integration fits into the picture.   Most companies who are betting big on cloud computing are looking at ways to manage the flow of data back and forth between on-premise apps and cloud-based apps.  Informatica lets them not only do this, but also trust the quality of the data and link the data into core business processes.   And the thing that makes Informatica unique is that we offer this capability either as an on-premise solution or… you guessed it… in the cloud.

So, do you trust where your data is going? Is this how you/your company would define cloud computing? Are you using cloud computing for data integration already? If so, share your experiences.