We read a lot about Cloud Computing or the software-services model. Generally, you read about how this is the Hail Mary and the future of the Internet. The media loves a bandwagon.

I believe that it is a significant shift, but I think it is a shift, not a wholesale market switch. There is a big place for software plus services as part of the choice that consumers and businesses face, but it is a choice. Do I want my software hosted as a service, do I want it on a desktop/server on my premises or do I want someone to host it for me. Choice.

For the first time, I actually read two articles which pan the cloud computing hype:

• Stormy Weather for Cloud Computing: Dvorak goes on a rant. He cracks me up.
• SaaS market will ‘collapse’ in two years: The head of Lawson software does not believe. This article reads like a head in the sand approach, sorry Harry.

In the end it is about balance and choice. in the article ‘Hybrid SaaS is likely the way to go’, we see that balanced view:

This isn’t exactly news. Over and over again, we’ve heard about these same worries slowing broader adoption of SaaS. And they aren’t going to go away. Which is why a number of folks, including ZDNet’s Joshua Greenbaum, believe that a hybrid approach incorporating both SaaS and traditional on-premise delivery models will ultimately prevail.

I like the last part of that paragraph:

Sorry, Marc Benioff, the rumors of traditional software’s death have been greatly exaggerated.