Anticipating the future: When will all computer hardware become obsolete?
Hardware that is small, personal and powerful is on the rise. Smartphones and touch-tablets like the iPad® are only growing in popularity. Improvements to their networks, and the content and applications they display, are appearing all the time. But as cloud computing gathers pace and recognition for the game changer it really will be, traditional desktop computers and their peripherals, enterprise servers and proprietary software are looking more obsolete by the day.
Enter the cloud
Cloud computing is basically any pay-per-use information technology process that is delivered over the Internet—from virtual machines and SaaS applications to huge storage facilities. Companies and individuals can store and access their data virtually, then manipulate it with virtual software applications on any Internet-enabled device. The need for actual computer boxes with hard drives to store software and files is diminishing, as any teenager with an iPhone® 4G can tell you. All that needs to be done, or remembered, can exist independent of the device used to access it.
Breaking business barriers
Computing is quickly becoming almost free; apt to meet new organizational needs literally just-in-time; more intuitive to work with and share; and more robust, limiting down time. This means that all the traditional barriers to entry in many industries are evaporating and innovation will blossom in the cloud, just as it did in the 1990s dot-com boom.
Quantum requirements
Several major barriers exist, before the full potential of the cloud is realized. The sheer computing power necessary to process an almost inconceivably large volume of data will become physically possible, once quantum computers are part of the equation. Spintronics, as opposed to electronics, uses the spin direction of individual electrons for binary processing. This technology is still in the research stage, but slowly the concept is gaining momentum and the requirements needed to enter the mass market are being invented.
Integration challenge
Recognizing the issues companies face today with integrating data and updating software, will allow the cloud to get over the hurdle of mass integration between all cloud components. Hopefully, a data standard will emerge, so that all cloud applications speak a common language and be fully interoperable. Before that happens, specialist hardware and software suites may become available, aimed at various industries or business processes. And there is a great deal of work ahead for whose who can parse legacy software into a cloud-friendly solution.
Industrial inertia
Although new technologies are rapidly embraced by end-users, companies are concerned about losing control of mission-critical software and data in the cloud. Service Level Agreements need to catch up with corporate needs for data security, reliable backups and redundancy. Non-competitive and repeatable processes are currently seen as good candidates for the cloud, while all those desktops, laptops and servers remain in heavy daily use. Many companies still print out and store critical documents in physical files, despite the existence of technology that has obsolesced this requirement years ago.
How long do we have?
Today's hardware manufacturers are facing a serious competitive challenge. The demand for traditional hardware will remain strong in this decade, as new ways to monetize the cloud's offerings are needed for it to continue to grow. Equipment that makes it easier for users to interact with the cloud is the next competitive edge. The next computing revolution is beginning.
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