E 2.0 Conference 2010

Another week, another conference. Boston might be a tourist destination, but if the activity down by the Waterfront is any indication, trade shows and technology events are increasingly being drawn to our fair city.

Right now I'm sitting in the Grand Ballroom at the Westin Waterfront listening to two folks from Hurwitz & Associates talk about Cloud Computing. Wait! Before you nod off, or slip out of your comfy seat on the T if you're reading this on your way to lunch...this stuff IS cool.

Cloud computing is what we're all doing everyday. Even this story is being written with the assistance of the cloud. What's that mean? Well, the cloud - as defined in tech circles - is the place where our data resides and is processed now that more firms are moving away from centralized data centers onsite. To simplify this, think of your computer at home or the office as a data center. Now think about what might happen if you had a fire or a break-in. All the data on that piece of equipment might be lost forever.

Now, think about storing your information in a location that is everywhere and nowhere at the same time. For example, your GMail or Yahoo account can be accessed from any computer that connects to the Internet. Your past sent emails, the photos you've shared, the links you pointed to - all of it is accessible wherever you are.

That's an awesome development and has been around for years. But in the past few years, issues like privacy, identity access management (making sure only you can get your email), unlimited storage, and uptime (see how people freak out when Twitter or Facebook goes down) are now being discussed in conference settings and not just in the IT cave at your company.

So what's this mean for me this week and for you over time? It means you might be well-served to at least know what cloud computing is, if your company is using it, and maybe what businesses you buy from are putting all their info in the cloud? Think about buying on Amazon.com. That's a cloud-based purchase. Paying bills online...cloud-based. Sharing photos on Flickr or Facebook, Tweeting, watching YouTube videos - cloud, cloud, cloud.

For one, I'm not scared - but I do want to hear what these people have to say about the future of keeping data virtual and ethereal. I'll update you this week if I run into stuff that makes me raise my eyebrows.

By the way, Universal Hub is cloud-based too - how else would I be able to write a blog post from a conference room table in a hotel all the way across town? Think about it.

Enterprise 2.0 Conference info can be found HERE.

Are you scared to keep your data in the cloud?