Open Cloud Manifesto

I hate the term 'cloud computing'. The term is constantly redefined by firms slapping the 'cloud computing' label on all their products to encourage a sale. What's more, it is mostly just a bunch of ideas that have been around for a while, and now the technology industry seems ready to embrace it as a way to push more product. But, we have to admit that, love it or hate it, cloud computing is going to define the future of our economy, our social structure, and our culture. At the Fireworks Project we are betting all our money on one horse named cloud computing. It is a big leap of faith, but then you don't cross a chasm by taking little steps. But, there are a few things that need to get fixed first. So, the trick to making all this work is to, first, get the IT industry to make up its mind about what cloud computing actually means. The second problem, which is just as hairy as the first, is to decide on the standards that will actually make the whole notion tangible. There are many well established standards that can simply be applied "as is", but there are a couple of holes that have yet to be filled in, despite the valiant efforts of Google and WHATWG. The technology industry can benefit greatly from a multilateral agreement, and avoiding an all out nuclear war of proprietary protocols. I'm advocating the Open Cloud Manifesto, which has set up a discussion forum to explore cloud computing, of which the Fireworks Project intends to be a part of. Also, some interesting reading material on cloud computing by Time O'Reilly if you have not read it already.