4. The need for a roadmap for IS professionals and researchers on cloud computing
As with any computing model, the technological landscape is rapidly evolving in cloud computing. Even though it might be impossible to conjecture all the technological changes in future, the economic forces shaping this phenomenon, in contrast, are very logical and almost inexorable in nature. While we leave the technical aspects of cloud computing (or what one might call the “supply side” of cloud computing) in the able hands of computer scientists within the industry and academia, an equally intriguing set of questions is being asked by the customers at the “demand” end, which perhaps is being addressed much less. One of the key objectives of this article is to therefore explore the latter issues. As Nicholas Carr [10] has astutely noted, the biggest impediment to cloud computing “will not be technological but attitudinal” (p. 71). Based on their decades of experience, corporate computing has developed its own standards regarding the reliability, stability and security of its information systems, and comprehensive answers need to be provided on all fronts before cloud computing can become a viable option for the larger corporate customers.