PDC 2009: Can clouds solve big issues?

LOS ANGELES, USA: Agile is edgy, but I can't use it. Open source is not a Microsoft antithesis. Clouds I doubt will solve big real issues.

A walk around PDC 2009, helps you pick up these and many more real geek peeks into the so-called hot trends today.

The big fence, for instance, between OS and MS isn't that thick you may conclude.

Both have their own upsides and vice versa, says a Florida-based network administrator, from a test publishing company.

"Each has its own advantages and I wouldn't trade anything else for a better product," he stresses.

For him, and his IT team, it's more about having the right product, rather than a cheap one. His company is using both Microsoft and Open Source products in different areas.

He opines that going for something that has initial cost value but that leads him explaining the ballooned costs at the year end to his boss, won't just work.

A sentiment that Ganesh Gopalan shares as well.

The software engineer from Oregon State University attributes his preference for Microsoft products to its depth and tech support.

"Open source could be a problem when you have to step up and make it substantial. And where do you find answers to your questions?" he says adding that there is the other side of 'paying the price for it' though.

Veer the conversations towards the sunny topic of today - Clouds, and it's interesting to see that developers are not as rose-eyed on that yet.

For a Washington DC based developer working for a government entity, the more important question is beyond all the glam and buzz around clouds, as she asks, "Can it solve bigger problems, or would it be just a back up answer?"

She is also not very comfortable taking Agile Development back at the workstation, despite all its high points and cool factor.

“In a government organization, it could make others feel insecure. So no matter how cutting-edge a technology is, you can't just hop on to it. It has to be slow and steady.”

The network administrator from Florida falls in the same 'not-so-gung-ho' category when it comes to clouds.

In his opinion, it could be a good call for a company that cannot afford enough capital spend and in-house IT expertise, but not otherwise.

"We can afford to spend, so we would bet on something that gives us more control and more conviction on the downtime issues. After all, for thousands of customers on a cloud at a time, there are chances of downtime for a hundred of them at some instant, and we can never afford to take the risk of being one of those hundred."

His point also includes the reliability factor that comes with Internet.

"If the Internet goes off, I don't want to have all my stuff go off with that too. Besides, managed solutions haven't been a good experience for us so far."

Accountability and responsibility add up to the issues of security and control.

Big boys still haven't grown up enough when it comes to clouds. "You can't do it all right, if you want to do everything," he says.

Still, open and excited to listen, learn and pick more, he is here like many other developers in this annual rendezvous where sessions and chats around many new and upcoming areas are running at full pace.

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