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15 Ways to Tell Its Not Cloud Computing


If you peel back the label and its says “Grid” or “OGSA” underneath… its not a cloud.

If you need to send a 40 page requirements document to the vendor then… it is not cloud.

If you can’t buy it on your personal credit card… it is not a cloud

If they are trying to sell you hardware… its not a cloud.

If there is no API… its not a cloud.

If you need to rearchitect your systems for it… Its not a cloud.

If it takes more than ten minutes to provision… its not a cloud.

If you can’t deprovision in less than ten minutes… its not a cloud.

If you know where the machines are… its not a cloud.

If there is a consultant in the room… its not a cloud.

If you need to specify the number of machines you want upfront… its not a cloud.

If it only runs one operating system… its not a cloud.

If you can’t connect to it from your own machine… its not a cloud.

If you need to install software to use it… its not a cloud.

If you own all the hardware… its not a cloud.

If it takes 20 slides to explain…. its not a cloud [update: 4:58 4th February 2009]

with input from Alexis Richardson, of CohesiveFT’s Elastic Server on Demand, nicely written up here by Phil Wainewright.

image courtesy of Mike9Alive under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

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By James Governor
— March 13, 2008 at 4:47 pm
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  1. [...] James Governor’s Monkchips » 15 Ways to Tell Its Not Cloud Computing Very nicely nailed list (tags: cloudcomputing) [...]

    Sean’s Mental Walkabout » Blog Archive » links for 2008-03-14 — March 14, 2008 @ 4:26 am

  2. [...] Published March 14, 2008 SOI , Virtualization , bladecenter , bluecloud , cloud , evangelism , grid , redmonk , web services , wsdm I’ve been meaning to respond to Monkchips speculation over IBM and Amazon from last year this follow-up why Amazon don’t need IBM. James and I met-up briefly before Christmas, the day I resigned from IBM UK. I wrote and posted a draft and never got around to finishing it, I was missing context. Then yesterday James published a blog entry entitled “15 Ways to Tell Its Not Cloud Computing”. [...]

    Adventures in systems land — March 14, 2008 @ 7:25 pm

  3. [...] James Governor posited the fifteen rules of cloud computing, or at least something that might be interpreted as such by many people. It’s not a lot [...]

    Square clouds at Pensieri di un lunatico minore — March 14, 2008 @ 8:40 pm

  4. [...] I’ve spoken plenty about the ‘cloud computing‘ phenomenon in these pages, so I got a kick out of James Governor’s take on how to tell if something isn’t cloud computing. [...]

    The FASTForward Blog » If There’s a Consultant in the Room, You are Not ‘Cloud Computing’: Enterprise 2.0 Blog: News, Coverage, and Commentary — March 20, 2008 @ 10:42 pm

  5. [...] his 15 Ways to Tell Its Not Cloud Computing post, James Governor asserts [...]

    William Vambenepe’s blog » Blog Archive » Amazon to the rescue — March 27, 2008 @ 6:04 pm

  6. [...] computing, with contributions from Geva Perry at GigaOm, Simon Wardley, James Urquhart of Cassatt, James Governor at Redmonk and IBM’s Gerrit Huizenga. John Willis has sought to classify cloud computing providers. And what [...]

    Cloud Operating System » Blog Archive » What’s In A Name? Utility vs. Cloud vs Grid — March 30, 2008 @ 12:19 am

  7. [...] in IBM Global Services to get the infrastructure right for metering and billing and so on. Cloud billing true believer John Willis will surely be pleased to see IBM putting billing front and [...]

    James Governor’s Monkchips » For Mash Get Smash: IBM and situational applications in the Post-Brand era. What price a SaaS model? — April 14, 2008 @ 3:03 pm

  8. [...] one side, there are massive investments by Google (and Microsoft) pushing somewhere towards cloud computing. On the other side, there is the story of traditional IT departments – a story of organically grown [...]

    Jiri’s Notepad » Blog Archive » Data-centre technology — April 20, 2008 @ 9:16 am

  9. [...] up with that? “Cloud” meets “Gear” in a huge PR triumph. Cloud… Gear… [...]

    James Governor’s Monkchips » IBM copies Sun on containers, has the best PR machine — April 25, 2008 @ 5:26 pm

  10. [...] So I had to laugh when a colleague pointed me to James Governor’s recent post: 15 Ways to Tell Its Not Cloud Computing. [...]

    Enterprise 2.0 blog » Blog Archive » Clarifying Cloud Computing — June 30, 2008 @ 4:57 pm

  11. [...] the exact definition of cloud computing running around. We’re about a country mile away from “knowing when I see it”, which is excellent progress. The cloud to everyone’s silver-lining has enough material to [...]

    People Over Process » You Think It’s Bad Now: Get Ready for Cloud-* - Defining Cloud Computing - Cloud Conference Week, Part 2 — July 1, 2008 @ 1:23 am

  12. [...] (Source of inspiration — James Governor’s “15 Ways to Tell It’s Not Cloud Computing“) [...]

    Service-Oriented Architecture mobile edition — July 2, 2008 @ 3:12 am

  13. [...] breakfast on March 13th, we started to work out 15 Ways To Tell Its Not Cloud Computing. It was a good discussion, there is often plenty of truth in humour (just as there is often a [...]

    James Governor’s Monkchips » CloudCamp Comes to London: — July 2, 2008 @ 3:35 pm

  14. [...] also: Monkchips: 15 Ways to Tell It’s Not Cloud Computing) (See also: zdnet: How to deploy the cloud of your [...]

    Timothy M. Kunau » Monkchips: 15 Ways to Tell It’s Not Cloud Computing — July 2, 2008 @ 5:55 pm

  15. [...] of the exact definition of cloud computing running around. We’re about a country mile away from “knowing when I see it,” which is excellent progress. The cloud to everyone’s silver lining has enough material to write a [...]

    What is cloud computing? — Server Specs — July 10, 2008 @ 6:50 pm

  16. [...] sales to Cloud Computing… but it was elongating the sales cycle. Not sure how that fits into 15 Ways To Tell Its Not Cloud Computing… I know there were quite a few suits at [...]

    James Governor’s Monkchips » CloudCamp London: the inauguration — July 21, 2008 @ 4:24 pm

  17. [...] proliferate, some observers have argued about how the model is best defined. In a recent blog post “15 Ways to tell It’s Not Cloud Computing,” RedMonk analyst James Governor asserted that services [...]

    Update: AT&T dives into cloud computing | InfoWorld | News | 2008-08-05 | By Chris Kanaracus, IDG News Service — August 5, 2008 @ 6:57 pm

  18. [...] engagements such as consulting contracts. As my esteemed colleague James Governor of Redmonk puts it, “If there is a consultant in the room… its not a [...]

    » Dell Wants To Trademark ‘Cloud Computing’ — August 5, 2008 @ 10:53 pm

  19. [...] with analysts having different explanations for the trend. James Governor does a great job of explaining what it’s not. While the benefits seem clear to me, I’m not sure that businesses especially in the SMB are [...]

    Stormy Reception for Cloud Computing « Network Observations — August 8, 2008 @ 10:03 pm

  20. [...] My favorite articles about the topic are By Ian Foster, The register, Wired and BBC. The cloud checklist is also [...]

    troeger.eu » Blog Archive » Cloud Computing — September 1, 2008 @ 6:35 am

  21. [...] Alright, I hear you, you’ve heard enough about clouds and computing.  Lets just end this with a fun summation of what cloud computing isn’t, by James Governor: [...]

    Cloud Computing - BurningBoats.com — September 11, 2008 @ 12:49 am

  22. [...] that they were just hitching a ride on the cloud bandwagon — check out James Governor’s 15 Ways to Tell It’s Not Cloud Computing for all the reasons that this isn’t cloud computing — but there are definite cloud-like [...]

    Column 2 by Sandy Kemsley : Pegasystems’ Platform as a Service — October 10, 2008 @ 2:04 pm

  23. [...] 15 Ways to Tell Its Not Cloud Computing   [...]

    ingenious code :: » Blog Archive » Cloud Computing — November 2, 2008 @ 2:28 pm

  24. [...] of the exact definition of cloud computing running around. We’re about a country mile away from “knowing when I see it,” which is excellent progress. The cloud to everyone’s silver lining has enough material to write a [...]

    Colocation » Blog Archive » What is cloud computing? — November 7, 2008 @ 9:55 pm

  25. [...] post 15 Ways to Tell Its Not Cloud Computing has had a lot of play – 24 trackbacks and [...]

    James Governor’s Monkchips » 15 Ways I Am Wrong About Enterprise Cloud Computing — November 12, 2008 @ 3:50 pm

  26. [...] Governor identifies 15 Ways to Tell Its Not Cloud Computing (via) and adds 15 Ways I Am Wrong About Enterprise Cloud [...]

    Sunday Mix « Authsider — November 16, 2008 @ 8:01 pm

  27. [...] would suggest Taleo are not doing cloud 100%. Why? Review these 15 items by James Governor from MonkChips to get the general idea, some are a bit tongue in cheek but should give you a starting point. [...]

    Cloud/Grid/Utility Computing what is it & must you have it? — November 20, 2008 @ 12:33 am

  28. [...] a peek at James Governor’s MonkChips blog for a slightly tongue in cheek “15 Ways” series about enterprise cloud computing. The trackbacks to James’ posts alone are worth the [...]

    IT’s About Uptime - The StackSafe Blog » Blog Archive » Parting the Clouds — November 20, 2008 @ 7:26 pm

  29. [...] we had 15 Ways, then we had 16 Corrections, then 15 Ways I am Wrong, and now we have 3 Ways. What would Martin [...]

    James Governor’s Monkchips » Three Better Ways To Tell Its not Cloud Computing? — November 25, 2008 @ 10:52 am

  30. [...] by aloktyagi on December 7, 2008 I liked this blog entry on 15 ways to tell it is not cloud. Among them, I liked these the [...]

    Fake cloud? « Alok Tyagi’s blog — December 7, 2008 @ 2:50 am

  31. [...] of all these pre-cloud-age problems the customer will get a company of dedicated people who listen to their pains and learn [...]

    Small is the new big « convert.io — January 29, 2009 @ 6:05 am

  32. [...] because I’ve had to articulate why I am moving startups from one list to another. Much like this (somewhat tongue-in-cheek) list of what can’t be cloud computing, here are some cues I used during this [...]

    Virtualization ‘versus’ cloud: is there even a versus? « Longworth Venture Partners Blog — March 23, 2009 @ 4:47 pm

  33. [...] “cloud” because several of my concerns or conundrums were alleviated after I read this post by James Governor on Red Monk. Namely, these items: If you need to send a 40 page requirements [...]

    15 Ways to Tell Its Not Cloud Computing « mavergames.net — April 13, 2009 @ 6:45 pm

  34. [...] Its Not Cloud Computing Posted April 16, 2009 Filed under: Cloud computing | I like this one from James Governor’s [...]

    15 Ways to Tell Its Not Cloud Computing « Pawn Promotion — April 16, 2009 @ 8:28 am

  35. [...] In my readings, I came across a pointer to an apparently popular blog entry by James Governor, “15 ways to tell it’s not cloud computing”.  Although some of the points are valid, I hope others are just an attempt at humor., or at [...]

    When is a cloud a cloud? « untweaked.code — June 18, 2009 @ 10:56 pm

  36. [...] James Governor’s Monkchips » 15 Ways to Tell Its Not Cloud Computing If you peel back the label and its says “Grid” or “OGSA” underneath… its not a cloud. [...]

    links for 2009-06-18 | manicwave.com — June 19, 2009 @ 6:05 am

  37. [...] of the exact definition of cloud computing running around. We’re about a country mile away from “knowing when I see it,” which is excellent progress. The cloud to everyone’s silver lining has enough material to write a [...]

    What is cloud computing? | Results videos photos news blogs At I google wiki . com — July 12, 2009 @ 3:43 am

  38. [...] IBM is fixing the one thing it really needed to get its head around to do well in the cloud- simple pricing models, without needing to call a third party expert to unravel them. Forget technology – the cloud is about simple pricing and billing. [...]

    James Governor’s Monkchips » IBM in the Amazon Cloud: on pricing and billing innovation — July 17, 2009 @ 2:34 pm

  39. [...] described as a cloud. I have to be mindful that the purity of my initial humourous/serious take:  15 Ways to Tell Its Not Cloud Computing has been left [...]

    EMC and the Cloud, Or Le Nuage et Le Petit Prince — December 4, 2009 @ 4:48 pm

  40. [...] by Dennis Howlett on December 17, 2009 In my continuing series around ‘cloud’ I turned up a post from James Governor entitled: 15 Ways to Tell Its Not Cloud Computing. [...]

    When’s a cloud not a cloud? — December 17, 2009 @ 8:03 am

  41. [...] the lighter side of things, marketers may want to take some time to read “15 Ways To Tell It Is Not Cloud Computing,” by James Governor of RedMonk, an influential analyst firm in the tech [...]

    Cloud Computing – SaaSBuzz.com | SaaSBuzz.com - The SaaS Review Community — December 17, 2009 @ 5:49 pm

  42. [...] This is a bit older, but a friend just passed it along today (thx Ed!): “15 ways to Tell Its Not Cloud Computing“ [...]

    Weekend Reading — December 18, 2009 @ 7:35 pm

  43. 15 Ways to Tell Its Not Cloud Computing…

    領域確保に10分以上かかるのであれば、、、　それはクラウドではない 10分未満で領域解放ができないのであれば、、、　それはクラウドではない…

    aegif blog — December 24, 2009 @ 5:32 am

  44. [...] It’s not a cloud If you don’t have a boiled-down cloud computing definition, James Governor has an excellent blog entry on “15 Ways to Tell It’s Not Cloud Computing,” at http://www.redmonk.com/jgovernor/2008/03/13/15-ways-to-tell-its-not-cloud-computing. [...]

    It’s not a cloud « Comments After The EOF — December 26, 2009 @ 11:25 am

  45. [...] of the cloud and I think of Jon Marks as in this I agree. And I think the CMS vendors should better read this too before declaring cloud capability. For most large organizations I deal with, this is not an option [...]

    Julian Wraith | Warming up to Content Management in 2010 — January 7, 2010 @ 3:44 pm

  46. [...] maintaining cloud services. To be clear, there is a predominant focus on private clouds, or what some would not consider cloud at all: fast provisioning (after you install all the hardware and infrastructure software), but everything [...]

    Column 2 : IBM Cloud Strategy: Collaboration, Dev/Test Environments, and Virtual Desktops — March 16, 2010 @ 11:05 am

  47. [...] efforts at cloud definitional work began with 15 Ways to Tell its Not Cloud Computing. In the intervening time the forces of complexity and, yes, pragmatism have triumphed. We’re [...]

    James Governor's Monkchips » Defining Cloud is Simple. Get Over It. The Burger. — March 22, 2010 @ 5:45 pm

  48. [...] of the exact definition of cloud computing running around. We’re about a country mile away from “knowing when I see it,” which is excellent progress. The cloud to everyone’s silver lining has enough material to write a [...]

    What is cloud computing? — April 16, 2010 @ 7:18 pm

  49. [...] Hauska lista mikä ei ole pilvipalvelu [...]

    Internet ilmiönä » Blog Archive » Luento 3 — May 20, 2010 @ 5:12 pm

  52. [...] times it is easier to understand what Cloud computing is by trying to find out what Cloud Computing is not. While I am not sure about all the points James lists, I think he got it pretty much right.  [...]

    What Is This Cloud Thingy? | Dorai's Learn Log — October 3, 2010 @ 4:58 am

  53. [...] between Utility computing and Cloud computing? Others have attempted to define Cloud by what it is not. I tend to agree with some of these points but not [...]

    OSGi & The Cloud (Part 1) « Paremus Blogs — October 11, 2010 @ 10:15 am

  54. [...] This is a bit older, but a friend just passed it along today (thx Ed!): “15 ways to Tell Its Not Cloud Computing“ [...]

    Weekend Reading - ProfHacker - The Chronicle of Higher Education — February 20, 2011 @ 2:10 pm

  55. [...] se podría decir que “Cloud computing” abarca aquello para lo que no hace falta software, ni más hardware, ni conexiones [...]

    ¿Qué es Cloud Computing? | Pd2.iup.es Blogs — June 3, 2011 @ 9:28 pm
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