Fresh ideas and new perspectives are good to experience. Even if they don't change your mind they force you to reaffirm your beliefs. Being in Australia last week forced me to look at our industry in a new way and maybe my views on cloud need to be re-evaluated. Here's why.
In Australia, broadband is accessible but it is also more expensive than in the US. Even compared to Western Europe, Australia still has a lot of building to do. True, their National Broadband Network initiative will ultimately address this issue. But, it does force you to look at the entire concept of cloud and ask some compelling questions. In Australia, cloud isn't necessarily taking hold of small businesses and MSPs precisely because the cost broadband makes it less attractive than a place like the US or Canada.
Let's ask the really probing question; if the US didn't have the broadband infrastructure it has would cloud be as big of a topic as it is? Asked another way, are we talking about cloud just because we have a mature broadband foundation?
I asked myself the question during the trip back home because I see so much difference between how the Australian and US MSPs tackle the issue of cloud and I wanted to know if it was a broadband issue or a maturity issue. What I concluded was the Australians may or may not adopt cloud based not on their broadband (eventually their broadband will be more widespread and inexpensive) but on how their US and European colleagues handle the cloud.
If the MSPWorld events held in the US this year have taught me anything, MSPs have big doubts about cloud or at least are going to fight for every inch of control and influence over how their clients interact with cloud offerings. The upcoming MSPWorld event in Los Angeles will have a lot of discussion around cloud and I think it is a dialog all MSPs have to participate in. Speaking personally, I use the cloud in a number of professional and personal ways and I see the benefits. I'm just saying I think the role of cloud in managed services may be too soon to predict, based on early feedback.
