Does Cloud computing scares you?

What are problem areas affecting cloud computing investments?

• What  are the various ways the emergence of cloud-based-solution start-ups -- as well as M&A activity in this space – pose liabilities to financial stakeholders. What are the general concerns that should make investors wary of this arena? If we zero in on the business processes being impacted by cloud-based solutions providers, where do you see additional pitfalls to be avoided as cloud-based solutions continue to proliferate – in other words, what additional problems are investors going to encounter with cloud start-ups going forward? Same question for mergers-and-acquisitions involving mid-sized companies and large enterprises engaged in cloud-based businesses: where specifically do you see the greatest perils? What’s the most important action your company will make – or new approach it will take – to help eliminate some of the problems? What do you envision as the greatest challenges yet to come from the intersection of cloud computing with the investment community? What new or different problems that we haven’t seen yet do you envision as coming next to make it difficult for investors to back cloud computing? Where will cloud technologies and/or businesses be in one year, three years, or even 5-10 years? What mainstream companies will get involved and how will they participate? What industries will be most impacted by the continuing evolution of cloud computing? Who will be the winners and losers as these technologies achieve their full market potential? What will the next generation of cloud computing companies look like?

• Answer:

  "Cloud" is just a glossy marketing term for "third-party hosted services", which have been around for decades.  You have the same liability issues with cloud services that you would with any colocation or offsite data hosting.