Cloud Computing and Lateral Thinking

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Let’s have some fun and come up with new ideas about cloud computing using the Lateral Thinking method.

If you are reading this blog, then you know all about cloud computing. Lateral Thinking is a set of techniques for developing new ideas and solutions. One of the techniques known as “Alternatives” uses known concepts to rapidly breed new ones. Here, we’ll use familiar meteorological terms, e.g. “thunderstorm”, to come up with new cloud ideas, e.g.  “a local disruption in a cloud infrastructure”.

At the risk of stating something nonsensical, and only to show the process, here are a few exemplars:

Fog

·         Meteorology: A small cloud that is in contact with the ground.

·         Cloud Computing Idea: A small-scale cloud implementation with a local and personal scope (e.g., home or small business).

Cumulus Cloud

·         Meteorology: Vertically developed clouds commonly generated through thermal convection or frontal lifting, reaching heights in excess of 39,000 ft.

·         Cloud Computing Idea: A cloud computing solution developed specifically for a unique industry or application.

Cirrus Cloud

·         Meteorology: Atmospheric clouds that are thin, wisplike strands, which are often so extensive that they are indistinguishable from one another.

·         Cloud Computing Idea: A cloud implementation with limited resources but high accessibility, performing simple and limited tasks for numerous users.

Stratus Cloud

·         Meteorology: Horizontal layers of clouds with a uniform base.

·         Cloud Computing Idea: Layered and specialized cloud infrastructures, with different capabilities, that interact with one another and share resources only when needed.

Thunderstorm

·         Meteorology: A local disruption in weather with high winds, lightning, and thunder.

·         Cloud Computing Idea: A small-scale cloud infrastructure disruption, due to malware or system failure, that results in temporary outages for a few users.

Tornado

·         Meteorology: A large and violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the ground.

·         Cloud Computing Idea: A malware designed to overload portions of a cloud infrastructure with the intention of damaging users’ operations.

Hurricane

·         Meteorology: A large low-pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain.

·         Cloud Computing Idea: A large-scale disruption in the cloud infrastructure that cascades among services, causing many system failures along the way.

Anvil

·         Meteorology: A cumulonimbus cloud that has reached the level of stratospheric stability and has formed the characteristic flat, anvil-top shape. It can cause a supercell and then a tornado.

·         Cloud Computing Idea: A cloud infrastructure that has reached a very high level of size and complexity, with a higher probability of instability, and a higher risk of causing substantial harm to the users if something fails.

Do these or other meteorological examples give you new cloud computing ideas? What do think?