Cloud Computing, is the latest buzz in the tech industry. Cloud and Computing are the words that describe how the technology is used and now the hiccups have begun in cloud computing. Just creating capacity in a server farm and hoping that the customers would come running to use the capacity there by minimizing their installation expenditure was wishful thinking.

The cloud operators somewhere down the line seem to have forgotten that a part of cloud computing matter of fact the back bone of the cloud is “SaaS”, “Software as a Service”. Before vendors start approaching customers they have to understand the soft ware requirements of the client. The number of users and the contact points that are spread across, the inter action between customers and customers, the security of data, the upscaling of storage requirements and the flexibility the vendor can provide to the customer. The customer will no doubt first evaluate the vendor and his software before subscribing to the service.

No sign of that seems to be happening.

The advantage U.S has its belief and support of the theory that in any field there will only be three main players. Although unsaid unstated is the business model where thes three players who emerge try and garner all the business.

When the cloud has to operate in such an environment it is not difficult to fathom the nature of the model they have to develop for a particular environment.

First the cloud operator has to sit down and concentrate on his “SaaS” capability. Develop a skeletal model that can adapt itself to specific requirements of the business models.

No efforts seem to be put in to this. The vendors have to invest in “SaaS” apps and then approach customers. Presently the customers outsource their work requirements. No guesses as to where this work gets outsourced. If the vendors are serious about their cloud capabilities they have to sit down with these apps that are being developed ( and there is a wealth of information available for that purpose) and arrive at a skeletal product for a particular business model. For e.g SaaS for a bank may not be the same as “SaaS” for a retail chain or a communication network.

Ultimately cloud computing is not about provision of virtual machine and storage capacities and web based services alone. It is about creating software which the customer finds attractive for which he is ready to migrate to the cloud.