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By Jonathan Wise©2011 (shown here with permission)
The Platform as a Service The final step is called "platform as a service" (PaaS) and its ambitious goal is to begin augmenting and replacing the need for companies to own their own servers at all. When a mobile AIDS health station moves through Africa, they shouldn't need to move computers and database servers with them -- a smart, tablet style device and a satellite Internet connection can allow them access to a world of services, applications, and data with equipment that will fit in a back-pack. As PaaS evolves and more applications and services are moved into the Cloud, the technology needs for first individuals and small companies, and later for large companies and enterprises declines. Software requirements are pushed into data centers, freeing up the Client device manufacturers to innovate around more natural interfaces. Rather than pouring R&D money into making a computer 1% faster than last year's, that money goes into understanding human speech, facial expression or hand gestures. The processing and storage requirements are handled by the Cloud, while the interaction requirements are handled by the device the human being sees.
It's all about the Experience... We've seen this already with touch-aware devices like the iPhone (and Android and Windows Phone) and with gesture-aware devices like the Kinect. Consumers are more interested in the experience than in installing and configuring applications. They don't want to organize and train their computer to meet their needs, they want the device to be intuitive. In the past, software developers had a focus split between meeting the needs of the PC their software would run on, and the needs of the user accessing that software. In the Cloud, the software runs elsewhere, and the interface the user sees can be customized to the device and interaction model being used.This transition won't be a quick one -- but its already begun. And analysts predict that by 2015 PaaS will be dominant in the industry. That means better devices, new kinds of software, and more connected experiences. For those who think Facebook is too invasive (or pervasive): prepare yourself. The always-on connected world is coming. And its gonna be cool. The Terminator's SkyNet may not have become self aware on April 19, 2011 but a massive network of intelligent computers running everything is closer to reality than science fiction... Jonathan Wise has worked for Microsoft since 2009, but has enjoyed technology of all kinds for over 2 decades.
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