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"It isn't just about being a programmer." - Shadrach White on Cloud Computing for Business

Shadrach White declares that "cloud computing is about democracy -- the democratization of technology." Before cloud computing was possible, every single person in tech had to understand not just how to write code, but had to have a solid understanding of hardcore computer processing. And then came the switch to the virtual computing environment, and suddenly everyone wanted in on the untapped computing power that was ever-present in the already established computer network. The hardware was there, it just required the right method of application and utilization.

The next step in this democratization was to put this new resource into the hands of the consumer. The browser became the new operating system, and the world of tech based business opened up to the entrepreneur. Once again, the world wide web has opened up greater opportunities to the people without discrimination against race, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation... or capital. Cloud computing significantly reduces the overhead cost of running a business to well... not nothing, but something comparable in the business industry, especially technology.


The technology model is so successful that it brought about flattery in the highest and most affordable form: cheap mimicry known as “cloud washing,” which truly isn’t cheaper, but perhaps lazier. The concept of keeping up with Jones’s in the technology world fascinates me. The idea that people expect to get away with pretending to be technologically advanced, assuming that no one would ever find out, seems absolutely ludicrous, especially when an actual conversion to the cloud model is so affordable and removes so much in overhead expense. Why not just go for it? And just make it happen?  

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