Who Invented cloud computing?

Cloud computing is the most popular buzzword in the industry. It appeared 48 million times on the Internet. While people have a relish for cloud computing, there is one question that no one has ever answered: who raised the word first?

According to some reports, we can trace the origins of the word back to a few years ago. In the 2006, big companies such as Google and Amazon began using cloud computing to describe a new example of the growing use of software, computer efficiency, and files through the Web rather than on their desktops.

But here, we push the creation time of the word to the second half of the decade before the--1996, a Texas office park outside Houston (Houston, Texas). Netscape's Web browser was the most exciting technology at the time; the New York Yankees and Atlanta Warriors were fighting in the World Series; The Taliban are celebrating the seizure of Kabul. In Compaq's office, several technical executives are plotting the future of the Internet business and calling it "cloud computing."

Proof of concept: George Favalloro (George Favaloro) is holding a 1996 Compaq Company (COMPAQ) business plan. This document is the earliest known use of the term "cloud computing" printed documents.

Their vision is nuanced and predictable: not only will all industry software shift to the web, but "cloud based applications" like user file storage will become commonplace. There are two people in that office, and a young technician named Shawn Oshaliven (Sean O ' Sullivan), Compaq Marketing Director, George Favalloro a different view of the future of cloud computing creativity. For Compaq, this is the beginning of a business that sells servers to Internet service providers and earns $2 billion a year. For Sullivan's fledgling company, this is a step towards disillusionment and bankruptcy.

Cloud computing is a new word, a coined phrase. The word "Oxford Dictionary of English" has yet to be included. However, the use of cloud computing is rapidly spreading. Because cloud computing captures a historic opportunity for the IT industry to change-more computer memory, processing power, and applications are hosted in remote data centers, or "clouds". IT companies paid billions of of dollars in the process, so the word itself became controversial. In the 2008, Dell angered many programmers when trying to get the label "cloud computing." Other technology companies, such as IBM and Oracle, have been accused of "cloud cleaning" (cloud washing) or mistakenly used to describe the previous product line.

Like Web 2.0, cloud computing has become a ubiquitous term that bores many technical executives, but it is hard to avoid the word. "I hate it, but I finally surrendered." "Autodesk (Autodesk) president and Chief Executive Officer Carl Basse (Carl Bass) said. His business launched a cloud computing marketing strategy in September. "I don't think the word can explain to people who don't know what cloud computing is." "said Buzz.

The US government is also having trouble with the cloud computing problem. Vivek Kundra, the former American it czar, has been Wilvick Kundra in various government departments for cheaper cloud services. After that, the problem that the purchasing staff faces directly is cloud computing. The U.S. government has asked the National Institute of Standards and Technology (Institutes of Standards and Marvell) to give a definition of cloud computing. This month, the institute released its definition of cloud computing at the beginning of the final version of "Cloud computing is different for different people."

"The cloud is a symbol of the Internet. It is the rebranding of the Internet. Cloudcamp partner Ruwen Cohn, Reuven Cohen, said in a class for programmers: "That's why there's a heated debate about this." Cloud as a symbol, it has many interpretations. He added: "The cloud is worth it." ”

One part of the argument is who invented the idea. The concept of "web-based computing" was proposed in the 1960s. However, many people think that in the modern context "cloud computing" for the first time for people to use is on August 9, 2006. At the time, Eric Schmidt, Google's chief executive, introduced the word at an industry meeting. "What's interesting now is a new thing that just appeared. I don't think people really understand how big a chance it is. The premise of this kind of thing is the data service and data architecture located on the server. We call it cloud computing--services that should be somewhere in the cloud. ”

Over the next year, companies such as Amazon, Microsoft and IBM also began to push for cloud computing. Since then, the word has become more widely used. At this point, cloud computing also appeared for the first time in newspaper articles, such as the November 15, 2007 New York Times headline "IBM uses remote data to drive ' cloud computing '" (i.b.m. To push ' Cloud Computing, ' using data from Afar ). This vaguely depicts plans related to "internet-based supercomputing".

Equinix Cloud Services and IT Services Director Sham Johnston (Sam Johnston) says cloud computing can be recognized by technicians because cloud computing means something important. "We now have a consensus on the trends that have been observed, such as the consumption and commercialization of the IT industry," he said. "he wrote in Ane-mail.

' People never know who created the word, ' said Johnston. One of the editors of Wikipedia's cloud computing terms, Johnston is wary of any misuse of the phrase. He first warned of Dell's trademark application, and this summer he removed a quote from Wikipedia that said a professor at Emory University (Emory University) created the phrase in the late the 1990s. There has been "a lot of people trying to keep the word for themselves, and many people have claimed to have created the word."

That may explain why many of the cloud-focused people have overlooked or never found an early example of using cloud computing--in May 1997, a company called Netcentric, which now does not exist, submitted a "cloud computing" trademark application. The company applied for the trademark to carry out "educational services" such as "Classroom and seminar". The application has never been passed. However, the use of the word by the company did not happen. MIT tech startup found the company's founder, Sullivan. He agreed to help the economist find 15 years ago the plan developed by Netcentric and Compaq. The document, written in the second half of 1996, has not only seen frequent "cloud computing" but also many words that accurately depict the many ideas that now sweep the Internet.

(Responsible editor: Songtao)