In the first of a new series of columns about the impact of IT on the world of AV, high-tech industry analyst Bob Snyder examines the implications of cloud computing

Cloud computing is blowing in, shaking IT windows and rattling AV halls.

In English, to have one’s head in the clouds is to be out of touch with reality; a cloud on the horizon is a threat coming your way – sooner rather than later; and if you are under a cloud, people have a poor or unfavourable opinion of you.
None of that stopped the IT industry from defining the next big thing in computing as ‘cloud computing’. Just as the iPad, tablets and netbooks are destroying and redefining the PC market one more time, cloud computing will smash, destroy and break all the IT business models in the market – and even some of ours in AV.

The whole nature of computing is going topsy-turvy and, as with many related industries, the IT sector will take AV along for the roller-coaster ride.

Definition debates
First, AV integrators need to understand that IT can’t even agree on a definition for what’s happening. Cloud computing is a messy business. Here’s a suggestion: next time you hear a company offering a service ‘in the cloud’, simply change the phrase to ‘over the internet’. That will do as a starter.

Think about how Google is better placed to remotely (over the internet) provide millions of people with email service (Gmail) than those millions could provide on their own with resources on their own premises. Take a look at Salesforce.com and see how they have grown to a giant by supplying their service ‘in the cloud’ (internet-based instead of on your desktop).