The reaction of many in IT to cloud computing is eerily similar to initial responses by similarly placed people in regard to open-source software. One can view this latest set of reactions as a farcical repeat after the initial open-source struggle-and one can predict a repeat of the outcome, as cloud computing is undoubtedly going to emerge successful, just as open source did.

You may not remember the angst of the early- to mid-2000s, when the raged hot and heavy. Many times I witnessed IT professionals vociferously denigrate open source in favor of established proprietary vendors. I heard endless arguments about the quality disadvantages of open source, the lack of "professional ability" among open-source developers, the absolute requirement that a large company stand behind a software component used in a corporate system, the dangers of lack of indemnification, and on and on. According to large numbers of IT organization staff, open source was a toy, fine for unimportant hobby systems, but woefully inadequate for "real" corporate IT applications.

From the Vault: The Myths of Open Source

It was a field day for the IT industry-and in the end, all of that sturm and drang came to nothing. Open source triumphed. Corporate systems today routinely include a range of open-source components as a matter of course. One can argue that most of the new software components that corporations are using are, in fact, open source. I would even argue that, today, most of the innovation in infrastructure software is occurring in open-source projects, not proprietary products.

In Due Time, Cloud Computing Will Catch On, Too