Cloud Computing for CIOs: Understanding the Innovation Level of a Technology

To manage Technology in a good manner, CIOs need to understand what type of Technology they deal with. This is also very important when it comes to Cloud Computing. We have different technology topics and levels with Cloud Computing such as Software as a Service, Platform as a Service and Infrastructure as a Service. But how mature and how advanced is a technology? To figure that out, we have 4 different technology types.
Basic Technology
The first technology type is called “basic technology”. This means that it is a technology that has been around for a while, is very mature. However, there is only very little to almost no innovation level involved. Technologies associated with Cloud Computing usually don’t fall in this type of technology since there is still a lot of innovation going on with Cloud Computing. However, we could call Virtualization a basic technology.
Key Technology
Next, there is the “key technology”. This technology type also refers to an existing technology, but with a lot of innovation in going on in this area. We could call “Software as a Serivce (SaaS)” a key technology. It is possible to use key technologies in Enterprises.
Pacemaker Technology
We call a technology type a “Pacemaker Technology” if the technology is still evolving and we expect to have a high level of innovation affiliated with it. A pacemaker technology might change quickly and this means that you have to prepare for that. Infrastructure as a Service is currently somewhere between a Key Technology and a Pacemaker Technology. The same applies to Platform as a Service. They are to “young” to be called a Key Technology but also somewhat too mature to be called a Pacemaker Technology.
Future Technology
A future technology is a technology that is not yet here. We can call a technology a future technology if it is about to arrive within the next few years. There is nothing like that in Cloud Computing. Cloud Computing is not a future technology, it is a present technology. We could define LTE a future technology. It will come in the next years, but it is not available for the “critical mass” yet. A future technology will still change a lot. If we look at LTE right now, we can clearly see that there are no real standards available.