pTools - System6 in the Cloud!

Finally we've released the new version of pTools - System6 - for Cloud Computing. I am caught between feelings of, on the one hand elation because Cloud computing is the biggest thing in technology for ten years, and on the other hand depression because maybe Cloud is no more than the latest industry prefix! Remember ASP, Server Farms, Managed Services, SaaS? Isn't Cloud just the same? No. Cloud is something truly different. It's a quantum shift in how technology is delivered. Cloud makes it possible to deliver a vast array of technology to a person in the same way that electricity allows you to power an infinite number of home appliances at the flick of a switch. You don't need your own servers, host provider, server racks, software, firewalls, routers, back-up, disaster recovery, connectivity and security system. You just turn on the system and your content is published. You don't need your own coal mine, steam turbine, power plant, electricity sub-station and underground cabling. You just plug in the kettle and the water boils.

But there are challenges. Powerful WCM can be complex. As technology becomes more immediate then the need for simplicity increases. In a situation where you have weeks or months to install and deploy a technology then there is plenty of time to train people and to help them get comfortable with your software. But when they can sign-up and log-on to the software in a matter of moments then they can't possibly consume highly complex functions from the word go. I am not sure how this can be resolved and what impact it will have on pTools CMS but I do know it's a challenge that has to be faced and mastered. In many ways it is the beginning of a completely new way of delivering technology, and a completely new way of delivering powerful pTools CMS capability to our customers.