If the United States wants jobs then it needs to learn Cloud Economics 101. Here are a couple of headlines that caught my eye.
“Cloud computing to create one lakh jobs in India” http://gadgets.ndtv.com/shownews.aspx?id=GADEN20110180523&Sec=NEWS&nid=120643
“U.S. to Close 800 Computer Data Centers”
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/20/technology/us-to-close-800-computer-data-centers.html?_r=1
On one hand you have the people in India looking at cloud computing as a resource to bring more jobs to that nation. On the other hand you have the Americans lamenting about the loss of jobs to the cloud. Two opposites of the spectrum and two very different view points about the advantages of cloud computing. We also see from the two articles that Indians are hungrier for the jobs that the cloud might provide. Americans tend to look at the negative side of the cloud and see the loss of jobs. So how do Americans compete with their Indian counter parts? Do as the Indians do and look at the cloud as an opportunity. Another lesson that we Americans have to learn is that we live in a global market place and if we want the jobs that the Indians want from the advantages that the cloud offers then we have to be priced accordingly. Let me simplify this further. We need to offer not only better product and services that are better than any company could get from India but that have to be cheaper. If they are not cheaper then the product or service has to be really spectacular that no company would go to India to get. Allow me to further state that the loss of federal jobs because of the closure of the data center will benefit the economy in other ways not already stated. Those federal employees’ who loose their jobs can now turn their attention to the marketplace and place for their next job. They in effect become more profitable for the over all economy because now they might bring to the market a skill set that a profit making enterprise might use that would generate more income. This in effect generates more tax revenue, that the government can then collect in the various forms of taxation. So with this current line of thinking in mind someone might think that it would be a good thing if federal government employee’s lost their jobs. In the short term no as those employee’s transition from the public sector to the private sector. But over the long term as those former government employee’s found profitable jobs absolutely it would be a good thing. Thus if Americans want jobs then we need to start looking at the cloud as the Indians do, as a job maker and not a job destroyers. I smell opportunities in the cloud do you?
Surfs up!........................Eric
