Before we depend on the cloud, maybe it better be more like the airlines
I’m just back from an amazing conference - the Microsoft Global Chief Information Officer Summit in Seattle. Which, since I’m based on the East Coast, involved a rather long couple of flights. Now, today, nobody has very much nice to say about airlines, but I’ve always found it remarkable that even amidst the stresses facing the industry, we takes its safety for granted. Gripe, gripe, gripe, yes, but we’re willing to trust our lives to an industry that is widely disliked by so many.
So why is flying so safe? Because the industry has made huge investments in making sure that mistakes don’t get repeated, that the causes for accidents are understood, and that enough resources are put into redundancy, engineering and creating wide margins for error. Indeed, pilots are even rewarded for reporting problems.
Which brings me to the future of so-called ‘cloud’ computing. Google has recently blown it yet again when its contact database went down, stranding users who depend on access to the information. Not too long ago, the gmail service went down as well. I would argue that before companies and individuals trust their digital lives to the so-called ‘cloud’ that they are going to have to get just as reliable and just as focused on preventing disasters as the airlines. And there doesn’t seem to be a push in that direction, at least yet.
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- Posted: Saturday, September 26, 2009
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Rita
An interesting link between air travel and the cloud and thus a piece of history to share. One many might recall.
In the early days of commercial air travel there were a variety of problematic impediments to its adoption. The history of the De Havilland Comet is a case in point. The Comet was an unqualified success and, by all appearances, Great Britain was poised to dominate commercial aviation for the next forty years. As the editor of American Aviation Magazine said, “Whether we like it or not, the British are giving the U.S. a drubbing in jet transport.” And then the accidents began resulting in loss of life and tragedy. The rest is history.
De Havilland’s testing of the Comet, while still in its design phase, was inadequate. They had limited the new cabin to static testing alone, meaning they had subjected the cabin to pressurization, but neglected to add in the effects of motion, such as flexing of the airframe and wings. No one at de Havilland had anticipated the effects on the airframe of an airliner that would climb to altitude as quickly as the jet-powered Comet. Like the Titanic forty years earlier, the Comet suffered design flaws that sealed its fate before its first flight. It would be four full years before the Comet would be re-engineered sufficiently to once again take to the skies. But by then it was too late. The Boeing 707 had already gone into service. The newer 707 could carry twice as many passengers as the Comet and had a greater range. The word’s airlines began ordering 707s and the Comet, along with its maker, were doomed to oblivion. The 707 went on to become one of the safest, most successful airliners of all time.
As your writings and lectures demonstrate, its the manner in which organizations function that either anticipate great risks in experimentation and adopt accordingly or extrapolate despite exploring “terra incognita”. For those adopting Cloud solutions; should they not anticipate the problematic realities of their adoption ? Should they not be more careful and appropriate in their risk management ? Yes they should and the Comet bears that out.
What a great story - one that I was not familiar with. Thanks so much for posting it.
I was so impressed and glad to see your success story. Your determination and desire is very inspiring and I wish you all the continued success. Good stuff. I very very enjoy to reading your post.
The company have a huge care about its worker. they are doing a lot for their staffs. its really interesting.
Pilots are even rewarded for reporting problems. Its very true.
determination and desire is very inspiring and I wish you all the continued success. Good stuff. I very very enjoy to reading your post.
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