Cloud Computing - The future

The advent of modern day web applications has begun with the introduction of Ajax. Earlier in the early nineties, all the data had to be processed at server and each resultant web page was delivered to the client as a static document. That was until Netscape introduced JavaScript, a client-sided scripting language, which added some dynamic elements to the user interface. A plug-in by macromedia called Flash Player, which is based on vector animation, enabled interactions on the client side through scripting. But it was not until the term Ajax (for ‘Asynchronous JavaScript and XML’) was coined, an increase in dynamic or interactive interfaces took place and applications like Gmail started to made client side more and more interactive. Google primarily pioneered this change with a variety of web applications like Google Docs, Gmail, Picasa, Google Maps et al. and with the introduction of their own browser Google Chrome, they emphasized the need for the rest to adapt to the changing scenario.

Let’s now give a thought to what the future might have in store for us and for this we’ll have to consider three things:
Cloud Computing – which is computing, via the Internet, that broadly shares computer resources instead of using software or storage on a local PC. This ‘Wikipedia’ definition is self-explanatory.
But for the sake of elaboration, let’s consider Google Docs. Google takes care of the entire Infrastructure and provides us a Platform through the Internet to access the Web Application. A user need not worry about the storage, software installation or hardware compatibility etc.
Web Applications – Due to the above mentioned reasons, there has been a dramatic increase in the quality and quantity of the web applications, most of them free and secure to access, during the last five years or so. Google Docs acts almost exactly like any of our office application and all we need to use it is a web browser and a personal computer system or any portable device that is capable of running a web browser. There has been a steady competition developing between the Desktop and Web Apps, a Visible split has been recorded among the users and it can be considered as a Paradigm Shift towards the latter.
Connectivity – The wired and wireless connectivity has improved manifold in terms of speed and security during the past few years. With better and faster Internet access combined with cheaper Memory, this has become a hot prospect in the industry. In fact, Google is planning to launch ultra-high speed Internet connections of over 1Gbps across a few trial locations this month in the US as part of an experimental study.
All the above considerations will lead to an important conclusion. We are now part of a phase transition. Most of the desktop applications we take for granted will soon be passe as once had been when hotmail took over the world.
There can be a day when your desktop will be full of shortcuts to web application links and the most important software, and maybe the only useful one, installed is a web browser. Be prepared for that.