ReadWriteCloud

Cisco is betting heavily on the network as the platform. We took a look at the role of the network in the emerging landscape of cloud computing as part one of analysis of "Will One Company be Dominant in Cloud Computing". We started with Cisco, since the cloud implies the network to float upon.

Like religion itself, Cisco is a company that evokes deep emotions. Many IT leaders believe in Cisco and bet their operations on the company. And to unbelievers, using Cisco gear is one of the deadly sins.

In a Microsoft video extolling its virtues, the narrator makes the point that marketing is difficult with Google Apps. It's far simpler with Microsoft Office.

So we find it deliciously ironic that Microsoft is marketing a number of anti-
Google Apps videos using Google's YouTube. Hmm...doesn't that defeat the point a bit?

In an effort to court enterprises, Google is moving full steam ahead with its developer certification program. This includes a directory of talent that is certified with Google's APIs and have successfully launched projects into production.

Opening its APIs to the world has been a big boon for Google's ambitions to be a hub of the worlds information. It has made it easy for developers to build solutions using Google Maps, Search, and other offerings. With this program the company is making it easier for businesses to find qualified developers.

Microsoft President Stephen Elop says the cloud has created a "constructive disruption," in the market, creating an opportunity to offer Microsoft Office on the Web at no cost.

It also looks like the cloud is disrupting Microsoft's pricing structure quite a bit. The issue: cloud computing may be the future but the margins will drop.

Alcatel-Lucent is launching a cloud-based ecosystem where developers build applications on enterprise API's that are distributed by service providers. The platform builds on the company's application suite announced in December.

The news points to the almost unstoppable wave of new development for the mobile market and the growing importance for enterprises to expose API's to developers so they may create applications that reach deeper into vertical markets.

The news also shows the surging value for application developers, arguably one of the most important communities for the enterprise and service providers to embrace.

Today we had the chance to get inside the head of one of the top entrepreneurs in cloud computing - a guy who also just happens to be an investor at one of the Valley's top firms. Satish Dharmaraj, former founder and CEO of Zimbra, spoke with us about the trends he is looking at in his role at Redpoint Ventures, a Silicon Valley venture firm. Redpoint recently closed a $400 million fund that is focusing on mobile, cloud computing and clean technology.

We wanted to ask Satish where the sweet spot is in cloud computing and share it with you - just in case you're starting a killer cloud venture today.

With each new milestone in technological evolution we've seen a company emerge as the clear leader. In the current landscape, we observe this happening in several key parts of the marketplace including networking, search and operating systems.

Cloud computing is a new disruptive force that makes us ask the question whether we'll see the future of the cloud dominated by a single company. In this multi-part series, we'll take a look at a handful companies and envision what the world might look like, if, in fact, they win it all. We'll also analyze what it will take for a new company to rise up and claim the leadership role in this chapter of computing.

More than 200 people responded to last week's poll: "Is a private cloud just a glorified data center?"

This week, our attention turns to the potential that the cloud computing market may become a far less diverse place as the laws of capitalism crunch out the lesser players.

Recently, SAP showed us its new, cloud-based enterprise collaboration service called 12Sprints. It embraces consumer services and activity streams correlating to the context of the business use, in particular collaboration among teams and groups.

Since that demo a few weeks ago, our views about the SAP service have changed a bit. In particular now that Google Buzz is part of the picture and conversations we have had recently with companies like Jive Software.

It's evident that the landscape is changing. 12Sprints, Jive Software and a host of other enterprise services have solidified the belief that the enterprise expects applications to be social. Enterprise vendors are hearing that pretty clearly from their customers.

Google is giving a small town in Oregon $100,000 for free Wi-Fi. It's a town called The Dalles - a community with an interesting significance for Google.

The Dalles is a city of 12,000 people along the Columbia River, about 80 miles east of Portland. Google owns a massive data center there. It's a key Google operation, that's powered by the cheap hydroelectricity that comes from a dam on the Columbia. Twin cooling towers stand four-stories high, keeping the servers from overheating as they continually crunch data and serve it back to millions of people online.

This data center in The Dalles is what helps make Google's cloud computing capabilities a reality. Sure, it's connected to data centers around the world. But this one has special significance, In some ways, it symbolizes the emergence of the cloud computing era.