Cloudonomics: The Business Value of Cloud Computing, + Website

Innovation and Democratization

We’ve covered a variety of cost-oriented benefits, but there is a broader context of relevance. As related earlier, John Dillon, chief executive of Engine Yard, pointed out that PaaS enables experimentation and “fast failure.”10 Although some think failure is bad, it is a necessary ingredient in learning and adaptation. The faster the failure, the sooner the success. Dillon further observed that “a progressive CIO [chief information officer] will allow experimentation; a reactionary one will be subject to end runs. The latter will create animosity instead of awareness and constructive engagement.”

Such an approach is not restricted to just high-tech start-ups but also involves the entrepreneurially minded within established companies. Dillon drew parallels with the long-tail model of content enabled by e-tailers such as Amazon.com, pointing out that this democratization of IT development enables a long tail of IT.

Not that long ago, the creation of a professional graphics presentation required going to the graphics department and engaging professional artists to design and then print the results onto slides. Getting a document printed required a trip to the corporate print center. PCs, PowerPoint, and personal printers democratized graphics; PaaS is democratizing software creation.

Such innovation is not restricted to the boundaries of the firm. Barbara van Schewick, an associate professor of law at Stanford Law School, argued that technical architecture ...