You make all good points, however I think there remains barrier to Cloud computing growing beyond current point SaaS solutions and a platform for startups. IT wants and needs the control to deliver mission critical and custom applications. This does not mean however that they need to own and manage the underlying hardware.
If Cloud providers could provide IT the ability to architect the solution they need and the correct administrative control to configure networks, deliver apps, secure environments, plus reboot, etc, then some of the remaining barriers to Cloud computing would be eliminated.

http://TechInstigator.com

I read the article hoping to find a new revelation with this thing that we call "cloud computing", I think we have trodden down the path of what I call "virtual" innovation when we have failed to create anything of significant value the last few years in terms of computing innovation and have resorted to coming up with fancy and confusing terms for the SOSO (Same Old Same Old)!!

Today, one can argue that everybody one way or another uses cloud computing the moment you double click your browser, but I am sure for the "cloud" gurus, they have to split hair and say that somehow the "cloud" is something totally new. When we recast the old mainframe architectures with terms like "cloud", "fabric", "virtual", etc, I feel it is better to let this dog lie.

Today, infra is not "really" the problem, it has matured far beyond our wildest imagination but my question is if your programmer still is clueless on how to write an efficient SQL then how much can you gloat about your sophisticated infrastructure. To put it another way, even with all the "virtual" and "cloud" worlds being deployed and ready, what good is it when applications and their hordes of programmers still go about writing and deploying code the SOSO way! Our applications are not ready even if the infrastructure is for this sort of thing to really make an impact.

Agree with Manjo - Cloud Computing isnt driven by corporate needs or innovative engineering break throughs but marketing. At this point i cant even see any corporte customer thinking of spending for IT needs.

Overall Cloud Computing isnt new. Isnt this the same as IBMs shared mainframe services from the 1950s-1960s ?

And as for corporations maintaining their own Software and Hardware!
Would you park all your confidential corporate documentations from emails, technical data, to unpublished financial statements somewhere where you have no control?

ARE YOU CRAZY!

Sure Facebook and some Flicker is fine, but it wont pay the bills to cover the rent on your office. Cloud computing is driven Marketing hype and not Engineering innovation and has no finacial proof it can actual work.