Cloud Computing and Societal Health 19th May 2011

There is a compelling case for organisations to rationalise their software usage and buy licences as they are needed rather than as one-time purchases for multiple platforms on which many of the programs may never be used. From the supplier’s perspective it will be easier to maintain the software when it remains under their sole control. In many ways this move toward ‘Cloud Computing’, where we access and use programs over the internet, reflects the existing use of social media like Facebook, LinkedIn etc where we regularly share data among communication groups. What are the longer term implications of this open cyberspace society?

For me this use of technology offers a curious blend of autocracy and democracy. From an autocratic perspective we are entrusting personal or corporate information into the hands of a few suppliers to whom we are beholden for security and continuation of access. As sole suppliers of favoured programmes they are automatically an established monopoly with the power to cripple our corporate communications or hold personal information indefinitely and not necessarily securely. From the democratic perspective, social media have ushered in new levels of transparency that challenges the status quo and is even bringing down governments.

Open communication ensures that the weak have a voice as never before and their compliance can no longer be assumed or imposed. This results in a more fluid environment of constant change rather than allowing stresses to build until seismic and destabilising forces are unleashed. It also allows younger people to become personally invested in politics because they witness the power of their democratic engagement.

Since the internet is now freely available, and access to it is progressively accepted as a human right,  there is an even greater need for defined shared values within organisations whose staff communicate with their publics. Rather than imposing strict controls on external communications, organisations need to make greater efforts to identify and socialise their value sets so that their workforce are fully invested and radiate the corporate identity in every communication.

The internet era is firmly established and socially the genie will never go back in the bottle but we are learning that carelessness in cyberspace is similar to unprotected sex. Personal data liberally shared on the net raises the spectre of future problems of identity theft, unemployment or social exclusion. Corporate defences must be multilayered as in the human body. In addition to a well maintained firewall, or protective skin, there must be a voluntary code of discipline in communications, DNA repair, and a clear policy governing internet use – white blood cells.

While there is a natural suspicion toward a cloud provider that may seek to dominate the market, limit choice and control the flow of information, there is also a realisation of the dangers for personal security from unrestricted access, absence of protocol and naivety in communication. Maturing use of the internet will cause new multilayered and self-regulated systems of protection to become established so that this powerful medium can serve as mankind’s nervous system.