To be sure, cloud computing has both a technical and a business dimension. Since the term is not tied a technical protocol or specification, one can expect different vendors to try to stretch the definition of a buzzword that is “in play” to include their offerings. These are the vendors who just join in the hype for the bandwagon effect. At the same time, other vendors with fairly narrow offerings will try to position themselves as “purists.” They want to limit the definitions so that their offerings receive the most attention and benefit.

Where I think the real attention should be paid is on the value delivered. Does cloud computing deliver value? Your story is a great example of how it can not only deliver value but break down walls. Thanks for sharing this story that stretches from the horn of Africa to the heart of Europe… and beyond.

This will cannibalize some partner of existing middleware platform revenues. But, revenues will not only be shifted into subscriptions, they actually decline. Forrester Clients can download the full market sizing model and adjust parameters due to their own business model here: http://www.forrester.com/rb/Research/platform-as-a-service_market_sizing/q/id/47483/t/2