Calling out the Cloudwashers

cloud

pg” alt=”” width=”300″ height=”208″ />Over the past year, the term “cloud” has become such an overused term to the point that when placed in the description of any type of technological product, it causes the masses to flock for purchasing. This practice has become widespread to the point that the industry has coined the term “cloudwashing” for when a product improperly adopts the cloud label.

Additionally, cloud technology company Apprio held the first ever Washies which is an award focused on calling out the worst cloudwashing offenders. After a public vote during November, the results have been announced and the results are unsurprisingly fitting for the industry.

The Washers

  • The biggest overall washer – Oracle: for their Extralogic box. Essentially a hardware/software device to “provide cloud infrastructure in one stop.” In reality the system is simply a glorified mainframe with all the required software pre-configured.
  • The worst case of cloud advertising – Microsoft: for their “To the cloud!” Television ad series which illustrates consumers and professionals in various dire circumstances, then finding the solution in “the cloud” which as shown in the commercials simply the internet. In particular the main commercial is the one starring two customers stuck in an airport.
    It should be noted that Microsoft still has plenty of valid cloud offerings, such as their Azure platform and this award was issued purely for their horrible ad campaign.
  • The most cloud washed statement – Larry Ellison (CEO of Oracle) and Oracle: for proclaiming that “…we’ve redefined cloud computing to include everything that we already do.” A statement well said considering how the Oracle Extralogic box is essentially a mainframe with the cloud sticker stuck right on it.
  • The biggest personal cloud washer Larry Ellison: for launching a social media campaign just to win The Washies, and also creating a bot to vote for him in the polls.
  • The most enthusiastic use for the word cloud – Salesforce.com: Unsurprisingly to many in the business world, “overusing” does little justice to describe the use of “cloud” in the SalesForce family. This award however is not meant to bash their products but rather the marketing campaigns from Salesforce which rarely go for more than a few sentences without saying “cloud.”

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