Current forecast: Some sun, but cloudy most of the time
1 min read
I got shocked recently when I had to learn that a cloud based service I am using needs to shut down all of its operations. The service is free, so one might see it as nothing major, but it's one of the little helpers that makes life easier. The service helps you to synchronize bookmarks between different browsers and different PCs. So you don't need to worry about managing those any more, just save your bookmark once and you're done.
This experience showed me, how easily I got used to cloud based offers and the advantages they have. I really get nervous in the meantime, when I see e-mails flying around with documents attached, for review, collaboration and contribution from different team members, ending up with file names like '…_for review…', '…_for review_from Tom….', '…_for review _from Tom_with small changes from Mark….' etc. Good luck to the guy who needs to consolidate the different versions at the end! Isn't it much easier to use one centralized document, stored on a secure infrastructure that I don't need to setup and maintain, with automatic history tracking of the content so I can easily see how the content evolved? You can get all of this from different providers out there.
Let's translate this into the world of electronic design. Here, we don't just talk about a presentation that needs to be prepared. It's much more complex, involving several design files linked to each other in an intelligent way to build an application; different libraries which provide the atomic elements to create the design; output files needed for manufacturing; and links into procurement to assure the general availability of components. Sending files by e-mail generates a very high risk of failure. Yes, if you have teams to set up the internal infrastructure, you will manage lots of the risks. But what if you are a small team? Or a team spread around the world? I am currently in contact with a team called 'Part-Time-Scientists' who are an official participant of the Google Lunar X PRIZE. The goal is to send a rover to the moon and drive around – not a small project to manage. The team is spread across the globe and I wonder how they should manage this project without living in the cloud…
BTW, the service I mentioned in the beginning is very likely going to survive.
Happy End.
