Larry Ellison & Ed Zander at the Churchill Club 9.21.09

lol @ 44:45

Larry Ellison, inventor of the world's first database, is definitely spot on here. Cloud computing is nothing more than a stupid buzz word.

I think he spooked Zander a bit who chose not to let him elaborate when finally got to his real answer which was that cloud is a business model rather than a technology.

I appreciated the insight on the Sun acquisition, but I really enjoy the response to the question on Cloud Computing. Laughed my ass off.

Ed Zanders needs to learn to listen !!

I don't know, I think he answered it well. People have been storing data online for decades. I've stored documents I've worked on in my website in a locked location since 1999.

if anything "cloud computing" is just a marketing term for describing the maturity of the internet. Heck, how long has MS Visio used a "cloud" to describe the internet?

I guess "storing your data" was insufficiently precise. I wasn't referring to passive files accessible via ftp and rcp, but your "active" data, from your business databases to your email and medical records. Our digital "state" as people and companies is quickly moving away from our physical location and onto the network.

What do we lose and gain with this trend?

That question is very interesting to me and Larry should have something interesting to say about it, but he chose not to.

Ellison is afraid of cloud computing, plain and simple. His business model is built on software licenses, hefty maintenance charges, and customer lock-in. Cloud disrupts all of this, and Ellison knows this...

Ellison and Jobs seem to have similar personalities in a way. Computers make quite a few billionaires when you think about it

They are really good friends Jobs photographed Ellison's wedding