Cloud and the Utility Meter Analogy

The "home utility" analogy is often used to explain Cloud Computing. For example, most people do not have an electricity generator in their house, and even if they do, they do not run it all the time. Instead, they rely on an external provider for electricity. In fact, I have often heard this analogy used by Cloud providers themselves: when asked "Why should I use your hosted services?", they ask back "Do you run an electricity generator in your house?".

But consider metering. For home utilities, meters are provided locally. Customers can view the meter reading and compare it to bills. This is not the case with Cloud Service Providers. What is needed is an on-premises broker in order to monitor the outbound connections and to lay down an audit trail.

For more on Cloud Metering, check out this EbizQ article.