I wrote a thesis on this a few years back…I like Nick Carr’s definition and his analogy with electricity. Cloud computing is really about providing (resources) software, services and arguably even infrastructure completely ubiquitously. To realise the full benefits of cloud computing as a user I need/demand that my resources are available and relevant anywhere and at anytime…which means that cloud computing can’t just be about the internet. Why? Because internet availability is not completely ubiquitous (yet). The second issue is cost which if you look at Nick’s analogy with electricity becomes even more important.

Electricity providers deliver close to 100% availability of service and for the most part at a price that users are comfortable paying for…Therefore the real benefits of cloud computing come when providers can deliver both price and QoS leadership and deliver it to their users.

This is interesting as it in some ways it goes against the grain of traditional thinkers such as Porter.

Though, you could post your thoughts in a nice video for all of us??