A Cloud for a Cloud

Once again people find themselves stranded, away from their home, family and work, due to the cloud of volcanic ash that keeps on hovering over the UK and Western Europe.

(Image link from Telegraph.co.uk)

Many companies who have sent their employees overseas for a business trip face more than just greater travel expenses due to the unplanned visit extension (in some cases even paying high volcanic premium). They also face lost work days of those employees. For most employees those lost workdays costs the company much more than the extra nights at the hotel and the employees Per Diem.

"Be stirring as the time; be fire with fire; Threaten the threatener and outface the brow Of bragging horror" (The Life and Death of King John, William Shakespeare)

Like fighting fire with fire, we find ourselves fighting cloud with cloud.

Cloud computing enables employees remain active both socially and professionally at anytime, anywhere, as long as there is electricity and internet connection.

The already mundane cloud computing software and technologies, such as email, IM, VoiP, and social networks enable people to maintain, to some extent, their online routine even when stranded away from home.

Companies that consume their business applications in the form of SaaS, are able to get their employees working and contributing even when they are far away from the office.

Companies that were wise enough to have also their internal systems available as rich internet applications (RIA) on a private cloud are able to get their employees fully engaged in the company's daily routine while sitting in their hotel room or in a coffee shop.

Business continuity is very much dependant not only on the servers being operational 24X7 but also on one's flight back home. Extending the reach of the companies' IT system through cloud based computing mitigates the risks of cloud dependent commuting.