Socially unresting the cloud

Following on from my article that looked at the effects that a government ordered shut down of the internet could have on cloud services hosted in that county (and the effect on companies that rely on that cloud service).

A further issue with cloud computing could materialise; again during periods of social unrest (especially prolonged periods such as what is being encountered currently in Libya), there is a risk of looting and general lawlessness.  Also interruption can be experienced with utilities such as telecoms and power.

This is a lot like the effects experienced by a country going through the post war phase (Iraq 2003 is an ideal example), where looting and damage to local infrastructure caused mass disruption.  If this occurred in a country where cloud providers based their resource then the inherent security and infrastructure issues could place organisations with no real geographic link to the country at real risk.

Although how organisations should control the risk is not clear, would most companies enquire about the geographic location of the cloud providers equipment as part of the contract/procurement process?  Also should a responsible cloud provider apply due diligence and inform customers when their service is at risk in this way?

Research struggles to find any cloud providers that have based their infrastructure in countries that have experienced the recent social unrest.  So it is not clear if the risk has materialised, although risks in this case are exactly that.  They are events that could happen and the effects of which would be negative.

Spotify on the blackberry please!

Spotify is a great cloud based music service which offers free (although with advertising) through a Pc based client, for those willing to pay for the "Premium service" the adverts can be removed and music can also to be streamed to your compatible mobile device "have a Spotify-friendly phone. iPhone, Android, Windows Phone, Symbian and Palm are all in the gang.".

 

Anyone else notice the glaring omission?  Surely Blackberry users like music and would benefit from an inexpensive client being developed.  I'm sure blackberries app stored (app world) isn't as difficult to get apps authorised as the iPhones app store.

Come on Spotify develop a client for the Blackberry, no prizes for what phone I use!

*UPDATE* Spotify contacted me, it seems a little non-comittal!

"We are constantly developing new versions of Spotify so it's not impossible that a version for your phone would turn up. Unfortunately, I don't have any information though on if/when this could be available."

Activision making cuts to its music genre

Activision have recently released a press release confirming that there has been a noticeable decline in the popularity of music games and as a result will be disbanding any further development on the Guitar Hero series. 

"At the same time, due to continued declines in the music genre, the company will disband Activision Publishing's Guitar Hero business unit and discontinue development on its Guitar Hero game for 2011."  

 These decisions are based on the desire to focus on the greatest opportunities that the company currently has to create the world's best interactive entertainment experiences."

 Source Activision Press Release

This could also mean that DJ hero could be part of this change, which wouldn't be surprising given its lack of success, which can be measured by the number of surplus units/cut price offers in shops.

Although its been a genre that has soared in popularity, with consumers spending sometimes upto £150 to get the game and instruments, I am sure Activision and the others have done well out of it.