@Joe_Fay
Quote: "The cloud has shown us that consumption-based models work."
Quote: "So surely it makes more sense to put the responsibility on someone else..."
Both these quotes imply that users of computing can subcontract some (maybe all) of the responsibility for user activity to someone else.
Ask yourself a couple of questions:
- Who is responsible for data management, data security, backups? Answer -- "the user".
- Who is responsible for application availability? Answer -- "the user".
The ultimate responsibility for the use of an application and its data rests with the end user. In the old days, the user had some sort of face-to-face relationship with an IT organisation, and the subcontracting of specific tasks (availability, data security, backups) to the IT organisation had clearly delineated boundaries. Today, if the user subcontracts these things to a "cloud" supplier, the relationship (and the the technology) is MUCH more "cloudy".
Just look at the MegaUpload farago. Just think for a minute about "cloud": user equipment, network supplier(s), cloud suppliers -- all these have to be reliable for an end user to get a reliable service. If the user chooses "on premises" service, at least there's someone to hold accountable. It's seems clear that this is NOT true in the "cloud".
I'd love to hear stories which show that "cloud" is ALL OF: cheaper, more reliable, more resilient, more flexible, more secure.......than traditional arrangements.