Although our IT is always state-of-the-art, many terms for digital innovations are older than one might assume. Take, for example, the term „meme“ – a cartoon, video, or similar file – which gained great popularity on the internet. However, as early as 1976, „meme“ was used to describe cultural trends.
Also „cloud computing“has a long history, dating back to around 1950 when the term was used – completely independently of data that can be accessed independently of end devices.
The history of the cloud
Long before computer technology found its place in private homes, the then-enormous mainframes were called „clouds“. These were located within the processors and hard drives of the computer machines.
Then, in the 90s, the idea of a new cloud emerged. The beginnings of Virtual Private Networks managed to individually balance server capacities and connect multiple servers in a cloud. With internet computing power, these „clouds“ could now be made available. At the time, however, the ability to use computers without having them physically in front of you was often dismissed as superfluous. This thinking, of making a product out of a mistake, continues to this day in the reservations against the cloud.
In 1996, the idea of the cloud as we know it emerged. Back then, the managing director of an American computer manufacturer came up with the idea that it might be possible to move software to the internet.
The term cloud was also used repeatedly in other Internet-related contexts at this time. The company NetCentric even tried to patent the term. As did DELL a few years later.
Google & Amazon make the difference
The „cloud“ only found its modern popularity when Google and Amazon Ten years later, they used the term for their marketing. An example is Amazon's „Elastic Compute Cloud“ from 2006. However, Google CEO Eric Schmidt had mentioned the word „cloud computing“ just a few weeks earlier at a conference. It was claimed at the time that this was a deliberate move against Amazon.
The term „cloud“ already has a considerable history behind it. Yet, it is at times used very ambiguously to describe a wide variety of services and applications on the internet. This diversity is perhaps why it hasn't yet found a place in the Duden dictionary. A little nebulous, this cloud.
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