To put that in perspective, that is about 400% faster than the internal bus connections9 (the key internal connectivity within server computers) of the typical big servers of the early 1980s. Also as you are reading this, a 10 Mbps wired connection for the home or office will average less than $50 per month in the United States, and even less than that in many parts of the world. Mainstream mobile wireless (for those ubiquitous ‘‘slab of glass’’ mobile devices that make accessing all these services so pleasant) speeds will be closer to 7 Mbps, at the cost of only a modest part of the typical monthly cell phone budget.

Nothing in cloud computing has any potential to repeal the laws of physics—the speed of light remains the speed of light—so consequently delays in transmitting data (known in geek speak as latency) can become a real problem in delivering a quality service. That is why a sophisticated cloud strategy takes into account physical location, and provides controllable, relatively transparent mechanisms for staging data closer to where it is needed. In any case, the bottom line is that while in one sense cloudbased services are inherently global, in another sense the best will know how to make informed decisions to minimize the negative impacts of geographic distance.

6. Some claim actual location independence, but this is unrealistic as it ignores the technical realities that stem from the laws of physics. The delays that stem from distance will always lead to a need to consider location, at least for many applications. 7. That Southwest faces challenges is primarily due to other factors, including some that derive from its very success. Of course, a full discussion of their circumstances is outside the scope of this book. 8. Charrington, ‘‘Cloud Computing for Government Featuring Federal Express,’’ CloudPulse Blog, August 12, 2009.