Can you believe that cloud is fifteen years old? Since the first Amazon AWS service launched to the public in 2004, cloud has driven a profound set of shifts in the way organizations run IT. We've seen cloud go through 2 major phases, and now the 3rd phase of cloud is approaching.

And you know that cloud evolves over time. From the rudimentary functionality of early Amazon and Microsoft efforts to today's globally distributed, almost ubiquitous clouds, it has undergone profound changes as technology has emerged and matured.

Since cloud emerged, we've seen at least 2 phases. The first phase began with caution and worry, where everyone was concerned about whether the technology was safe, secure, and reliable. In this phase, organizations used cloud carefully, for development, storage, or a few non-essential workloads, Costs were high and CIOs were skeptical.

The second phase was almost the opposite, with organizations from the federal government on down to small businesses, adopting cloud everywhere. Public cloud exploded in size, the first private clouds emerged, and organizations began to experience the upsides-and downsides-of cloud.  

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