The Genesis of Cloud Computing: The Early Beginnings (Part 1)

We are in the age of cloud computing. And we do not even fully understand what that means. We are still at the threshold of this new era and the possibilities are endless. Not many enterprises have truly migrated to the cloud despite its apparent benefits as it still is a rather complex concept. So it pays to trace its origin to help us understand it.

Birth of a concept

In the 1950s, John McCarthy, the computer scientist who is credited to have invented the term “AI” or “Artificial Intelligence,” also came up with the theory of utility computing known as “time-sharing” of centralized mainframe computers.

Those were the times when computing time cost a fortune, to the tune of millions of dollars, that users like much smaller companies had to find ways to share computer time to cut computing expenses and avoid investing in a large mainframe computer. This concept was very akin to what we know as cloud computing today.

Development of a concept

Then, in the 1960s and ’70s, the idea of service bureaus emerged, which allowed users to share these very expensive computers. The protocol was designed to be all connected by a cable, making it expensive and impractical. It did not take off.

Soon, as computers started to become more compact and more energy efficient, the Defense Department’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency or DARPA, pioneered a networking system called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) that later became the Internet as we know it today.

And the revolution that changed the world

In the late 1970s, there was the revolution of the personal computer, spearheaded by Apple Computer’s Apple II in 1977. The most iconic launch of the Macintosh in 1984, which introduced the graphical user interface, the mouse, and the window and folders concept of organizing data ushered in a new way of computing. It had applications such as MacWrite, MacPaint and more importantly, VisiCalc as well as storage devices that revolutionized computing at a fraction of the cost of those massive computers of decades before.

Because of these, IBM eventually shifted their focus to personal computers and there were many counterparts since then.  Eventually, soon there was no more need for McCarthy’s time-sharing idea because everybody could own computers. At least not until the next few years…

As we can see, the early years of cloud computing are very much tied up with the history of computers and the internet. The idea itself predates both innovations. So it was well worth the time to begin our journey there. Stay tuned for Part 2 of this post as we visit the pivotal years of the development of the concept of cloud computing. In the meantime, here’s a snippet of our own foray into the cloud…

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