16.17. Disadvantages

Here is a summary of the main disadvantages of Windows Azure and cloud computing:

• Cloud computing has many potential security issues that may make it unsuitable for some applications. You can obviously not be sure who has access to data and cannot ensure true deletion.

• There are governance/data protection issues with data being held around the world. Microsoft will in the future allow you to specify the hosting location.

• There is poor debugging and logging support for deployed applications.

• It is untested compared to Google and Amazon's offerings.

• You have less control.

• Pricing could and likely will change over years.

• How are you going to import large amounts of data?

• You're locked in to a vendor. Although unlikely, Microsoft could terminate the service in the future; where would this leave you?

• The learning curve is steeper.

• Note: With regard to security concerns, it is worth keeping an eye on developments in a field known as homomorphic encryption. This could allow data to be encrypted in such a way that calculations can be conducted on it without unencrypting it. Recently Craig Gentry at IBM made advances in this area: www.forbes.com/forbes/2009/0713/breakthroughs-privacy-super-secret-encryption.html.