Google has a very specific view of the future of computing. It’s called “cloud” computing, a belief that most computing will sooner or later be done online. Typically, this includes everything currently done on your operating system. This allows you to access documents and data conveniently from any remote location running the cloud operating system. Think Google Documents, expanded exponentially.

But one of the many dangers in moving this direction is days like today. Google mail went down earlier this afternoon, bringing the productivity of many to a halt. This included GW students’ ability to access their university e-mail accounts. Luckily, GW staff utilizes the older Cmail system, but if GW continues to move in this direction – and with increased ease of programs like Google Documents, it is likely they will – it should keep these days in mind. More reliance on cloud computing means more risk.

This is not to say the idea of cloud computing is bad, or even that GW should avoid it. But imagine if Gmail hadn’t come up within a few hours – what if it had been a few days? The ease of cloud computing should not cloud the University’s vision when it comes to the security and continuity of its technology base.