The clouds are gathering, and IBM couldn't be happier.
In conjunction with the Georgia Institute of Technology and Ohio State University, Big Blue recently announced that it will create the Critical Enterprise Cloud Computing Services facility, a "prototype computing cloud that links data centers from the two institutions," according to an IBM statement.
The recent profusion of the term "cloud computing" has left some people wondering what's behind the marketing vapor. In the context of IBM's work, cloud computing is a virtualized data center with automated management of functions that once required hands-on attention from IT staff.
Through its joint efforts with researchers and students at the two schools, IBM is pursuing a twofold goal: using the university brain trust to identify and begin developing computing technology that it can eventually commercialize, and seeding the next generation of IT engineers with the skills needed to manipulate technology that baffles ordinary computer users.