• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Corporate America has been draining the world's water. Matt Damon's new campaign calls on Gap, Starbucks, and Amazon to help give it back

2

When SpaceX starts trading, some 'shareholders' will discover they own nothing at all

3

Analysts expected oil to surge above $200 but China has quietly kept prices half of that—and can’t for much longer

1

Corporate America has been draining the world's water. Matt Damon's new campaign calls on Gap, Starbucks, and Amazon to help give it back

2

When SpaceX starts trading, some 'shareholders' will discover they own nothing at all

3

Analysts expected oil to surge above $200 but China has quietly kept prices half of that—and can’t for much longer
TechFortune 500

Here Are 5 Cloud Tech Lessons You Need to Know This Week

Barb Darrow
By
Barb Darrow
Barb Darrow
Down Arrow Button Icon
Barb Darrow
By
Barb Darrow
Barb Darrow
Down Arrow Button Icon
November 10, 2016, 11:40 AM ET
470621983
Sharks floating in cloudsJohn Lund/ Getty Images/ Blend Images

More and more corporate data and software now runs in the cloud, meaning outside a business’s own data centers. Software that once ran on internal servers has pretty much flown the coop. If your company uses Salesforce.com, Dropbox, or Microsoft Office 365, you’re part of the great cloud generation.

Ideally, you won’t notice the massive, tectonic change underlying this shift from on-premises to cloud. But sometimes, alas, you will.

As was the case with the recent distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack that took down Dyn’s domain name services (DNS), which blocked many Internet users on the Eastern Seaboard from their favorite applications. And it wasn’t just Twitter (TWTR), Netflix (NFLX), and Reddit, but also more business-focused applications from Github, Zendesk (ZEN), Zoho, Box (BOX), and other services. (For further information, Gizmodo complied a comprehensive list.)

So ten years into this massive tech migration, what have we learned? Here are some takeaways from tech leaders who spoke at the Structure Conference this week in San Francisco.

The Companies You Depend Upon Depend Upon Others

The use of applications from Salesforce (CRM), Microsoft (MSFT), and other companies that stream services over the Internet means you are dependent not only on those vendors, but on their partners as well.

It wasn’t Box’s fault that Dyn went down, but the lesson here is those big suppliers need to use more than one domain name service, said Lance Crosby, co-founder and CEO of Stackpath, a security startup. His company did not use Dyn, but it was hugely impacted by what happened to Dyn.

To be fair, Dyn recovered fairly quickly given the sheer size of the attack, which reportedly relied on millions of connected devices—most of which either were not password-protected or used factory default settings. But this was a very bad portent of things to come, said Crosby, who warned that the Internet is becoming a very dangerous place.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Within a few years, it could become unusable, he predicted. “You’ll connect to the Internet only as long as it takes to transact business and immediately disconnect,” he said. That, clearly, is not the way we use the Internet now.

Don’t Forget the Dark Side of Disruption

Cloud services—including infrastructure from Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, and Google—can cut costs for tech companies and make them more flexible. But all those productivity gains impact others in negative ways. The people who used to reconfigure and maintain all those traditional server rooms and data centers are in less demand now. Automation means fewer people are needed for mundane tasks

Joyent chief technology officer Brian Cantrill pointed out that the impact of technology on people helped drive voters to Donald Trump. Cantrill’s post-election night talk outlined how those who are displaced by automation are not longer taking these huge changes lying down. As more jobs in healthcare, education, and transportation become automated out of existence, there will be more disaffected, under-, or unemployed people on the street. If they are not retrained for other jobs, that means trouble not only for these citizens, but also for businesses looking to sell to them.

Some Things Never Change

There were the usual arguments and debates over whether moving data and software to AWS, Microsoft Azure, or some other public cloud is always the cheapest, best option. For uneven, “spiky” workloads that change by the week, day, or hour, it makes sense to use flexible public cloud services because customers pay only for what they use. Why buy a pricey server that you have to power, maintain, and upgrade yourself if you use 10% of its capacity 90% of the time?

But for stable production workloads, it can be cheaper to run your own data center, skeptics continue to insist. One Structure attendee, who did not identify himself, asked AWS product strategy general manager Matt Wood about this. The questioner said that for a big stable set of tasks, it can be four times cheaper to run in-house versus AWS. The questioner’s contention is backed up by the fact that Dropbox, which relied heavily on AWS to store millions of customer files, has moved 90% of that work into its own data centers. Wood offered to go over the math with the questioner, and the session ended.

https://twitter.com/tomkrazit/status/796414504141656064

Risk-Averse Companies Are Now Moving to the Cloud

Microsoft cloud chief Scott Guthrie said even the most conservative financial institutions, the too-big-to-fail banks are now aboard the cloud bandwagon. These are the same sorts of companies that have shied away from the cloud because they feel they don’t have control of their hardware.

Nowadays, Guthrie claimed 75% of the largest banks and 90% of the Fortune 500 overall now use Microsoft Azure in some capacity. AWS’s Woods also noted how Capital One (COF), an early cloud advocate among banks, uses AWS to power its mobile apps.

Keep Your Data Safe—And in Many Places

There is an adage in modern computing: Never have one point of failure. And that is as true when it comes to your personal data as anywhere, remarked Paula Long, CEO of DataGravity, a New Hampshire-based data storage specialist.

Keeping multiple (encrypted) copies of your important data is table stakes for everyone from now on.

About the Author
Barb Darrow
By Barb Darrow
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

Elon Musk stands behind the Nasdaq opening bell and in front of a "SpaceX" background.
Startups & VentureSpaceX
Founders Fund, Andreessen Horowitz, Valor, and the biggest VC winners from SpaceX’s IPO
By Allie GarfinkleJune 12, 2026
3 hours ago
Sven Gerjets, chief technology officer at Gap, speaks on stage on a panel at Fortune Brainstorm Tech 2026.
Future of WorkBrainstorm Tech
Why companies are treating AI as a strategic partner rather than a passive technology, and how to avoid an ‘AI hangover’
By Sebastian HerreraJune 12, 2026
4 hours ago
Elon Musk stands behind the Nasdaq opening bell and in front of a "SpaceX" background.
Future of WorkElon Musk
Despite his new trillionaire status, Elon Musk says money ‘will stop being relevant’ in the future because of AI
By Sasha RogelbergJune 12, 2026
5 hours ago
AI was supposed to cut health care costs. One of its first jobs was charging you more, PwC report shows
AIHealth Care Service
AI was supposed to cut health care costs. One of its first jobs was charging you more, PwC report shows
By Whizy Kim and Tech BrewJune 12, 2026
5 hours ago
paul
AIWorld Cup
Machine learning gives the U.S. a 1% chance of winning the World Cup final in its own backyard
By Achim Zeileis and The ConversationJune 12, 2026
5 hours ago
DoorDash wants you to stop scrolling and just tell its new AI chatbot what you’re hungry for
RetailDoorDash
DoorDash wants you to stop scrolling and just tell its new AI chatbot what you’re hungry for
By Dave Lozo and Morning BrewJune 12, 2026
5 hours ago

Most Popular

Corporate America has been draining the world's water. Matt Damon's new campaign calls on Gap, Starbucks, and Amazon to help give it back
Environment
Corporate America has been draining the world's water. Matt Damon's new campaign calls on Gap, Starbucks, and Amazon to help give it back
By Catherina GioinoJune 9, 2026
3 days ago
When SpaceX starts trading, some 'shareholders' will discover they own nothing at all
Investing
When SpaceX starts trading, some 'shareholders' will discover they own nothing at all
By Jim EdwardsJune 12, 2026
13 hours ago
Analysts expected oil to surge above $200 but China has quietly kept prices half of that—and can’t for much longer
Energy
Analysts expected oil to surge above $200 but China has quietly kept prices half of that—and can’t for much longer
By Sasha RogelbergJune 10, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of oil as of June 12, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 12, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 12, 2026
11 hours ago
American taxpayers have spent $33 billion on sports stadiums. They got fewer seats—and higher prices
Success
American taxpayers have spent $33 billion on sports stadiums. They got fewer seats—and higher prices
By Catherina GioinoJune 11, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of oil as of June 11, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 11, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 11, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.