Cloud Computing: A Social Relations Perspective

Abstract

The second half of the 20th century has been characterized by an explosive development in information technology. Processing power, storage capacity and network bandwidth have increased exponentially, resulting in new possibilities and shifting IT paradigms. In step with technological changes, the paradigmatic pendulum has swung between increased centralization on one side and a focus on distributed computing that pushes IT power out to end users on the other. With the introduction of outsourcing and cloud computing, centralization in large data centers is again dominating the IT scene