Does the Sidekick collapse prove cloud computing sucks?

Microsoft’s Danger SideKick data loss casts dark on cloud computing (AppleInsider.com)

NO.

You would think no one has ever lost data on a home computer in a crashed hard drive or in a virus outbreak.

You would think no corporation has ever lost data internally due to faulty backups that were assumed to be good.

You would think that as soon as the Internet is involved, it’s all bad and could never be good.

Let’s get real. The Microsoft/Danger/T-Mobile disaster is indeed a disaster, especially for those folks that did not maintain local syncs of their data regularly.

But it’s not because “cloud computing sucks.” It’s because multiple people fouled up what should have been a routine restore from backup. Their procedures were bad, they were arrogant — whatever it is, “mistakes were made” and the users (paying customers, no less) are taking it in the shorts.

Does Gmail go down? Yes. Does Twitter go down? Yes. Do people lose data in hacking and virus attacks? Yes. The list goes on. So I guess we should just shutdown the Internet and go back to clay tablets and papyrus reed styli, huh?

The articles about this disaster will go on for weeks. This story will be remembered as one of the biggest of 2009 (and it is). But to say this will stop cloud computing developments or scare people off is nuts.

This story illustrates the need for a regular and fully tested backup plan for both provider and user. It means you should not put all your eggs in one basket.

But. We. Already. Knew. That.