Speed is the second most debated topic in cloud computing, but is it really an issue? A UK web performance specialist, Intechnica, conducted some research and reports that cloud speed is, “not necessarily about which infrastructure they choose to place their cloud in.” In the report, Intechnica compares the performance of cloud applications (Windows Azure, Amazon AWS, and VMWare) to a physical server and found that “the cloud can be just as fast if not faster than conventional hosting options.” The UK company encourages others to understand that there is no right answer to cloud servers- take time in figuring out your cloud needs, and choose the server that best fits. “Not all cloud solutions are the same,” and need to be considered separately to “achieve optimum performance.”

• Speed of Cloud No Issue, Says UK

General Services Administration moved all 17,000 employees from IBM’s Lotus Notes software to Gmail. This switch will “cut costs in half over a five-year contract period, partly by reducing equipment and staffing needs.” This makes GSA one of the first of about 15 agencies to move to cloud-based email.

• GSA Moves All 17,000 Employee Email Accounts to the Cloud

Microsoft poses the idea of placing servers into home and offices to not only produce greater energy output, but to warm our homes. Micosoft’s report states, “We propose to replace electric resistive heating elements with silicon heating elements, thereby reducing societal energy footprint by using electricity for heating to also perform computation.” This article, though, brings up the strong point that if this is such a great idea, why have we not tried it before? Moreover, we would like to point out one minor detail: what about the summertime?

• Microsoft Report Suggests Cloud Could Heat Homes

This is a pretty basic article covering cloud computing, but still has some helpful content. The cloud offers scalability, allowing companies to only pay for the resources they use, rather than trying to estimate the numbers beforehand. Also, the cloud allows you to duplicate data resources, which means that you can access your data even if an issue with the server arises. Lastly, the cloud offers high availability for users, and is accessible from literally anywhere with an internet connection.

• Practical Applications of Cloud Hosting

Dreamforce is coming up in five weeks, so expect to see @forcearchitects tweeting a lot about it. I particularly liked this post by Mike Gerholdt, in which he offers some simple solutions to checking out Dreamforce solo. An important part of Dreamforce actually happens before the event begins; you should coordinate with your company, establish Dreamforce goals, and make a list of what vendors you need to visit during the Cloud Expo. Moreover, I like that he points out that you should not worry if all of your session blocks aren’t filled, “since it’ll give you an additional chance to talk and network with people around you.” I think that this is a fantastic point. You don’t need to fill your whole day with sessions, because a large part of DF is networking. Having time to hang around and spark up conversations is a great idea. For more tips, definitely check out his post below.

• How Do You Maximize Dreamforce When You’re Going Solo?