This is a great little nugget from Brian Prentice.  The message is simple: Form follows function.  Brian’s point that, “For the end user, every additional capability beyond what serves their direct purpose is superfluous ornamentation,” is spot-on; this is why we are seeing a trend towards situational applications and applications built on platforms that enable rapid delivery of functionality without the bells and whistles, such as Force.com.

Three key points:

…as a software solution evolves to meet as many as many users “requirements” as possible, it actually ends up obfuscating value to its constituents rather than increasing it.

…users are clearly seeking ways to rid themselves of this ornamentation. That message is largely lost on those responsible for creating these solutions for them.

When function follows clear purpose, form can follow function.

Thomas Bittman from Gartner cuts through some of the cloud computing hype and gives us a tempered viewpoint on mainstream cloud adoption.  Overview of the four myths:

1. Bittman takes on Nick Carr’s “Big Switch” view of rapid proliferation of cloud-based services and argues that adoption will be substantial but gradual.
2. We’ve heard many SaaS and cloud computing skeptics try to minimize cloud computing by calling it a redressing of other philosophies / technologies, but in fact it is the culmination of many concepts and technologies.
3. Bittman gives us a great line with, “We’re not going to have a handful of megaproviders, we’re going to have thousands of providers, and it will be very Darwinian.”
4. The fourth myth cuts to the heart of a common cloud computing argument – some see cloud computing as simply a large-scale commodification of traditional IT infrastructure and platform services, whereas the bigger picture view of cloud computing is that the standardization of the lower stacks of the IT architecture will enable a focus on more innovative applications of technology to build new business models and solve once daunting business challenges.