The history of cloud computing: Some key moments

Today, the cloud is everywhere. But that definitely wasn’t always the case. While in recent years the business world’s move toward cloud computing has been both enthusiastic and widespread, it represents a process that has been many years in the making.

Here are some key moments in the history of cloud computing:

“The history of cloud computing dates back to the 1950s.”

1950s: Mainframe computing. In the 1950s, the notion of centralized and shared computing was brought to life with the advent of mainframe computing, which enabled separate users to gain access to a mainframe computer via different terminals. In this way, the idea of shared access to a central tech hub was born, and paved the way for what cloud computing would become.

1969: ARPANET. In 1969, four different university computers were interconnected. The name for the project was due to it being carried out under the U.S. Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA). ARPANET became the Internet in its first iteration.

1996: First use of the term. Despite the foundations of cloud computing having been laid out for decades, the first actual scholarly use of “cloud computing” reportedly arrived in 1996, in a report presented by Compaq Computer Corporation entitled “Internet Solutions Division Strategy For Cloud Computing.” Among the report’s stated goals was to “present … the importance of and evolution towards ‘cloud computing.'”

The history of cloud computing can be traced to before the invention of the Internet.
The history of cloud computing can be traced to before the invention of the Internet.

1999: The launching of Salesforce.com. The notion of cloud computing in its most common current form really began to take shape in 1999, when Salesforce.com first burst onto the scene, offering businesses applications delivered via the Internet. This helped pave the way for the emergence of Software-as-a-Service.

2003: Web 2.0.  With the emergence of Web 2.0, computing users were presented with an interface that brought with it multimedia capabilities that hadn’t been seen before. With its built-in emphasis on greater information sharing and collaboration, Web 2.0 played an important role in establishing the framework for the type of cloud computing we see today deployed among individuals and businesses.

2006: “Cloud” is spoken. While the term cloud computing was later found in the 1996 paper, the first public utterance of the term reportedly occurred in 2006 at an industry function. It came from Google’s then-CEO Eric Schmidt.

All of these moments have led up to the most exciting point in the history of cloud computing – right now. These days, the cloud is everywhere – and it’s occupying conversations not only among tech people, but among industry executives as well, who recognize its potential to boost business. With more possibilities than ever, the enterprise push toward virtualization is the biggest it’s ever been – and cloud deployments are only expected to rise in the future.

Chi Park | Key Contributor

Chi W. Park has over 9 years of experience in supply chain and operations management, focused on implementing Oracle Applications and improving manufacturing planning and scheduling processes. Expertise includes a broad range of areas including advanced planning and scheduling systems, forecasting, materials management, production operations control, finite scheduling, order management and purchasing. He has also served in the U.S. Army for 6 years as an Active Duty commissioned officer in the Armor Branch and was twice deployed to Iraq.