The IT industry lately has had its head in the clouds. Not a day goes by that the term “cloud computing” doesn’t cross my screen or come out of somebody’s lips.
But is all this talk about cloud computing just a lot of condensed air? Or is it really a new wind blowing us into the future of computing?

Now, if you are one of thousands of people who suffered through the two outages of Amazon.com’s cloud-based storage service in recent months, you are forgiven for having serious doubts about the whole thing. Nothing is more effective in adjusting your thinking about a technology than a failure that leaves you hanging in the wind. And, let’s face it, this industry has a history of over-hyping technologies before they really are ready for consumption.

But while the hype about cloud computing is undeniable, it would be unfair to lump it into the category of “not yet fit for consumption.”

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After all, you can shape this cloud however you want, and it’s all just a matter of having the knowledge and expertise to figure out how to do it. Cloud computing, which in some cases incorporates SAAS (software as a service), consists of the multitude of applications accessible to users over the Internet.

But accessing the technology doesn’t necessarily make you an expert at it, and while plenty of end users will figure out how to tap technology in the cloud to customize applications, plenty more will need someone to make sense of it all for them.

In comes the channel, where cloud computing may well become a way of life for some.

As with any other technology trend, solution providers no doubt are treading carefully, lest they get hopelessly lost in the fog. For every technology that has turned out useful and profitable, there is at least one that has gone the way of the DeLorean. (Not sure what that is? More clues coming.)

As usual with over-hyped technologies, there is some confusion. Cloud architecture is behind a lot of peer-to-peer networks that make software available for free, so channel companies can be excused for wondering how to make money in the cloud. On the other hand, cloud computing gets confused with the utility model, with which it overlaps and through which software services are billed to customers like a utility.

So solution providers have to wade through the confusion and keep a sober outlook about cloud computing. If they manage that, providers should conclude that cloud computing is a vehicle for expansion. They have the opportunity to reach into the cloud to add to their service offerings.

If they don’t, someone else is likely to. And that someone else will probably be, you guessed it, Dell. Or Oracle. Or Google.

But solution providers, at least theoretically, have the most intimate knowledge of their clients’ systems. They should have a good handle on their clients’ businesses, technology requirements and strategic goals.

Armed with that knowledge, solution providers will be better positioned than any vendor to pull together the myriad applications floating in the cloud and integrate them into the IT environments of their customers.

Sure there is some work to do, if you haven’t already. But get it right, and you won’t be riding that DeLorean backward into the future of technology.

Pedro Pereira is editor of eWEEK Strategic Partner and a contributing editor for Channel Insider. He is at pedro.pereira@ziffdavisenterprise.com.