I'm perceiving a bit of push back in the enterprise world towards cloud computing and software as a service (SAAS). This is a good sign because it shows that both have reached a certain level of maturity. Enthusiasm for, and pushback against the adoption of new technologies is a natural part of the progression for new ideas.

However, if we start to see bad behavior by some companies it might be a more serious setback to the future of online business services. And it could make it difficult for small companies to win users compared with larger competitors that offer a measure of stability.

For example, Debbie Rich, a friend of mine, is having a problem retrieving her company's data from Stikipad.

Here is Debbie in her own words from her Ferocious Pixie blog:

On a tear to hunt down my data again for my software company. The quote/unquote company Stikipad.com that was hosting my company's historical and lead data is still AWOL and the 'president' of the company continues to duck calls, posts and emails regarding giving me access to that data. I don't even care about getting back our payment -- the hosting cost was minimal -- but i have a TON of info that i really need and will take weeks to reproduce, if that is even possible.



Amazingly, surprisingly, startlingly, all of the projects listed on his blog are down. The website links churn and think and then give a 'server is temporarily down' response. Gee, what does that remind me of... let me think... it's coming... Oh, the lameass Stikipad site that stopped working months ago.



Jonathan George, jonathan@jdg.net, www.jdg.net, be a normal person and contact me with information about what you are going to do, or at least give me an apology. Now I'm off to start using Google Docs like everyone else. Just shows that you can't always support the small companies, which is really a shame.