Although many companies are moving their services over to the cloud (Symantec just bought Live Office in efforts to bolster cloud offering in email archiving), others warn that the ‘cloud’ isn’t all castles in the sky.

Venture Beat wrote an article reminding us of the downside of cloud computing.  In the article they mention 4 reasons for not drinking cloud flavored kool-aid:
1. Loss of control: When something goes wrong you cannot just log into your own servers.  “You are at the mercy of someone else,” states the article.
2. Prioritization is thwarted: The cloud levels the playing field so the CEO cannot get special requests done any faster than someone lower down the food chain.  There is no hierarchy in the cloud.
3. Limited customization: According to Venture Beat, current offerings are mostly a one size fits all solution.
4. You still need an IT staff: Moving to the cloud doesn’t always mean you can get rid of all of your staff.  You still need them to support the new infrastructure.

The question isn’t will the cloud go away, but rather how will it change to address these concerns?  As we are still in the beginning of a new era, will customization and prioritization features be added? Who will be the top players to do so?