Here at ENKI we use NetSuite for our back end accouting and CRM systems.   If you read our bios, you'll see that many of us are NetSuite alumni, and we like the "one system" approach that it provides for us to manage the business and in particular, to guarantee customer support responsiveness.

But, is NetSuite cloud computing?   Today, I logged into NetSuite and saw a little banner that said, "See Why CNBC Says that NetSuite is at the Center of Cloud Computing!"    As a 4-year veteran of providing cloud computing to customers, an attendee at numerous panels and events, and the writer of blogs and papers on Cloud computing, my first reaction is, "NetSuite is not cloud computing!"   The problem is that now 4 years into the Cloud Revolution, we're still debating what Cloud computing really is.   The consensus of the pundits - renewed at last weeks's 451 Group HCTS conference by Rachel Chalmers - seems to be that it has 4 fundamental characteristics:

1. Computing delivered over the internet.
2. Scalable, i.e. you can add or reduce resources to meet need - in particular to assure a constant level of service.
3. Pay-as-you-go, meaning that you only pay for what you use.
4. Self-service, meaning you can add or subtract resources/services yourself - though this is not universally agreed-upon.