Here on Nodalities we tend to focus upon discussion of the Semantic Web, with an emphasis on the Web bit.

In our writing, as in our coding work inside the company, we remain very conscious that the Linked Data mantra we have taken to heart is part of a broader social, economic and technological picture. The technologies of the Semantic Web stack, too, are just components in a broader toolkit that must be used in building real applications and services that will scale to meet genuine business requirements now and in the future.

Cloud Computing is receiving a lot of press at the moment, doubtless aided by Microsoft’s entry into the space with Azure. Interestingly, it is also possible to detect a shift in the language of Cloud Computing’s enthusiasts that resonates increasingly strongly with some of our own observations. No longer ‘just’ a cheap, responsive and scalable adjunct to the corporate data centre, Cloud Computing services are finally being perceived as key drivers toward the Web of Data; even champions of the old model such as Salesforce now see enabling third party access to corporate data as a core aspect of their value proposition.

In a post here, I’ve tried to explore this in a little more detail. The worlds of Cloud Computing and the Semantic Web are moving closer together, and some fusion of the two appears inevitable.

I’d welcome your thoughts.