"Businesses, as well as most organi-sations outside the business world, begin to shift from hierarchical processes to networked ones. Nearly every facet of human activity is transformed in some way by the emergent fabric of interconnection. This reorganisation leads to dramatic improvements in efficiency and productivity." So said Wired magazine, the central organ of Web LO, in July 1997 in an essay entitled "The Long Boom", arguing that the world was in for "25 years of prosperity, freedom and a better environment". Back then, the article reflected the general opti-rnmism that led up to the internet bubble. Now, after two busts, several wars and growing fears of global warming, it makes for somewhat surreal reading.rnThe cloud lends itself to similar hyperbole. Yet so far there has not been much debate about its economic fallout-probably because the "new economy" ended badly and the newest one is currently doing even worse. There will be many ways in which the cloud will change businesses and the economy, most of them hard to predict, but one theme is already emerging.
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