Time to stop using the word "Cloud"

I was having a dinner conversation discussing a bunch of different topics.  One was about a future SaaS solution that is built in the cloud.  We were discussing the cloud, and then I made the suggestion that it may be best to not use the word "Cloud."

Why?  Everyone wants a Cloud?  No.  Some people want the Cloud.  To some the Cloud means it is not secure, it goes down, and it is not as good as legacy systems.  Thanks to AWS outages, Cloud's are perceived as not as reliable by many.  Microsoft, Google, and Twitter have had outages and the media jumps on it.  Cloud services like LinkedIn have had security breaches.  Perception is reality.

Discussing this idea with another executive who supports the roll out of a SaaS Cloud service, I asked does he spend time in "damage control" mode when a user thinks the Cloud is not secure and unreliable.  Yes, all the time. He has to explain how his Cloud is better than others.  

So, how about just not calling your service a Cloud SaaS.

If users make the leap that your service is like a cloud service and they are positive, then fine say it is a cloud.  Otherwise focus on the business value of your service.  What is the business value of the cloud?  There are plenty of companies, event companies, and companies who have product that many money on the cloud.  Is that what you are, then fine use the word cloud.  If you are not marketing the cloud, then drop the word.

I've convinced myself to stop talking about the cloud in presentations and documents when I can.  It is better to talk about what your service does.  It is highly available, secure, and scales.  The cloud means to many that the service has compromises in security and availability, and leaves a bad aftertaste.