Hey! You! Get off my cloud!
Mobility and freedom of movement. This is what we all aim for in our daily lives, the ability to move quickly and efficiently and still get it all done from wherever we are on the globe. No one likes to waste time, and as we’ve all heard a thousand times before, time is money, whether you’re a designer, dancer, lawyer or doctor.
Cloud Computing is almost a natural evolution of this need. The “cloud” (not the fluffy white kind) is used as a metaphor for the internet, which effectively stores all the nitty gritty, time consuming niggly bits when it comes to applications, software etc. It’s your virtual server in the sky, and a savvy way for IT to increase capacity and add capabilities without having to invest in training, licensing and infrastructure. In addition, you only pay for what you use, similar to a utility bill, which can be lead to a tremendous saving on overheads. And all you need is a computer and the internet, typing in the URL and voila! Instant and convenient.
This naturally begs the questions of privacy; you can have public or private cloud. A good example of a public cloud is Amazon Web Services, which sells services to anyone over the net – check out http://aws.amazon.com/ for more info. A private cloud only provides services to a limited number of people and can sometimes be more costly than a public cloud as companies are responsible for the purchase, building and management of the system. However, when security is of utmost importance (think NASA and CIA) then this is probably the best option.
In addition, you get different types of services such as IaaS (Infrastructure as a service) such as the all-encompassing Netsuite, then PaaS (Platform as a service), check out www.force.com and finally SaaS (Software as a service) such as GoogleApps.
There is much to be said about the effectiveness and efficiency of Cloud Computing, and as with any new technology there are always critics who will point out problematic areas. Privacy is of course on top of everyone’s agendas, as well as availability and performance. However, cloud providers do have a strong incentive to ensure trustworthiness and often go to great lengths to provide peace of mind. When it comes to availability, there have been instances where a cloud provider has had to shut down due to financial or legal reasons.
That said, the pros far outweigh the cons, and research has shown that public response has increased exponentially over the last few years. Time is money and we are living in a fast paced global community where it has become more and more acceptable to do business from your laptop, from your phone and from wherever it is that you are, be it Cape Town or New York. Time to get on that cloud? I do think so!
Cloud Provider, Esselar, explains Cloud Computing simply:
