You probably have heard people say “business applications are moving to the cloud.” What is this “cloud” all about, anyway? Today, you will learn about “cloud computing,” which is the latest groundbreaking information technology service offered to large corporate players. It provides revolutionary and reinventive IT implications that promise to expand the possibilities, efficacy, and flexibility of computing applications.
The term “cloud computing” itself is difficult to comprehend, especially to those who are new to this concept. And so, I did research to look for a simplified explanation so that anyone can easily grasp what cloud computing is all about. Then, I came across the definition given by Gartner Inc., one of the leading information technology research and advisory companies in the world. Cloud computing, as defined by Gartner Inc., is a “style of computing in which massively scalable IT-related capabilities are provided as a service using Internet technologies to multiple external customers.” I am going to use this definition as the basis of a more specified explanation to answer “what is cloud computing.” Let me digest this definition for you.
Technically, cloud computing is more of an approach than “style.” Let’s say in a large company that has many operations, employees, and expected end results, the demands to manage all the computer systems increase expansively. The IT department is responsible for providing system requirements such as storage, memory, software, application, data processing, database, bandwidth, web space, etc., in monitoring their functionality, and in updating and upgrading the software.
These processes are rigorous, costly, and time-consuming. But, through the innovative approach of cloud computing, everything is made possible — “scalable IT-related capabilities” — in just one connection protocol. This service is available through subscription, which makes the process more convenient, like a package deal, so the IT department no longer needs to delegate a number of manpower hours just to ensure each system is working. This means cloud computing is not costly to provide business agility, and its services can be modified from capital to operational expenses, diminishing the capital expenditure.
Furthermore, in the Gartner Inc. definition of cloud computing, it is mentioned that Internet technologies are used “[for] multiple external customers.” This means that an Internet server connects multiple computer hardware, software, devices, and operating systems and delivers and acts as the main data center for all the processes.
Some of the technology and consulting firms that offer cloud computing services are International Business Machines (IBM), Dell, and Microsoft. These firms maximize the mobility of cloud computing services through the three categories:
Software as a Services (SaaS), platform as a Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS).
Meanwhile, multinational companies such as Apple, Amazon, Google, and Yahoo are among those that have already made the big shift to the cloud. And now cloud computing is becoming available more and more to smaller individual home based users or the end consumer.
Apple is releasing the iCloud in Fall 2011 to let you store images, text and other documents in the “cloud” as well as wirelessly sync all of your computers through the cloud. You are probably already aware of your small use of cloud computing if you have a website. It’s files are in the “cloud” or otherwise saved in a datacenter or server away from your physical location. Same if you use Gmail for email.
Anything you access to store or manage documents and other media is basically cloud computing. So we’re all likely familiar with it and it is going to become more and more important as bandwidth and storage costs decrease and internet technologies increase. Get read for more “air” or “cloud” computing and technologies as time goes by. That is what cloud computing is all about.