Cloud Computing

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With all the hype and buzz about cloud computing, it is easy to find your head in the clouds not able to focus in on how it can be used within your organization and how it can help cut operating costs.
What is Cloud Computing?

A simple definition is that cloud computing is a broad term used to describe technology services delivered over the internet. Now considering how everything else is in the technology industry, cloud computing is a bit more involved than that.

Cloud computing is a broad term which covers a number of variations of technology:

• Software as a Service (SaaS) - applications are hosted by vendors and delivered to customers over the internet, is the most mature of the cloud computing technologies. Some SaaS providers have been around for more than a decade.
• Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) as Public Cloud - businesses access services that are run by third party suppliers which they then pay a subscription for. Google Apps and Salesforce.com are both examples of this.
• Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) as Private Cloud - when businesses take advantage of technology pioneered by cloud computing vendors to modernize their own internal datacenters, by combining virtualization, automation and scalability.
• Platform as a Service (PaaS) - a set of services hosted by vendors on which companies are able to develop and host applications. Microsoft describes its Windows Azure technology as a platform as a service because, unlike infrastructure as a service, it has an integrated software layer on which applications developed using Java, .NET, PHP and XML, among others, can run.

Outsourcing has long been a common business practice, from hiring an attorney for legal services to using an outside firm to fabricate printed circuit boards for building electronic assemblies. With the advent of Cloud Computing, IT departments now have an efficient way to outsource a variety of their data processing functions. Extending beyond corporate data centers, this digital paradigm has begun making inroads within the world of embedded computing.

Why would Cloud Computing be good for your organization?

When considering cloud computing for your organization there are several key benefits to take into consideration.

Costs savings -

The first being that cloud computing reduces implementation costs for businesses. Cloud services are offered on a subscription basis rather than the high up-front costs associated with traditional on-premise software. This means organizations can convert software costs from capital to operational expenditure and just pay for the services they use rather than shelling out to run and maintain data centers that aren't being fully utilized. Due to the economies of scale that running software in huge data centers produce, cloud computing can theoretically lead to lower costs - which will obviously appeal to CFOs and CTOs looking to reduce costs.

Flexibility -

Another major benefit of cloud computing is the flexibility it provides. If businesses need more computing power, storage or additional instances of applications, they simply request additional resource. They can then add additional seats to their subscription or add extra processing time. In the traditional on-premise approach, if businesses need more software, they need to buy it or if additional computing power is needed, they need to request their IT department to set up more servers or create virtual machines. Location also becomes less important as organizations can access their data or applications wherever they have an Internet connection.

Reliability –

Reliability is also cited as a benefit: if a physical server fails within a private or public cloud setup, the virtual machines running on it can be transferred to another server with minimal disruption to the user. Multi-tenancy also means updates can be rolled out across all users at the same time so they don't have to upgrade technology themselves.

Additional Benefits –

An indirect advantage of public cloud is that IT departments no longer need to worry about looking after the infrastructure that the applications are installed on. Their time could be spent on other tasks. Such as, looking for other ways in which technology could be used to help improve the business.