What Is the Cloud?
Imagine being an executive of a fairly large corporation tasked with making sure that all of your employees are equipped with the proper software and hardware resources they need to carry out their duties.
It is not enough to just buy workstations, since that is just one piece of the puzzle; you also need to buy software and licenses to give your employees all the tools they need to do their jobs.
Each time you hire a new employee you need to make sure you have these same tools available to them - either by buying more or, in the case of software, confirming that the licensing covers another user.
This is where cloud computing comes in - when you think about the IT needs of your company.
You need a way to increase capacity or add capabilities on the fly without having to invest in new infrastructure or licensing, or spend time and money training new personnel.
So what is cloud computing? The definition differs depending on who you ask.
Some narrowly define it as virtual servers available over the internet while others argue for a broader definition, that anything your organization consumes beyond your firewall is "in the cloud".
In would best be described as any subscription-based or pay-as-you-go service that allows you to extend your IT's existing capabilities on-demand and in real time.
With a cloud all that a user needs is a client device such as a laptop or desktop computer, smart phone, tablet, or other such device with a web browser to access a cloud system via the World Wide Web.
The user typically will log into the cloud using established web browser protocols.
The cloud handles the workload of processing for the application or data the user is interested in, with the result displayed on the client device.
The most ubiquitous piece of cloud software at the moment appears to be Google Apps.
Mail, word processing, and other functionality are all done on the server side and all data is stored in the cloud, with the user simply needing a way to access it.
Going back to your role as an executive, what does cloud have to offer you? There are several benefits of adopting a cloud architecture at your organization, both tangible and otherwise.
The area of software licensing, for example, offers both these benefits; with the cloud you can scale your usage up and down while not having to meticulously keep track of your compliance guidelines on licensing.
Hardware costs are another big consideration for any organization, especially when it comes to applications that you need to run your business.
You no longer have to plan and architect for the peak loads your hardware needs to be able to handle.
With the cloud computing model, you simply incur an additional cost when you need it, and save money when you don't.
Yet another area of savings is maintenance; the time and cost involved with rolling out hardware and software upgrades for your applications are greatly reduced with the cloud computing model.
With some of the internet's biggest players such as Amazon and Google, and some of the biggest telecoms such as Verizon and AT&T making big investments in cloud computing, this area is poised for significant growth in the years ahead.
It is not enough to just buy workstations, since that is just one piece of the puzzle; you also need to buy software and licenses to give your employees all the tools they need to do their jobs.
Each time you hire a new employee you need to make sure you have these same tools available to them - either by buying more or, in the case of software, confirming that the licensing covers another user.
This is where cloud computing comes in - when you think about the IT needs of your company.
You need a way to increase capacity or add capabilities on the fly without having to invest in new infrastructure or licensing, or spend time and money training new personnel.
So what is cloud computing? The definition differs depending on who you ask.
Some narrowly define it as virtual servers available over the internet while others argue for a broader definition, that anything your organization consumes beyond your firewall is "in the cloud".
In would best be described as any subscription-based or pay-as-you-go service that allows you to extend your IT's existing capabilities on-demand and in real time.
With a cloud all that a user needs is a client device such as a laptop or desktop computer, smart phone, tablet, or other such device with a web browser to access a cloud system via the World Wide Web.
The user typically will log into the cloud using established web browser protocols.
The cloud handles the workload of processing for the application or data the user is interested in, with the result displayed on the client device.
The most ubiquitous piece of cloud software at the moment appears to be Google Apps.
Mail, word processing, and other functionality are all done on the server side and all data is stored in the cloud, with the user simply needing a way to access it.
Going back to your role as an executive, what does cloud have to offer you? There are several benefits of adopting a cloud architecture at your organization, both tangible and otherwise.
The area of software licensing, for example, offers both these benefits; with the cloud you can scale your usage up and down while not having to meticulously keep track of your compliance guidelines on licensing.
Hardware costs are another big consideration for any organization, especially when it comes to applications that you need to run your business.
You no longer have to plan and architect for the peak loads your hardware needs to be able to handle.
With the cloud computing model, you simply incur an additional cost when you need it, and save money when you don't.
Yet another area of savings is maintenance; the time and cost involved with rolling out hardware and software upgrades for your applications are greatly reduced with the cloud computing model.
With some of the internet's biggest players such as Amazon and Google, and some of the biggest telecoms such as Verizon and AT&T making big investments in cloud computing, this area is poised for significant growth in the years ahead.
