Information technology often uses metaphor to describe complex and unfamiliar ideas. On a daily basis we open our Windows browser so we can surf the net to find pages of information that we copy and paste into documents which we then store in folders on our desktop or toss into our recycle bin once we no longer need them.
An IT metaphor that i’ve been seeing a lot of this year is “cloud computing.” Depending on whom I read or talk to, cloud computing is either the “next big thing” in the evolution of computing technology or just a bunch of hype.
Cloud computing refers to using the Internet (often depicted as a cloud on computer network diagrams) to host and run applications, store data, or perform computing functions somewhere “out there in the cloud.” Users neither know, nor often care, exactly where their computing hardware, software, or data is located, how it’s put together, or how computing services are delivered to them.
Cloud computing incorporates various computer trends (some new and some that have been around for some time) into a single business technology environment, including software as a service (SaaS), Web 2.0, virtualization, open standards software, service oriented architectures (SOAs), and pricing based on a “utility” or “pay as you go” model.
The majority of “public” cloud computing infrastructures — offered by such companies as Amazon, Google, Salesforce, IBM, Intel, and soon, Microsoft — are built upon large computer and storage platforms (some originally built for other purposes) and accessible anywhere in the world, 24/7, with the Internet being the single entry point. There is a chance that you may already have used some form of cloud computing. Yahoo Mail and Google Gmail, to name two popular cloud computing examples, store your e-mails and account information “in the cloud” and not on your PC.
By the way, “public” does not always mean free, although it often is inexpensive.
In addition to these “public” cloud computing providers, a number of large companies (GE, Dell and Proctor and Gamble) have developed “private” cloud computing environments that support their day-to-day business processes. Some companies have begun using a combination of “public” and “private” services sometimes referred to as a “hybrid” cloud environment.
One key benefit of cloud computing is flexibility. If you have a user account with a cloud computing firm, a web browser, and a large enough checkbook, you have access to potentially unlimited computing resources. For a fee — based on usage or a fixed subscription — you share a very large and very sophisticated data center that you can use to develop and run enterprise applications, store huge amounts of data, or run an e-commerce site — all without ever having to lay out any capital dollars yourself.
Need more (or less) processing power, storage, or bandwidth? No problem. The cloud computing vendor’s infrastructure expands or contracts as your needs change, while you pay for only the capacity you use.
By sharing expensive computing resources among multiple users and applications, cloud computing vendors take advantage of economies of scale and IT automation to control costs and improve overall performance. Cloud computing is also “green” in that the investments made in servers, networks, and storage (and the natural resources needed to build and run them) are maximized and are not left idle or underutilized. In addition, individual companies do not have to engineer and staff redundant data centers that are usually built to support “peak” capacities — which may happen only infrequently.
A cloud computing environment allows users to access computing resources no matter their location or whether they are using a laptop, desktop PC or mobile device. Security and disaster recovery capabilities also improve as data is centralized and vendors have an increased focus (it’s job No. 1) on securing a customer’s valuable data resources.
One positive aspect of the world-wide recession, at least for cloud computing, could be a dramatic growth in the acceptance of this new technology paradigm. The research firm IDC said in October that it expects “spending on IT cloud services to reach $42 billion by 2012, a growth of threefold, that will in part be bolstered by the current economic crisis that began in the U.S. and is spreading around the world.”
While there are still political, legal, performance, and control issues to overcome before companies can see the silver lining in cloud computing, there can be little doubt that both small and large enterprises should begin experimenting with this new computing metaphor as a way of acquiring more sophisticated business processes, services, and IT capabilities while optimizing cost savings and improving speed to market.
