Emerging Technology Expo: Cloud Computing

What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing is internet based computing where shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and mobile devices on demand.

Instead of installing a suite of software on each computer at your business you only have to load one application. That application would allow workers to log into a web-based service which hosts all the programs the user would need for his or her job. Remote machines owned by another company then run everything from word processing and email through to more complex data analysis programs. Most people who own a personal computing have accessed web based mail from either their own home computer, or via another computer located somewhere else. A web based mail interface is an application example of cloud computing.

Figure 1: Cloud computing logical diagram

The National Institute Of Standards and Technology (NIST) defines Cloud computing “as a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.”

Watch the video below for an explanation on Cloud Computing.

The three main cloud computing models are:

Software as a Service (SaaS)
Platform as a Service (PaaS)
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS).

A more detailed explanation of the cloud computing models is available on bizcloud.
The most common types of cloud computing deployments are:
1. Private cloud that is operated solely for an organisation.
2. Public cloud where the cloud infrastructure is owned by an organisation which sells cloud services
3. Hybrid cloud which is composed of two or more private, community or public clouds.
4. Community cloud where the infrastructure is shared by several organisations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns.

A more detailed explanation on cloud computing deployment types can be found here.

Software as a Service (SaaS)

A software as a Service model is when applications are hosted by a vendor or service provider and made available to customers over a network. This method is becoming more popular with technologies such as web services, service oriented architecture, as Ajax become popular and more mature.
Generally the service uses the Internet, and as broadband has become faster and cheaper the service is becoming more acceptable.

Characteristics:

Web access to commercial software
Software is managed from a central location
Software delivered in a “one to many” model
Users not required to handle software upgrades and patches
Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) allow for integration between different pieces of software

Useful When:

Software where its solution is largely undifferentiated, and where use is widely used by competitors or other businesses e.g. email, accounting (requirements of doing business)
Application that need significant need for mobile or web application e.g. sales management software.
Short-term software. e.g. Collaboration software for a specific project
Software where demand spikes significantly e.g. tax or billing software used once a month

Not Best Option:

Extremely fast processing of real time data
Where legislation or other regulation not does permit data being hosted externally
Where existing business resources fulfil the businesses needs

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

Renting hardware operating systems, storage and network capacity over the Internet allows the customer to rent virtualised servers and associated services for running existing applications or developing and testing new ones. Builds on benefits of SAAS and benefits software development world.

Characteristics:

Services to develop, test, deploy, host and main applications
Web based User Interface creation tools help to create, modify, test and deploy different UI scenarios.
Multi-tenant architecture where multiple concurrent users utilise the same development application
Built in scalability of deployed software
Integration with web services and databases
Support for development team collaboration
Tools to handle billing and subscription

Useful when:

Multiple developers or external parties are working on project
Automate testing and deployment services.

Not Best Option

Application needs to highly portable in terms of where it is hosted.
Proprietary Languages or approaches would impact on the development process
Vendor lock in
Application performance requires customization of underlying hardware and software

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

Usually an organisation outsources the equipment used to support operations including storage, servers, networking components. The service provider owns the equipment and is responsible for housing, running and maintaining it.

Clients will pay on a per use basis.

Characteristics and components include:

Utility computing service and billing
Automation of administrative tasks.
Dynamic scaling
Desktop virtualization
Policy Base services
Internet Connectivity

Useful when:

Infrastructure Demand is variable
Little capital to invest in hardware or pressure to reduce capital spending
Trial or temporary infrastructure needs
Business hardware requirements is rapidly going

Not Best Option:

Regulatory compliance's makes off-shoring or outsourcing data and processing difficult
Highest levels of performance are required.

Benefits of Cloud Computing

Cloud computing allows overall savings in maintenance costs as the businesses does not have business-owned servers to maintain.
Cloud computing services also guarantees smaller companies more up-time than would normally be possible if they were running their own servers.
Organizations can also cut software licensing and administrative costs through the use of cloud technologies, such as SharePoint, Exchange Server, and Office Communications Server.

Future Of Cloud Computing

Future Trends:

As mobile devices become more powerful and more advanced, access to cloud computing will become more mobile. These devices will rely on clouds to support mobile applications,and will have more capabilities, but the data will live in the cloud. Apple's iCloud and Google's Gmail are examples of this.
Network providers will have the capability to offer high-speed internet access to anyone, virtually anywhere, which makes cloud computing a viable proposition for business use as well as consumer adoption.
Centralized data will become a key strategic advantage. Huge databases could be created using cloud computing that allow access to valuable information that anybody can use through a publicly accessible API, such as stock market behavior over decades or clinical outcome data to provide better patient care.
Within a few years, we will see low-cost processors and cloud technology that will dramatically reduce the cost of computing and hardware. Also there will be faster Internet connections, which will allow people to transfer large amounts of data in a very short period of time. Virtualization solutions will become more commonplace in the business world not only to guarantee the safe storage
of company data but also to maximize server space.
"Although spending in cloud computing is still at a fraction of the IT market spend, it is predicted that revenues from cloud services will increase at a pace of 19% in 2011 compared to 2010 and will double by 2014" (Tantow, 2011).

Cloud Computing Is Here To Stay

It allows businesses to focus on core competence and services without worrying about excessive IT demands and costs. The IT infrastructure of today is being provided by highly respected providers such as Amazon and Google.

Mobile devices such as iPhone's, Android's and iPad's have established themselves as important and valuable tools for interacting with the cloud.

All businesses, in the future will eventually need to develop a plan to relocate the relevant sections of their business to the Cloud. In the early stages of migration to the cloud businesses would start with the simpler operations like email but eventually they could potentially have their whole operation on on the cloud.

REFERENCES

Gracely, B. (n.d.). Cloud Computing - Platform as a Service - YouTube. YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.. Retrieved October 9, 2012, from http://youtu.be/nBP4Aui4gZ0

Infrastructure As A Service - What Is It? - YouTube. (n.d.). YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.. Retrieved October 7, 2012, from http://youtu.be/LwBOgT761iQ

jason. (2010, August 4). Cloud Deployment Models | BizCloud® Network. BizCloud® Network | BizCloud Computing | Software as a Service| Infrastructure as a Service Provider | On-demand Software Tools| Technology & Marketing Services |Tips and Advice. Retrieved October 8, 2012, from http://bizcloudnetwork.com/defining-cloud-deployment-models

marijana. (2010, November 29). Cloud Computing Service Models | BizCloud® Network. BizCloud® Network | BizCloud Computing | Software as a Service| Infrastructure as a Service Provider | On-demand Software Tools| Technology & Marketing Services |Tips and Advice. Retrieved October 8, 2012, from http://bizcloudnetwork.com/understanding-cloud-service-models

Mell, P., & Grance, T. (n.d.). The NIS Definition of Cloud Computing. Cloud Computing. Retrieved October 8, 2012, from http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-145/SP800-145.pdf

SaaS - Software as a Service - YouTube. (n.d.). YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.. Retrieved October 7, 2012, from http://youtu.be/3DCqdY3yyDE

Tantow, M. (2011, January 28). The Future of Cloud Computing | CloudTimes. Cloud Computing News: Providers, Security, Storage, SaaS. Retrieved October 3, 2012, from http://cloudtimes.org/2011/01/28/the-cloud-ahead/

What is Cloud Computing? - YouTube. (n.d.). YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.. Retrieved October 7, 2012, from http://youtu.be/ae_DKNwK_ms

Wikepedia. (n.d.). Cloud Computing. Retrieved 6 October, 2012 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_computing