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What is Cloud Computing? |
Cloud computing is a general term for
anything that involves delivering hosted services over
the Internet.
Consider the Google example where instead of using
software which resides on local machines, Google's
software (i.e. Docs, Email, etc.) live within the Google
network, distributed via the web (cloud). So instead of
maintaining equipment, upgrades and other
locally-installed overhead, you just use what you need
over the internet.
This form of structure is
location-independent, whereby shared servers provide
resources, software, and data to computers and other
devices on demand, as with the electricity grid. Cloud
services are broadly divided into three categories:
Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS),
Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS).
The name cloud computing was inspired by the cloud
symbol that's often used to represent the Internet in
flow charts and diagrams.
A cloud service has three distinct characteristics that
differentiate it from traditional hosting. It is sold on
demand, typically by the minute or the hour; it is
elastic, whereas a user can have as much or as little of a
service as they want at any given time; and the service
is fully managed by the provider (the consumer needs
nothing but a personal computer and Internet access).
Significant innovations in virtualization and
distributed computing, as well as improved access to
high-speed Internet and a weak economy, have accelerated
interest in cloud computing.
Cloud Computing Layers:
Cloud platform services or "Platform as a Service (PaaS)"
deliver a computing platform and/or solution stack as a
service, often consuming cloud infrastructure and
sustaining cloud applications. It facilitates
deployment of applications without the cost and
complexity of buying and managing the underlying
hardware and software layers.
Cloud application services or "Software as a Service (SaaS)"
deliver software as a service over the Internet,
eliminating the need to install and run the application
on the customer's own computers and simplifying
maintenance and support.
Cloud infrastructure services, also known as
"Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)", delivers computer
infrastructure - typically a platform virtualization
environment - as a service. Rather than purchasing
servers, software, data-center space or network
equipment, clients instead buy those resources as a
fully outsourced service.
Benefits of the Cloud:
Agility
Low-Cost
Reliability
Scalability
Security
Maintenance.
To learn more about your business can realize the benefits of the
cloud, contact us today.
References: http://www.techtarget.com |
http://www.wikipedia.org
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