The Cloud Computing Revolution

Cloud computing is one of those buzzwords that everyone seems to be bandying about these days, but no one seems to agree on a definition. If you have been hearing about cloud-based this and cloud computing that, and are wondering how these concepts might apply to your business, pull up a chair. We have got some good, solid answers for you.

At its most basic, cloud computing is a network-based model for supercomputing over the Internet, instead of using on-premises software, hardware and servers. In fact, you are probably already using consumer cloud computing applications. If you have ever uploaded a video to YouTube, or photographs to Flickr or Snapfish for your friends and relatives to view; if you have ever opened a Web-based email account through Yahoo!, Gmail or Hotmail; or if you are a member of a social networking site such as Facebook or Twitter, then you have used cloud computing.

Enterprise cloud computing takes the concept to a corporate level. With cloud-based business applications, a company can access information technology resources from a shared data center. The cloud aims to provide tens of trillions of computations per second – compared to the most powerful desktop PCs, which process only a few billion computations per second – by networking large groups of servers that often use low-cost consumer technology and utilizing specialized connections to enable them to complete the large-scale data-processing chores.

Cloud computing is billed either on a utility model, like electricity, or on a subscription model, whereby the company pays a monthly fee. Either way, the company pays for only the resources it uses. This is opposed to the traditional upfront capital approach to server-based software, which also requires ongoing support and operational expenses no matter how widely or often the resources are utilized. Since the servers are decentralized and offsite, the company that chooses cloud computing also saves money by not having to pay the costs associated with the physical infrastructure of a software-based system, including storage, security, cooling and even the salaries of IT professionals who must install, maintain and upgrade the systems. This can mean a faster, more accessible set of applications is available to even small and mid-size businesses that might not otherwise be able to afford the capital investment necessary to deploy hardware and software.

Cloud computing allows for browser access to hosted data and resources, so cloud-based business applications can be accessed more fully and easily using mobile devices rather than traditional software. Another advantage for many organizations is that applications available through cloud computing are highly customizable. Not only are the various applications flexible enough to suit an individual company’s unique needs, but most resources and interfaces can be setup easily and quickly, using a point-and-click configuration. In other words, you do not have to be an IT whiz to use the applications or even to tweak the interface to your own desired preferences.

Since the enterprise cloud is flexible and elastic, capabilities can be rapidly scaled up or down as needs and employee numbers dictate. If you have founded a startup that is building a social networking application, for example, it may be difficult to know how much computing power you need, since your application may go viral and take off overnight, or may fail catastrophically. Seasonal businesses may require vast amounts of power for just two months out of the year, but hardly any for the remaining months. In both of these scenarios, it makes more sense to plug into the cloud for on-demand access rather than laying out a great deal of capital for internal hardware and software.

It is important to understand that cloud computing is still a developing paradigm, just as the Internet itself was ten years ago and continues to be today. As consumer tastes and trends change, and workforces evolve, cloud computing will adapt in response. Yet, it is already clear that cloud computing is no flash in the pan, but a technological concept worth learning more about.