Page 7 - DCAP609_CLOUD_COMPUTING

Cloud Computing

Notes It is easy to misunderstand what makes up the structure and function while dealing with the
abstract term, “the cloud”. The basic function is what occurs from “the cloud”. This is mainly
output while input is what makes the cloud instant. Cloud computing must not be confused with
the term data centre, as it is characteristically on top of the latter.
In an era of technological advancements, world that sees new technological trends blossoming
and fading from time to time, but one new trend still promises more longevity and permanence.
This trend is called cloud computing, and it promises to change according to the way you use
your internet and your computer. Cloud computing is better understood as distributed computing.
It refers to the ability to run a program on many connected computers at the same time.

Cloud computing signifies a major change in the way we run various applications and store our
information. Everything is hosted in the “cloud”, a vague assemblage of computers and servers
accessed via the Internet, instead of the method of running programs and data on a single
desktop computer. Cloud computing makes accessing of all significant information, applications
and documents from across the world easy and quick. It, thus, frees you from the confines of the
desktop, making it easier for group members in different places to come together.
A study indicates that today’s global IT service industry is undergoing a collective movement
towards cloud computing. The emergence of cloud computing is the computing equivalent of
the electricity revolution of a century ago. Prior to the arrival of electrical utilities, businesses
and farms produced their own electricity from separate generators. After the creation of the
electrical grid, farms and businesses shut down their generators and bought electricity from the
utilities, at lower prices and with much greater reliability and consistency than they could
produce on their own.

Expect the similar revolution to occur as cloud computing takes command. The desktop-centric
notion of computing that is prevalent today is bound to take a backseat. As cloud computing
promises to fulfill our expectations of universal access, 24/7 reliability and ubiquitous
omnipresent collaboration.

1.1 Definition of Cloud Computing

In the usual traditional desktop computing, you run copies of software programs on the computer
you own. The documents created are then stored on the same computer. Here, even though
documents can be accessed from other computers on the network, they can’t be accessed by
computers not connected to the network.
With cloud computing, the software programs you use are stored on servers accessed via the
Internet and are not run from your personal computer. Hence, even if your computer stops
working, the software is still available for use. Similarly, the documents you create are stored
on a collection of servers accessed via the Internet. It, thus, facilitates individuals with permission
to not only access the documents, but also to edit and work together on those documents in
actual time. This cloud computing model is not PC centric, like traditional computing,
it is instead document-centric. Let us look in more detail at what cloud computing is and what
it is not.
It is essential to realise that despite apparent similarities, outsourcing and networking computing
cannot be considered cloud computing.
Cloud computing goes beyond the concept of traditional outsourcing. It is not traditional
outsourcing as in this a company out sources its computing services to another organisation.
While an outsourcing firm might have a firm’s applications and other data, these documents and
other programs are not accessible to any other person besides the company’s employees that too
via the company’s network. This data is not accessible to the entire world via Internet. It can,
thus, be observed that cloud computing is very different from outsourcing.

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