CLOUD COMPUTING!!!

If you pick up any tech magazine or visit in IT related websites/blogs, I'm sure you'll see a talk about cloud computing. But the only only problem with the cloud computing is not everyone agrees on what it is. If you ask ten different IT professionals what cloud computing is, you'll surely get ten different answers! Typical answers you get are

• widely distributed
• network based
• storage
• computation
• utility computing
• HaaS
• PaaS
• Saas

Some customer oriented definitions

• Anytime
• anywhere
• with any device
• accessing any services

When you store your photos online instead of on your home computer, or use webmail or a social networking site, you are actually using the "cloud" service. If you are an organization, and you want to use, for example, an online invoicing instead of updating the in-house one you have been using for many years, that online invoicing service is a "cloud computing" service.
Cloud computing refers to the delivery of computing resources over the internet. Instead of keeping data on your own hard drive or updating applications for your needs, at another location, to store your information or use its applications. Doing so may give rise to certain privacy implications. Cloud services allow individuals and businesses to use software and hardware that are managed by third parties at remote locations. Examples of cloud services include online file storage, social networking sites, email, and online business applications. The cloud computing model allows access to information and computer resources from anywhere that a network connection is available. Cloud computer provides a shared pool of resources, including data storage space, networks, computer processing power, and specialized corporate and user applications.

Key Characteristics:

• Universal access
• Scalable services
• Infrastructure managing the scaling, not applications.
• Elasticity: Expenses only incurred when they are needed.
• New Application Service Models
• XaaS = X as a Service
• Pay-as-you-go