Moving business and organization information technology (IT) solutions “to the cloud” is a hot topic based on the articles, discussions and posts that I see. After spending some time reading through several discussion threads on this topic, a number of recurring themes come through: There are many advocates who see it is the greatest thing in the world. They go on to describe the efficiencies they have achieved and the thousands of dollars that have been saved on hardware and support costs. Others share their fears regarding data security, protection from “prying eyes” and concerns with the potential acts of disgruntled employees. Finally, there are the horror stories concerning poor technical support, “loss of service”, and the loss of mission critical data.
As I think about this, I can’t help but wonder what the average small to medium size business, organization or school would and should make of all of this. Questions that I think they would ask include: What, exactly IS cloud computing? Is it a good thing or a bad thing? Is it something I should consider for my business or organization? What is it going to do for me? How do I sift through the alternatives and avoid the pitfalls?
To answer these and other related questions, I will be writing a series of posts over the next few weeks focused on cloud computing. My goal is to put this topic in some perspective for small to medium size business, organizations and educational institutions that may be considering a “move to the cloud”. This is the first post in the series.
What exactly is cloud computing?
Let’s start with a good definition provided by SEARCHCLOUDCOMPUTING.COM:
Cloud computing is a general term for anything that involves delivering hosted services over the Internet. These 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 flowcharts and diagrams.
One element all cloud solutions have in common is some level of remote hosted services, i.e. services that are provided over the Internet. These services will typically compliment services that are provided in house. This is important to note. Cloud computing isn’t an “all or nothing” proposition. For most organizations and businesses, a combination of local and remote resources will likely make the most sense. This mix can and should evolve over time as the needs of the organization change.
For this discussion, let’s focus on two elements of cloud computing: IaaS and the combination of PaaS and SaaS, which we will refer to under the broader umbrella of “Software Applications”. For clarification, in this context software applications refer to standalone programs like Microsoft Word through much more complex applications such as a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system or a shared software development platform that is accessed by multiple users. Read More→