subject: Managed It Services Spotlight Cloud Computing [print this page] Cloud Computing is one of those technology buzz words you often hear about these days. The question for most non-technical people is, What is cloud computing and, more importantly, how can it help my business?
Cloud computing can basically be described as Internet-based computing, where the cloud is the Internet itself. One of the first modern models for computer systems where mainframes. Mainframes were huge, expensive and powerful computers that often took up entire rooms for large companies and centrally provided all of their computing power and data storage. In the 1980s, the computing model switched to the client-server model where computers connected directly to servers residing in either the same physical location or located remotely and connected by a dedicated private network. Computing power and data storage was no longer centralized in this model. Cloud computing represents the latest trend where computers now connect to virtual servers across the Internet, no longer having to store data and applications locally.
Youve probably already used a cloud-computing solution without even knowing it. If you use any of the popular webmail services such as Googles Gmail, Yahoo! Mail or Microsofts Hotmail you are already using a cloud-computing solution.
The largest advantage of cloud computing for businesses is the cost saving potential. Businesses are no longer required to make a large capital investment into a software and hardware infrastructure to deploy new products. This lower initial total cost of ownership can help your business launch new products and services faster than traditional client-server models, while providing your business with a higher return on investment.
Another advantage of cloud computing for businesses is the scalability. Cloud computing offers a utility-like billing model much like you pay your power bill. You are only billed for services used, which can be a factor of traffic levels, disk-space storage, processing cycles, as well as other factors. This can be a great advantage for your business by keeping costs low as you grow your business. Cloud-computing solutions are also very flexible and grow with you as business requirements change.
Does your new project require storing large amounts of data? Cloud computing can also offer a more cost-effective storage solution than traditional disk storage models. Data backups are handled for you, which is one less problem to worry about as well.
Cloud-computing solutions can offer provide increased mobility for your employees allowing them to access data wherever they have an Internet connection. This allows them to be more efficient and have increased productivity, which can save your business money.
