Elasticity

Elasticity is the capability of rapidly provisioning and de-provisioning of services and resources(e.g networks, servers, storage, applications and services) as and when required.  So for example if you are a retail outlet and your website has extreme user load during Christmas and Easter, then you can quickly provision new virtual servers that will take the pressure of the website and help provide a consistent service. Once the that period is over and the demand is reduced, these virtual servers can be de-provisioned.

 Agility

The IT becomes more agile because applications and resources can be delivered on demand with greater control.

Reduced Costs

Your capital investment costs for servers and equipment are reduced, because cloud technology is based on incremental payments, saving money. It’s moving from capital expenditure to operational expenditure.

More Mobility

Employees can access information wherever they are, and don’t have to be tied to a desk any more. The proliferation of tablets and smartphones makes it easier for employees to use any device to access their office data.

 Flexibility

Cloud computing is a flexible model that can adapt to any business, thus helping you achieve business objectives much easier and with more visibility.

Easy  Implementation

No longer do you need to purchase software licenses, hardware or services. You can get your cloud computing environment up and running in no time and for the fraction of the cost of on-premises infrastucture.

There are undoubtely as many cloud definitions as there are people on the planet! However I believe the most complete definition comes from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which says :

Cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.

Most people know of cloud as software that runs on the Internet. However, this is only half of the story. There are in fact 3 different types of cloud models:

1. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)
   This type of cloud service includes any application that runs on the Internet using a web browser. The difference between SaaS and other software platforms is that the user of these services doesn’t need to manage or control any  underlying cloud infrastructure including networks, servers, operating systems storage. Examples of SaaS are Hotmail, Skydrive or Google Apps
2. Platform as a Service (PaaS)
   This cloud service provides the consumer with the capability to deploy applications onto a cloud infrastructure using programming languages, services and tools supported by the provider. The consumer doesn’t manage any of the underlying infrastructure like network, servers, storage or operating systems. Examples of PaaS are Windows Azure and Amazon AWS
3. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
   This cloud service provides the capability to almost instantly provision processing, storage, networks and other computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy applications which can include operating systems and other software. The consumer doesn’t manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage and deployed applications

As you can see the cloud has many different service models and they can all be combined depending on your business needs. The thing I love most about cloud services is that one size doesn’t fit all and every cloud solution is unique to your business requirements and needs. You can combine all the 3 different models in  varied degrees, but in a way that helps your business objectives.

On the next Cloud Cover, I will talk about the advantages of cloud services for businesses.