Cloud Computing: What is it?

The term "Cloud Computing" is currently dominating the technology headlines and is the IT industry's marketing buzzword of the moment.

However, although the term "Cloud" is relatively new, it is essentially a re-branding term that encompasses various technologies & concepts that have existed for some years now:

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

IaaS wraps up server, storage, internet connectivity, cooling, electricity & power backup into a rented service model - pay only for the compute power you use. And you can scale your resources up & down quickly as your business needs evolve - hence the term "elastic" in Amazon Web Service's "Elastic Compute Cloud" or EC2.

Services like EC2 & others such as Rackspace Cloud Servers have made this extremely cost effective by using virtual technology to share physical server resources in a highly economic way.

This kind of service is often more relevant for business to business (B2B) rather than business to consumer (B2C).

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

What is a platform? In terms of software, the platform has traditionally been the operating system, such as Windows, Apple OSX or Linux for example. In the internet connected cloud environment however, new platforms are appearing that enable software developers to write apps directly into the cloud based environment: Google App Engine & Windows Azure for example.

These new cloud friendly platforms claim to free the developer from worrying about deployment issues because they are handled by the platform. As with any platform however, you will inevitably become tied-in, so the decision on which platform to adopt is a commercial one. However, VMware's Cloud Foundry project claims to overcome this.

Software (or Applications) as a Service (SaaS)

Software as a service is how most consumers (or "users") will experience the Cloud. If you use a web based application, like Gmail, Hotmail, Salesforce or hosted Practice Management Systems for Solicitors, such as Quill Pinpoint's Interactive, you are already experiencing SaaS.

Some solutions also offer a "hosted desktop", using Microsoft Remote Desktop for example, which allow you to run existing desktop apps & perhaps Microsoft Office whilst still gaining benefits from cloud delivery.

Apart from the potential cost saving implications, another advantage of this model is that any processing intensive parts of the software are handled by the service, so in theory at least, you can access your applications via lower powered netbooks or mobile devices.

Security is also potentially enhanced with SaaS.

Cloud without the storm?

So are the key drivers of cloud computing, such as: cost savings, mobility & business agility all too good to be true? Well, as with any supplier, carrying out due diligence is vital.

Three things to consider as a consumer of cloud computing resources:

1. Security

• Ensure internet traffic between you and the service is encrypted using industry standards such as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), Transport Layer Security (TLS) or Secure Shell (SSH) etc.
• Ensure that storage of data at the service end is secure, again using industry standard storage encryption techniques.
• Use best practices when it comes to password security and, where it is a multi-user system, take time to ensure roles & authorization rights are correctly configured to your needs.

2. Data Protection Act

• The UK data protection act tells that "transfers of personal data outside the European Economic Area (EEA) are prohibited, unless adequate protection is shown". Ensure your provider understands the implications of this.

3. Risk

• Does your provider have adequate business continuity arrangements in place?
• What SLA's do they provide?
• How can you get access to your systems & data if the provider goes out of business?

Summary

Despite the issues raised above, the Cloud has enormous advantages: mobility, vast amounts of computing power at your fingertips, no upfront capital costs & cost effectiveness.

Is this how all applications will eventually be delivered & consumed? Any comments most welcome.

Further reading:

• The National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST): Definition of Cloud Computing
• Quill Pinpoint's Cloud 9 article in their December 2010 edition of ReadIt