Friday, May 4, 2012

A brief explanation of cloud computing

By Dylan Juke


Cloud computing has been touted as the next stage in the evolution of the internet, and promises to save businesses money and offer a greener way of computing. But plenty of people are still confused about what exactly cloud computing is, especially because being told vague phrases about things being 'pushed into the cloud' aren't particularly helpful.

The fact is that the concept of the cloud is so new that many of the most influential people involved with the cloud don't even quite now how to define the cloud, or whether trying to define it might limit its potential. Put at its simply, cloud computing is a way of allowing you to access any of your work from any computer as long as you have an internet connection.

This isn't the only saving that can be made thanks to cloud computing. Users of cloud computing will save huge amounts by not having to shell out for hardware they would otherwise need. And because customers are billed on an on-demand basis, if the company suddenly grows and needs more resources the cost will be minimal - compare that with potentially having to buy a new server.

The fact that cloud computing works on an 'as needed' basis also make it incredibly efficient. This is in part due to the fact that multiple users share resources. In fact, Google claims that it is around 80 times more energy efficient to use Gmail than to run in-house email. Of course, using less energy also leads to a lower energy bill, again saving the business money.

The fact that global companies such as Google and Amazon already have a significant proportion of their IT resources in the cloud is proof enough that cloud computing is likely to take off over the following years. While the idea of cloud computing may still be hard to get your head around, there's no denying that actually using the cloud is a much simpler solution for most businesses.




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