Tuesday, October 20, 2009

2009 Horizon Report – Cloud Computing

Specialized data centers that host thousands of servers — has created a surplus of computing resources that has come to be called the cloud  (Horizon Report 2009).

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Working Definition of Cloud Computing (2009) states: “Cloud computing is a model for enabling 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.”  

Cloud computing has transformed information technology (IT) infrastructures with its capability of solving large-scale problems, hosting client applications and data storage, and billing by consumption. Cloud computing makes it possible for almost anyone to deploy tools that can scale on demand to serve as many users as desired. To the end user, the cloud is invisible. The applications are always available for use and the technology supporting it doesn’t matter, as long as the usera get their work completed.

There are four deployment models in the cloud computing environment: public, private, community, and hybrid (Sun Microsystems, 2009).

There are three different cloud delivery models: Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as Service (IaaS).

The emergence of cloud-based application is causing a shift in IT technology. Educational institutions, government sectors, private and public companies are taking advantage of this shift and aligning their businesses with the new technology.

References:

http://wp.nmc.org/horizon2009/

http://csrc.nist.gov/groups/SNS/cloud-computing/

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