Posts Tagged ‘cloud computing’

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Is “Private” Cloud a Negation of the Term? Wednesday, November 10th, 2010

What is Cloud Computing?

According to Phil Wainwright, cloud computing consultant, true cloud computing involves four elements:

* Abstraction of the infrastructure in that it is not tied to any specific hardware or operating software. Any component of the infrastructure can be changed without affecting the operation of what is being computed. In practice, this typically means virtualization i.e. independence from the physical infrastructure.
* On-demand, pay-as-you-go service delivery. The provision of the service on-demand and billing only for the resources actually used is a major characteristic of the cloud. It is this characteristic that constitutes the main appeal of cloud computing to most.
* Thousands of users using the shared infrastructure, an infrastructure that is constantly refreshed based on user suggestions, with the latest version being available to all users.
* Cloud is an environment where any user is able to get just the type of computing the person or organization needs. In practice, this becomes possible through the scale of operations and the APIs that make it possible to customize the computing.

Considered against the parameters above, Private cloud is a misnomer as far as the “cloud” part is concerned. The “private” part typically involves duplicating much of the infrastructure, thus losing out on a major benefit of cloud computing. Another plus, viz. benefiting from the contributions of thousands of users, is also lost when the “cloud” becomes private.

Read the original blog post at ZDNet Blog.

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Cloud Computing: The Green Alternative Monday, October 18th, 2010

Visualize this scenario: You develop search engine software and install it on your system. The software sends out robot spider programs that crawl the Web and the data they bring back is stored on the system’s disks. An indexer program then analyzes the data and creates an index that is also stored on the disks. You use this index to do all your Web searches.

In addition to creating an infrastructure of computers, software, storage media and networks, you have also hired the programmers to develop and maintain the software, system administrators to administer the huge infrastructure and other required support staff.

The same scenario is repeated in all companies that need to search the Web for information, meaning that there are millions of such setups, each of them consuming huge amounts of energy and also creating huge amounts of e-waste, not to mention competing for the hard to find skilled programmers and system administrators.

Ridiculous scenario, you might comment. Why should all these companies develop and run their own search engines when they can simply access Google, Bing or Yahoo!

That is cloud computing for you. You use a service from an Internet (cloud) provider instead of setting up the whole infrastructure yourself.

Even when the service is not free, i.e. you have to pay for using the service, the total cost is likely to be dramatically less if you obtain the service from such a provider who serves a large number of customers requiring that service. The provider has dedicated (and constantly updated) infrastructure and staff for providing the service. And you pay only for what you use, which will be negligibly lower than what you will spend if you organize the service in-house.

And our planet earth will benefit because energy consumption and e-waste generation is far less.

Read about issues raised by cloud computing at Connecticut Law Tribune Website.

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How exactly should Companies go about Using Cloud Computing? Sunday, October 10th, 2010

Cloud computing is the current hot topic in information technology. In essence it involves doing much of the computing work on the Internet “cloud” rather than locally. This can have a significant cost impact as organizations can reduce their spends on:

* Hardware such as servers and application software
* Upgrading from older versions of software to latest versions
* The time involved in planning, implementing and testing additions to the IT functionality
* Training and retraining staff involved in maintaining the hardware and software with each major change

Under full-fledged cloud computing, the vendor will provide the servers, software and storage while users will need only work at their local “terminals” entering data and doing other work. All software will be upgraded to latest versions by the vendor. Users pay only for what they use.

In actual practice, such complete shift of computing to the cloud is rare. Also, most companies and other users are already using cloud computing to some extent without even being aware of it.

In this fluid situation, few users have a clear idea of how to tap the full potential of the cloud computing development. While the term “cloud” computing might give way to another newly coined word in due time, the underlying technology and practices will be in use for a long time.

The Cloud Computing Fundamentals Report discusses all the issues involved such as its impact on business, selecting the particular model of cloud that meets your needs best and best practices for deployment and management.

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Cloud Computing Market in India Monday, September 27th, 2010

The computer revolution started with desktop applications, i.e. software tools that resided on individual desktop computers. The accounting application resided on the accountant’s desktop; the inventory application on the storekeeper’s desktop; and so on. The computer-based applications speeded up the work of recording transactions, and also provided analytical reports more elaborate than what people could prepare by hand.

Then came local area networks that linked the different departmental computers to a central server and it was possible to link the accounting and inventory applications to eliminate duplicate data entry where these occurred. Such centralization of data also enabled one department to access details maintained by anther department, e.g. the production manager could check inventory availability of a particular material in the store from his desktop.

And when the Web appeared, it was possible to integrate applications across the globe. A global corporation could review the progress of a project being executed at the other end of the globe (provided project progress details are being entered in a timely manner into the system).

In all the above scenarios, the businesses have to set up the infrastructure on their own, including hardware and software. They also had to hire staff to operate the hardware and to work with the software. Not only did these cost money but also time; months are typically needed before a new system can be made operational.

Enter cloud computing and the scenario changes dramatically. Software, hardware and staff could all now be hired by the hour at low rates, instead of spending huge sums of money on hardware, software and hiring/training staff. Latest equipment and software versions, operated by experienced staff, become available from dedicated providers who focus on providing cloud computing services. Users pay only for the services they use, instead of setting up an elaborate infrastructure to meet every possible requirement, however infrequently they arise.

The market for cloud computing services is potentially huge as business organizations come to realize the numerous advantages of this option compared to setting up their own infrastructure. A report on Cloud Computing Market in India looks at all the issues involved.

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India, China and Cloud Computing Friday, September 17th, 2010

India has gained a strong reputation in software and services while China’s strength is in computer hardware manufacturing. Until now the two activities, services and manufacture, could proceed somewhat independently and prosper. However, with the arrival of cloud computing, the scenario is likely to change in a significant manner.

Cloud computing involves providing service from the Internet cloud to the clients, and require expertise in both hardware and software, as well as delivery of services. China’s expertise in hardware, and India’s familiarity with the service clients and their requirements, could be combined to become a force in the new market for cloud computing services. However, this requires India and China seeing each other as partners rather than as competitors.

A competitor mentality could see China trying to develop software and services skills, involving acquiring necessary language skills as well as being able to work in the client culture. This is going to take a long time. And similar time periods will be involved if India tries to develop the manufacturing infrastructure and skills.

Wasting that kind of time in a field where things are changing fast, instead of working together combining each other’s strengths, will be missing a great opporunity, says the author of the article India and China, Tech Frenemies in The Wall Street Journal.

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Google Apps: Government Version Available Thursday, July 29th, 2010

Google Apps is an office suite that includes the traditional word processing, spreadsheet and other documents, plus email, calendar and instant messaging. It is a Web application, meaning that the user does not have to purchase any hardware or software. It also means that the user can access the application from anywhere over the Internet, with a guarantee of 99.9% uptime.

Google says that the suite supports access of information over mobile phones, thus making employees more productive. They can access their email, calendar and instant messages using Blackberry, iPhone, Windows Mobile, Android and other phones.

The applications can be customized to meet the technical, branding and business requirements of individual organizations.

Security features include spam and inbound mail filtering, filtering of outbound mail to prevent sensitive information going out, custom sharing rules that determine how broadly employees can share documents and SSL connections, among others.

Google has announced that a new version of the Apps suite specifically designed for government customers is now ready. The major difference of this version from the standard one is the higher level of security. The company had to provide for the “enormous amount of controls” needed as per Federal Information Security Management Act before getting a certification.

Read the news at CNET News.

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Cloud Computing with iPad: the Cetrom Example Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

A press release from Cetrom Information Technology shows how the company has met customer expectations quickly. The company is an Application Services Provider providing many applications including Microsoft Office and QuickBooks under the Software as a Service (SaaS) model. SaaS falls under the category of cloud computing that also covers providing IT infrastructure, computing platforms and data storage space on an “as needed” basis from the Internet cloud.

Many of Cetrom’s customers are among the group of avid fans that Apple manages to create for all their new releases. And these fans were delighted to find that they could continue to use many of the cloud computing applications from the new Apple iPad. Cetrom’s business owner customers could thus evaluate business applications immediately on the iPad.

Apple iPad sales are expected to be in the range of five to ten million units by the end of 2010 and this large user base will need a wide range of applications that will work on the device. Developers have already started working on applications that will work on iPad. It is in this context that Cetrom’s service becomes significant.

By making cloud computing applications accessible “anyhow” (through the iPad in this case), in addition to anywhere and anytime, Cetrom has shown how companies can respond to customers quickly. The iPad was released only last month. Read their news release at EarthTimes

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Posted in business, cloud computing, information technology | 2 Comments »

How the U.S. Government Plans to tap Cloud Computing for Better Governance Sunday, April 11th, 2010

The Chief Information Officer of U.S. President presented the government plans to leverage cloud computing for doing its business in a way that uses taxpayer dollars in a more responsible manner. Cloud computing is expected to deliver (i) economic gains, (ii) environmental benefits and (iii) greater ability to provide services on demand according to the CIO.

The CIO compared cloud computing to centralized water supply. Whereas in a bygone era every house had its own private well, these days households get their water by turning on the water tap. Each household can use just the quantity of water it needs, making the unused water available to others.

Similarly in cloud computing, computing resourcs are available on tap. Networks, servers, storage and application software all are on the Internet, available to those who need it. You save money because you don’t have to install everthing at your premises (and then underutilize the installed computing resources). Instead, you pay only for what you use of the shared computing resources.

Just like invididuals and prive businesses, governments can also benefit by tapping cloud computing technology. The U.S. government spent over $76 million for more than 10,000 systems to support more than 300 million Americans. Government data centers now exceed 1,100, more than double what it was a decade ago.

Much of the IT infrastructure is redundant and also leads to high consumption of energy, expected to exceed 12 billion kWh in 2011 if things do not change. Despite the heavy spending, skilled workers and vital funds are underutilized. The results are unimpressive.

Read the full remarks of the CIO at: Government Computer News website.

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Cloud Computing can Unleash the Potential of Your Employees Friday, April 2nd, 2010

Traditionally, businesses bought servers and software that were installed in their offices. Both servers and software cost money up front. Additionally, staff had to be trained not only in using the system but also in maintaining the equipment and software.

And once operations started, various other issues appeared. Data and applications had to be backed up to recover from inevitable data loss situations of many kinds. Equipment and system crashes had to be monitored and attended to in a timely manner. You needed a whole department of expensive IT people to attend to everything.

Cloud computing saves you all this trouble. You work out an arrangement with a service provider for what you want, and the servers and systems you want will be available in minutes. You can upload your applications to the new servers and start operations.

You can go further by looking for a vendor who offers software as well as servers on the cloud. The combo will save you the time spent on uploading, installing and configuring the software. Instead, you just start using the software in minutes. And you will automatically get to use the latest version of the software without even being aware of it.

Compare this to the earlier scenario where you had to wait for your IT department to get and install the servers, configure them and arrange staff to make everything operational while you waited (and probably soon lost your enthusiasm for the whole project). Few managers will be willing to take on the hassle and go for new ideas in such an environment.

Done right, organizations care release the creativity and potential of their employees by going in for cloud computing. Capacities and capabilities will take on an entire new dimension under cloud computing. And doing it right means getting to know cloud computing and what it can do, and then starting to use these to meet your particular needs.

Just who in your organization will attend to this task? Or will you ignore the dramatic new potential of cloud computing?

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Retraining IT Technicians to Help the Elderly use Telehealth Technology Thursday, April 1st, 2010

The Health and Wealth Care Initiative for Vermont and New Hampshire is seeking a $1.75 million grant, which it will match with $750,000, under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to retrain IT workers. These will be people who are familiar with older computer systems, who will now be trained to work with “cloud computing” where applications and data reside on the Internet instead of on local computers.

The retrained IT workers will then act as mentors to elderly people helping them use telehealth systems. Telehealth systems link patients to their healthcare providers over the Internet. Digital devices can transmit patient data to the healthcare provider and patients receive guidance and treatment remotely.

The retrained IT workers will help the aged to use devices like the Apple iPad that combines a phone and computer. Elderly patients living in rural areas can benefit greatly from the new initiative, its proponents argue. It will also create new employment opportunities to IT workes whose skills might be outdated.

One incidental benefit claimed for the initiative is that patients are more honest in answering health questions over the computer as against face-to-face consultations with their physicians.

Read the news at fosters.com

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