What is Cloud Computing?
February 13th 2012 06:01
The whole world seems to be buzzing with the phenomenon of cloud computing. Every other person is coming up with different explanation. A viral video of an old Indian man linked it with clouds up in the sky and pointed out that it will not work due to bad weather. In short, people without knowing what cloud computing really means are jumping to conclusions and tagging it as a myth. Here is a small overview to explain what cloud computing really is and what are the advantages and dis advantages of this ground breaking technology.
Origin of Cloud Computing:
It is very interesting to know that the original idea of cloud computing dates back to the 1960s when John McCartney gave a vision that later on transformed into what is now known as Cloud Computing.
For the first time it was practically used in 1999 when a company operating under the name of sales force used it over the internet.
The Mechanism:
The term cloud is derived from the cloud like diagrams that are often used by teachers and professors when explaining a network. It is basically an online web space that can be accessed through any part of the world and users can either download or upload data.
Now it is adopted by big corporations that are based in multiple countries and like to maintain a centralized data center. This helps them to manage the running costs of in house server that require a lot of attention and maintenance. Also this means that they do not have to employ in house technicians to look after the servers.
The access is through internet and it is like a virtual online hard drive that enables users to manage applications for their personal and business use. The concept is gaining popularity in the public too and a lot of companies are selling small clouds to entertain the new users.
Advantages:
Provides a centralized hub
Saves costs on local servers, one server can accommodate the traffic world over
Can be used as an online data storage
People who don’t have extra disk space can access applications from their clouds
Allows the companies to maintain privacy of their data
Data is more organized
Clouds are available in different sizes according to the needs of users
Helps prevents in piracy of patent applications as they are only accessible through clouds
Disadvantages:
Not all companies can buy clouds
It is not a feasible choice for small users
The cost is not fixed, it grows if the usage grows and this can be a hurdle to growth due to lack of capital
Conclusion:
To sum up the discussion, cloud computing is an alternate to dedicated servers that are available online. Cloud computing is the faster and easier version of online storage where companies can save up time and capital that they spend on managing their own server. More over this also provides them extra office space.
Cloud computing is the future as the costs will further drop and users will switch to it due to its advantages.
Origin of Cloud Computing:
It is very interesting to know that the original idea of cloud computing dates back to the 1960s when John McCartney gave a vision that later on transformed into what is now known as Cloud Computing.
For the first time it was practically used in 1999 when a company operating under the name of sales force used it over the internet.
The Mechanism:
The term cloud is derived from the cloud like diagrams that are often used by teachers and professors when explaining a network. It is basically an online web space that can be accessed through any part of the world and users can either download or upload data.
Now it is adopted by big corporations that are based in multiple countries and like to maintain a centralized data center. This helps them to manage the running costs of in house server that require a lot of attention and maintenance. Also this means that they do not have to employ in house technicians to look after the servers.
The access is through internet and it is like a virtual online hard drive that enables users to manage applications for their personal and business use. The concept is gaining popularity in the public too and a lot of companies are selling small clouds to entertain the new users.
Advantages:
Provides a centralized hub
Saves costs on local servers, one server can accommodate the traffic world over
Can be used as an online data storage
People who don’t have extra disk space can access applications from their clouds
Allows the companies to maintain privacy of their data
Data is more organized
Clouds are available in different sizes according to the needs of users
Helps prevents in piracy of patent applications as they are only accessible through clouds
Disadvantages:
Not all companies can buy clouds
It is not a feasible choice for small users
The cost is not fixed, it grows if the usage grows and this can be a hurdle to growth due to lack of capital
Conclusion:
To sum up the discussion, cloud computing is an alternate to dedicated servers that are available online. Cloud computing is the faster and easier version of online storage where companies can save up time and capital that they spend on managing their own server. More over this also provides them extra office space.
Cloud computing is the future as the costs will further drop and users will switch to it due to its advantages.
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