If you are not yet familiar with the term, “Cloud Computing” is a trendy phrase that simply denotes services delivered across the Internet (a.k.a., “the Cloud.”) If you are a user of GMail, Google’s free email service, or subscribe to Apple’s MobileMe, a file storage service accessible from the Internet, or use Google Docs, a web-based answer to Microsoft Office, you are already reaping the benefits of Cloud computing.
Typically, Cloud computing encompasses three distinct types of services:
The first, known as Platform as a Service, or PaaS, provides individuals or companies an entire computing platform accessible from the Internet. By computing platform, I mean to say that such things as servers, storage devices, and application software are all a part of what PaaS seeks to deliver. Instead of having to buy all of the hardware and software necessary to run a certain application or development environment, it is now possible to purchase the use of such a platform from a PaaS provider. The availability of such services are a boon to the individual or small company for whom ownership of such platforms would otherwise prove economically infeasible.
The second distinct type of service delivered from the Cloud is known as Software as a Service, or SaaS. Google Docs is a perfect example of Software as a Service. Without needing to invest in expensive Office Productivity software, one can now purchase, for a nominal subscription fee, the use of such software via the Internet. One doesn’t “own” the software, but rather pays for the use of it. This is sort of like leasing a car instead of buying it, one pays for the use of the vehicle, but retains no ownership of it. For many reasons, the leasing of cars has become popular due to its cost effectiveness, and in the same way, for many of the same reasons, SaaS is also increasingly popular.
The third type of Cloud service is Infrastructure as a Service, or IaaS. Infrastructure as a Service provides users the use of the hardware they need to host their own web sites, web applications, or other web enabled services. Different from PaaS, which is focused on providing all the software and hardware necessary for a given platform, IaaS generally provides just the building blocks, so-to-speak, or the raw hardware which the user is free to use in whatever way they’d like. From network devices, to storage arrays and server processing time, IaaS providers generally deliver their services on a pay-as-you-go basis. Thus, the more storage space used, network bandwidth consumed, or CPU cycles utilized, the greater the cost. This model has the benefit of allowing individuals or companies to pay only for computing resources when and as they are needed, instead of having to spend huge sums of money to meet a demand they might only rarely experience.
As a person in IT, it is difficult for me to deny the obvious benefits that Cloud computing offers. The problems Cloud computing attempts to solve are problems long dealt with in the industry. The Cloud might ultimately be the panacea for most if not all of IT’s current ills. Yet, it may also be another over-hyped, hyperbolically marketed, disgustingly over-used (often incorrectly) buzzword that leads the industry toward a downward spiral.
Like so many hungry Pavlovian dogs, middle and upper-level IT managers salivate at the mere mention of “the Cloud.” Eager to prove to their superiors just how up-to-date and on-top-of technology they are, these managers are often diving headlong into a pool whose bottom they’ve never cared to assess. In many respects, the only Cloud these people truly understand is the vaporous space between their ears.
For with the Cloud comes many, many issues. The question of security is foremost among them. When one uploads data and files to the Cloud, where exactly do they go, and whose responsibility is it to ensure that they are maintained in the proper manner, free from risk of theft or misuse? Cloud companies tout the myriad methods they employ to protect the data within their care, but to what degree can we trust them? For example, if a firm in the financial industry subscribes to a Trading System from the Cloud, exactly who can say that their competitors will not be able to glean all of their trading information? Such lofty companies as Amazon, Facebook and Google have certainly had their share of privacy and security concerns, why should Cloud service providers be any different?
Apart from security, there is also the question of jobs. The IT industry has had to watch thousands of its jobs move from the States to overseas. I can only imagine what the rise of Cloud computing is going to mean to the availability of IT jobs in the U.S. No longer will companies need to hire their own IT staff to maintain and support their infrastructure. Thus, countless network engineers and support personnel may find it increasingly difficult to find work. If a firm can outsource its infrastructure needs anywhere in the world and obtain nearly the same level of support (assuming it is cheaper, of course) they will most certainly do so. It’s all about the bottom line, and what better way to help it along, than to cut jobs and save money on pay-as-you-go services via the Cloud, provided by cheap overseas companies.
Finally, it remains to be seen if the expected cost benefits of working in the Cloud will become a reality. The marketing hype heralding the Epoch of the Cloud promises the kind of unheard-of potential hitherto envisioned only by nineteenth-century snake oil salesmen. Let’s hope, this time around, we get what we’re bargaining for.
