Cloud computing has matured from buzzword to a dynamic infrastructure used today by thousands of organizations. Leading analysts, including thought leaders from Gartner, Forrester, and IDC agree that this new model of computing offers significant advantages for fast-paced start-ups, Small to Medium Businesses (SMBs) and enterprises alike.
Today, forward-thinking business leaders are using the cloud within their enterprise data centres to take advantage of the best practices that cloud computing has established, namely:
• scalability,
• agility,
• automation, and
• resource sharing.
By using a cloud-enabled application platform, companies can choose a hybrid approach to cloud computing that employs an organization's existing infrastructure to launch new cloud-enabled applications. This hybrid approach allows IT departments to focus on innovation for the business, reducing both capital and operational costs and automating the management of complex technologies.
Cloud Computing Defined
In its simplest form, cloud computing consists of shared computing resources that are virtualized and accessed as a service, through an Application Programming Interface (API). The physical resources may reside in a number of locations inside and outside of an organization:
• on local hardware,
• in an enterprise data centre, or
• at remote or managed service provider’s on a pay-for-use basis.
Cloud computing resources are offered as a service on an as-needed basis, and delivered by the Internet (IP-based connectivity), providing highly scalable, reliable on-demand services with agile management capabilities.
