Effective, manageable, customizable and flexible: This is cloud computing…

Effective, manageable, customizable & flexible: This is cloud computing…

Whenever a new product or idea comes along, the first and most immediate question that everyone asks is, what can it do? That is usually followed by the question, how does it do that / those things? With regards to cloud computing, a better question to ask might be, is there anything that it can't do? In the world of computing and networking, there is very little that hasn't been considered by practitioners of cloud computing. This is largely because those that were at the forefront of traditional grid-based computing and networking now 'have their head in the clouds' so to speak and are dedicated to making cloud computing a success of epic proportions. Let's take a look at what makes cloud computing worth your time.

Effective

Anything that a traditional grid network can do, cloud computing can do better or just as well. It is also effective in the sense that it does many things that other networking methods simply cannot do; like providing individual network users with their own set of seemingly unlimited resources. Couple that with the fact that cloud networks are more performance oriented and you have a system that is extremely hard to top. And because most cloud computing networks are backed up (security wise) on a daily basis, it's more or less a mobile system that offers users the ultimate in security, data loss and data corruption prevention.

Manageable

Of the many ways that you can organize a computing network, the cloud model offers the greatest level of manageability. Through it you can determine who has access to what, how often information can be accessed, and even what time(s) said information can be accessed. And because cloud computing resources are provisioned in one central location, they are extremely easy to service and mange. And unlike grid systems which require annual hardware upgrades just to stay in business, cloud networks are able to simply incorporate and aggregate additional hardware so that the initial integrity of the system isn't compromised in any way.

Customizable

Virtually any type of hardware, software or idea can be integrated into the cloud computing model; this is not an exaggeration. It is the most customizable networking / computing solution that has ever been created. What's even more astounding is the fact that despite its high marks in terms of overall customizability, it's still the most affordable way to incorporate the highest possible level of features. A classic example that demonstrates just how customizable cloud computing really is would be how quickly a new cloud network is able to provision and reconfigure capacity, storage and servers (especially when compared with traditional networks).

Flexible

Unlike grid networks, which force businesses to have to buy and maintain their own system and hardware (at great expense), cloud computing offers its users different levels of choices. For example, the two most common levels of cloud service are IaaS and SaaS. In the IaaS model (infrastructure as a service) a company simply pays to use a cloud provider's extensive hardware resources, the remaining items are at their discretion to implement as they see fit.

In the SaaS model (software as a service), a cloud provider literally takes care of every aspect of setting up and maintaining a cloud network for their client. This means for a reasonable price a business can have access to a state of the art networking system that is among the best the world has to offer. Another aspect of cloud computing flexibility is its ability to integrate new software, apps, operating systems and hardware. Because cloud computing is localized to one specific area (with user terminals simply behaving like access points to the centralized resources) it is extremely easy to integrate new hardware and software. And this can be done without having to reconfigure the entire system or user machines.

Cloud computing is making things possible that have might have been considered virtually impossible just a few years ago. It is in essence the next evolution of the standard computing model and is poised to replace the current grid networking model. Its ability to offer businesses extremely advanced services, unlimited access, simplified maintenance, powerful virtualized hardware and almost boundless resources make cloud computing the obvious choice for both computing and networking.

We invite you to check out the Cloud Computing Certification Page for more learning opportunities around the management of Cloud Computing environments.

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