Cloud Computing

Earlier systems comprised of layered architecture which consists of Hardware on which Operating system was installed and on this OS the application was installed for use. The major problem with this kind of architecture is that the application is dependent on the underlying layers which may lead to frequent failures. For Example, in a Email system if the email server fails then Windows NT (OS) and the Microsoft Exchange Server (application) will fail. Cloud Computing use virtual computing in order to disconnect the application from the operating system and the hardware.

{Virtual Computing is not same as cloud computing. Virtual Computing is a component of Cloud Computing}

Web Applications in Cloud Computing.

The most basic cloud computing applications include web applications. A classic example can be using the Google Docs. We can login to Google Docs with our Google ID and start creating documents. This means that we are accessing Office on a server from our computer. Now, if our system crashes, then we can be rest assured of the fact that our documents will be safe and we can again access our documents through some other computer.

Database Clustering

Web applications generally use database to store data. Under the clustering environment, more than one hardware is setup with the operating system and database software. Let’s say 4 different servers are installed with the operating system and the MySQL database and we connect the MySQL database on each of the systems such that any data changes made on anyone of the servers are replicated on to the other 3 servers. This forms a complete database cluster and data is accessed from the cluster instead of the individual database servers.

How This helps??

{Some Business depend completely on storage, therefore data cannot be ignored.}

• Clustering helps in redirecting the web request to any of the server within the cluster. So if any of the server within the cluster is loaded with requests then the web request can be redirected to another server within the cluster. This process is also known as load balancing.
• If any server within the cluster fails then any web request will not be directed to that server
• Clustering provides quick response to a web request

Data and Its Importance

Two reasons – monumental data growth and the opportunities that this data brings to businesses.  Data, of course, has been growing steadily for the past 50 years, but the orders of magnitude today are simply staggering.  The creation, transmittal, processing, and storage of data have reached epic proportions.  In simple terms (assuming a 50% annual growth rate), this equates to a 58x data growth factor within this decade.  The new abundance of data has fueled an even greater thirst by users demanding more granularity and increased regularity of data flow.

It is becoming clear that we are reaching a collective inflection point where data growth either becomes an overwhelming burden to IT; or becomes a fuel to propel business innovation.  Successfully moving beyond the inflection point requires a new way of thinking, and a new data infrastructure that supports historic growth levels while containing costs and avoiding complexity.

What is Cloud Computing ?

Cloud computing is a general term for anything that involves delivering hosted services over the Internet. Cloud computing is a technology that uses the internet and central remote servers to maintain data and applications. Cloud computing allows consumers and businesses to use applications without installation and access their personal files at any computer with internet access. This technology allows for much more efficient computing by centralizing storage, memory, processing and bandwidth. These services are broadly divided into three categories: Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). The name cloud computing was inspired by the cloud symbol that's often used to represent the Internet in flowcharts and diagrams.

{In June 2011, a study conducted by VersionOne found that 91% of senior IT professionals actually don't know what cloud computing is and two-thirds of senior finance professionals are clear by the concept}

A cloud service has three distinct characteristics that differentiate it from traditional hosting. It is sold on demand, typically by the minute or the hour; it is elastic -- a user can have as much or as little of a service as they want at any given time; and the service is fully managed by the provider (the consumer needs nothing but a personal computer and Internet access). Significant innovations in virtualization and distributed computing, as well as improved access to high-speed Internet and a weak economy, have accelerated interest in cloud computing.

A cloud can be private or public. A public cloud sells services to anyone on the Internet. (Currently, Amazon Web Services is the largest public cloud provider.) A private cloud is a proprietary network or a data center that supplies hosted services to a limited number of people. When a service provider uses public cloud resources to create their private cloud, the result is called a virtual private cloud. Private or public, the goal of cloud computing is to provide easy, scalable access to computing resources and IT services.

Cloud computing comes into focus only when you think about what IT always needs: a way to increase capacity or add capabilities on the fly without investing in new infrastructure, training new personnel, or licensing new software. Cloud computing encompasses any subscription-based or pay-per-use service that, in real time over the Internet, extends IT's existing capabilities.

In the fall of 2011, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) conducted an extensive study on how 600+ primarily large companies (most with more than $1 billion in revenue) were using applications in “the cloud” – software residing on remote data centers that organizations access via the Internet. Such data centers can be run by third parties that co-locate applications of multiple companies (so-called public clouds). Or these data centers can be run for the sole use of one organization, operated by that organization itself (private clouds).

From the analysis of the data from all three research streams, 10 findings were uncovered that explain how large companies around the world are using cloud applications, to what benefit, with what concerns, and with what future plans:

Finding No. 1: Despite the hype, cloud applications do not rule the large corporation, although their usage is expected to increase significantly. Cloud applications are still in the minority of all applications in companies (19% of the average large U.S. company’s applications, 12% in Europe, 28% in Asia-Pacific, and 39% in Latin American companies). But they expect the ratio of cloud to on-premises applications to increase greatly by 2014.  The case of Australia’s largest bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, illustrates why many companies have gained a voracious appetite for cloud applications. (Read more)

Finding No. 2: The biggest driver of cloud applications is not to cut IT costs.  IT cost reduction is an important factor, but not the most important. Rather, standardizing software applications and business processes across a company (in the U.S. and Asia-Pacific) and ramping systems up or down faster (in Europe and Latin America) are the most highly rated drivers for shifting on-premises applications to the cloud. And the factors driving companies to launch entirely new applications in the cloud are quite different – to institute new business processes and launch new technology-dependent products and services. The case of assessment testing company CTB/McGraw-Hill shows why cloud computing will become a key tool for delivering pioneering IT-enabled offerings. (Read more)

Finding No. 3: The early returns on cloud applications are impressive. Companies using cloud applications are increasing the number of standard applications and business processes, reducing cycle times to ramp up IT resources, cutting IT costs, and launching a greater number of new products and processes. The story of a major telco shows the ambitions of the some of the most aggressive cloud adopters. (Read more)

Finding No. 4: Customer-facing business functions are garnering the largest share of the cloud application budget.  Marketing, sales and service are capturing at least 40% of that budget in all four regions. The experiences of Dell’s enterprise sector online marketing function shows how one large company is trying to get closer to customers through cloud marketing applications.  And a new private cloud at Web media company AOL Inc. explains how a technology-dependent company can make its technology more responsive and cost-effective. (Read more)

Finding No. 5: Many companies are reluctant to put applications with sensitive data in the cloud. In the U.S. and Europe, the applications least frequently shifted from on-premises computers to the cloud were those that compiled data on employees (e.g., payroll), legal issues (legal management systems), product (pricing and product testing), and certain customer information (e.g., customer loyalty and e-commerce transactions). Still, some companies had shifted applications with customer data to the cloud, especially in customer service, and many planned to shift a number of customer-related applications to the cloud by 2014. (Read more)

Finding No. 6: The heaviest users of cloud applications are the companies that manufacture the technology hardware that enables cloud computing (computers/electronics/telecom equipment), while healthcare services providers are the lightest users (in terms of average number cloud apps per business function).  (Read more)

Finding No. 7: The most aggressive adopters of cloud applications are companies in Asia-Pacific and Latin America. They report having much higher percentages of cloud apps to total apps – and bigger results from cloud apps than their peers in the U.S. and Europe. We show how a large consumer products company uses the cloud to respond rapidly and effectively to consumer issues around the world. (Read more)

Finding No. 8: Despite a significant shift to cloud applications, most companies (especially in Europe) remain conservative about which applications they put in public clouds. Less than 20% of U.S. and European companies would consider or seriously consider putting their most critical applications in public clouds. But 66% of U.S. and 48% of European companies would consider putting core applications in private clouds. (Read more)

Finding No. 9: The keys to adopting and benefiting from cloud applications are overcoming fear of security risks and skepticism about ROI. (Read more)

Finding No. 10: Companies evaluate cloud vendors most on their security and reliability/uptime capabilities – and far less on their price. This was the case in all four regions. In fact, price typically finished at the bottom of a list of nine factors in making the cloud application purchasing decision. (Read more)