Cloud
Computing

What is Cloud Computing ?

Cloud computing services offer IT as a service through the internet or via dedicated network, with on-demand delivery, and usage based payment. The services range from complete applications and development platforms to storage, servers, and virtual desktops.

Why to use Cloud Computing services?

Both corporate as well as government entities use different services of cloud computing to address a variety of application and infrastructure requirements, including database, CRM, compute, and data storage.

As compared to a traditional IT environment where software and hardware are funded up-front by department and implemented over the time period of months, the cloud computing services deliver IT resources in minutes to hours while aligning costs to actual usage. This results in firms having more agility and efficiency in managing expenses.

Therefore, cloud computing services enable consumers to simplify application utilization, share, store, and protect content, and gain access from any web-connected device.

How it Works

Cloud computing services host various common attributes:

• Virtualization - Cloud computing extensively uses server and storage virtualization in order to quickly allocate/reallocate resources.
• Multi-tenancy - Resources are pooled as well as shared among a number of users so that to gain economies of scale.
• Network-access - Resources can be accessed through Thin Client or Web Browser by using different networked devices such as tablet, computer, smartphone, etc.
• On demand - Resources are self-provisioned from an online catalogue of pre-defined configurations.
• Elastic - Resources can be automatically scaled up or down.
• Metering/chargeback - Resource usage can be tracked and billed according to the service arrangement.

Among numerous types of cloud computing services which are delivered internally or via third party service providers, the ones we offer are:

• Software as a Service (SaaS) – It is a way of delivering applications over the Internet, as a service. Basically, instead of installing and maintaining software, you simply gain its access via internet, which allows you to avoid complex software and hardware management. It is also known as Web-based software, hosted software, or on-demand software. Regardless of its name, SaaS applications run on a SaaS provider’s servers, and only the provider handles access to the application such as availability, security, and performance.
• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) – It offers access to computing resource in a virtualized environment, “the Cloud”, on a public connection, the internet. When it comes to IaaS, the computing resource offered is particularly that of virtualized hardware, which in other words is known as computing infrastructure. The definition includes such offerings as network connections, virtual server space, IP addresses, bandwidth, and load balancers. Physically, the pool of hardware resource is picked from a multitude of servers and networks usually dispersed across various data centers, which the cloud provider is fully responsible for maintaining. On the other hand, the clients are offered access to the virtualized components to create their own IT platforms.
• Platform as a Service (PaaS) – It provides a decent platform and environment that allow developers to create applications as well as services over the internet. PaaS services are hosted in the cloud and can be simply accessed by users through their web browser. It also enables the users to build software applications by using the supplied tools by the provider. PaaS services consist of pre-configured features which customers can subscribe to and they can also include the features that suit their needs. Packages can vary from providing simple point-and-click frameworks in which no client side hosting expertise is needed, to supplying different infrastructure options for advanced development.

Benefits

Numerous benefits of Cloud Computing services include:

• Anywhere access to content and applications
• Quicker implementation and time to value
• Higher utilization of infrastructure investments
• Rapid scalability to meet demand
• Greater IT staff productivity and across organization
• Lower infrastructure, energy, and facility costs
• Enhanced security and protection of information assets