In the marketing world, new phrases are constantly created to sell products and services. Sometimes, the word or phrases are clear and concise and other times, as is the case with cloud computing, the phrase may be concise, but it is far from clear. With cloud computing (and virtualization & Windows 7 & etc) all the rage these days, the concept is continuing to make its way into businesses everywhere. However, there are still organizations out there that do not know what cloud computing means to them which also means that they don’t know whether or not cloud computing could be good for the bottom line. In this post, I’ll explain the relatively non-technical basics behind the concept of cloud computing and explain why services “in the cloud” can result in a healthier bottom line for business.
Cloud computing: A definition
According to Wikipedia, cloud computing is “Internet based development and use of computer technology whereby dynamically scalable virtualized resources are provided as a service over the Internet.” In short, this definition of cloud computing basically indicates that the services residing in the cloud are based on scalable, on demand architectures that run in remote data centers with the service itself being delivered over an Internet connection. By this definition, pretty much any web site could be considered a cloud computing service. However, when it comes to actual cloud computing, more is implied; this can be best expressed by explaining another term often used in conjunction with cloud computing: Software as a Service (SaaS). SaaS is a class of software that is available on demand and, oftentimes, directly from an application service provider. One of the best known SaaS applications is Salesforce.com, a customer relationship management (CRM) application used by many businesses. Under Salesforce.com’s SaaS model, users connect to Saleforce.com’s web-based system and buy only enough licenses for their users. Licenses under their model aren’t "per computer" as is the case with a lot of other software.
In this case, it would be said that the Salesforce.com SaaS runs "in the cloud" meaning that it relies on the overall nebulous infrastructure that is called cloud computing.
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Do you use cloud based services/SaaS?
Do you use cloud based services/SaaS in your organization?There is no single archiceture, please review NomaDesk
Hi Scott,I work for www.nomadesk.com, which offers easy and secure file sharing, wherever you are. I read your post on cloud computing with great interest and just wanted to add NomaDesk to the mix.
NomaDesk, trusted by mobile (“nomadic”) businesses for several years now both in Europe and the U.S., is a hybrid of client and cloud based services.
NomaDesk works with a local client and allows access to your files from anywhere on the web. It includes an encrypted virtual drive that keeps your files securely available off-line and remote file shredding and IP-tracking with TheftGuard. Of course, we impose no limits on storage and bandwidth. A Mac version is on its way.
We have very good reasons to work with a local client that taps into the cloud:
(1) 100% availability of the data, regardless of network quality
(2) 100% performance when editing files, using any type of program
(3) 100% simplicity; just drag-n-drop files to synchronize and share them
(4) 100% security on the PC also: the virtual drives that NomaDesk creates on the PC are encrypted and can be shred remotely via our online TheftGuard service.
The bulk of our users, which are SOHO and SMB teams, appreciate the straightforward and secure file sharing they get through using the NomaDesk client software. You should know that in most cases NomaDesk replaces the traditional file server, FTP and VPN - with success!
Please let me know your thoughts.
Kind regards,
F.
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