Cloud Computing Offers Newest Concepts In Computing - By: Wiiliam Smith

During the past decade, the term cloud computing has become a key information technology / IT buzzword. Cloud computing is a IT megatrend of prime importance that is taking deeper roots. Perhaps one of the simplest working definition of cloud computing is "being able to access files, data, programs and third party services from a Web browser via the Internet that are hosted by a third party provider" and "paying only for the computing resources and services used". Often cloud computing is used synonymously with such terms as utility computing or on-demand computing, software as a service or SaaS, and grid computing. Of these, utility computing and software as a service or SaaS are merely two of the several forms of services that cloud computing can provide. Grid computing is simply one type of underlying technologies for implementing cloud computing.

The word cloud in the term cloud computing also refers to big data center facilities. Today the computing field is able to envision transitioning into the cloud computing era because of the breath taking advancements in computing and information technologies during the past three decades. The advancements include the buildup of the Internet backbone, the widespread adoption of broadband access to the Internet, the powerful network of servers and storage in data centers, the advances in high performance and scalable software infrastructure for the data centers and the Web, etc. The architecture of a cloud includes several key modules, viz. - user interaction interface, system resource management module with a services catalog, and resource provisioning module. The system resource management module manages a massive network of servers running in parallel. Often it also uses virtualization techniques to dynamically allocate and de-allocate computing resources.

The Cloud computing technology offers a large number of major advantages to the users. The Cloud computing service provider owns and manages all the computing resources (servers, software, storage, and networking) and electricity needed for the services. The users availing cloud services only need to plug into the cloud. They do not need to make a large upfront investment on computing resources; on the space needed to house them; on electricity needed; and on hiring staff for administering the system, network, and database. The users availing cloud hosting services can increase or decrease the level of use of the computing resources and services flexibly and easily. The users have to pay the least money for the cloud services because they pay only for the computing resources and services they use, and the subscription based or pay per use charges are much lower than the cost of maintaining on premises computing resources. If the users are to maintain on premises computing resources, they also need to make the worst case plan in order to account for the occasional or seasonal peak needs.

The users can in practice access the cloud services at any point of time and from anywhere. Applications hosted on cloud can be accessed in real time from any place round the globe through an Internet connected device, such as, a laptop or a personal computer or an Internet connected mobile gadget, for example, an iPhone or an iPad. Applications hosted through the use of cloud hosting technology can be accessed by multiple users present round the world, and that too, in a simultaneous fashion. A cloud hosting service provider offers space for unlimited data storage. Drake, ATX tax software, ProSeries, Lacerte tax software, QuickBooks, Peachtree, ACT! CRM, Windows Server, MS SQL Server, MS Project, MS Office Server, Exchange Server, SharePoint Server, and many other applications can be easily hosted on cloud servers.

About the Author

William Smith is an IT analyst at Real Time Data Services which is a leading Cloud Computing and Application Hosting company. The company specializes in hosting many software including accounting software (QuickBooks, Peachtree), QuickBooks add-ons, Windows Server Hosting, Tax software, CRM software(ACT!), MS Project, MS Office Server, MS SQL Server and also hosts many

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