A View from the Cloud

Following up on previous blogs of cloud computing, I thought I'd point readers to an interesting article from a variety of different academics which relates to Cloud Computing. These academics are associated with the UC Berkeley Reliable Adaptive Distributed Systems Laboratory (RAD Lab) and have written a report on cloud computing which was published in the Communications of the ACM journal published April 2010.

To summarize the journal article the authors describe cloud computing; "cloud computing refers to both the applications delivered as services over the Internet and the hardware and systems software in the data centers thatprovide those services. The services themselves have long been referred to as Software as a Service (SaaS)". The authors make some really valid points about why cloud computing is so prevelant and why it's worth taking note of;

3. The ability to pay for use of computing resources on a short-term basis as needed (for example, processors by the hour and storage by the day) and release them as needed, thereby rewarding conservation by letting machines and storage go when they are no longer useful.
Makes it seem pretty straight forward right? Good news, is that cloud computing is quite simple! You don't need to understand IT to understand cloud computing and it's deliverables to your business.

Moving onto cloud economics is quite interesting too. Cloud offerings from IT business partners and Software as a Services (SaaS) providers are most useful when a business has;

1. Fluctuating demand for resource requirements (in IT speak; provisioning). Cloud computing lets a business pay for IT resources on a monthly, weekly or hourly basis. This means overall cost savings as provisioned resources are always at optimum utilization.

2. Unknown demand for services in advance of projects. Some businesses, especially those in the growth phase can't know demand for their services without expensive market research.  "Pay as you go" best describes the benefits of cloud computing.

3. Elasticity of demand. Simply put - IT resource can be provisioned within minutes instead of weeks using a cloud computing service. Cloud computing can match workload to resource allowance much more closely, meaning that at peak times provision can be made quickly for demand.

Here are some notes on considerations whilst I've got your "head in the clouds".

Businesses need to consider the following when looking at a cloud solution.

1. Business Continuity and Availability of Service; most businesses worry about their IT availability, scalability of service levels, service outages etc. All valid concerns, but you'll note that most SaaS cloud providers provide such good service, any small outage (no matter how small) is often jumped on by the news media. The most simple solution is to use multiple cloud providers to ensure service. Otherwise, get details from your SaaS provider about their outages and "uptime" guarantees. Any SaaS provider worth your business will be willing and able to provide this information.

2. Data Confidentiality; with the increased desire of society to make businesses transparent and accountable, the need for data confidentiality and auditability of IT services is at an all time high. The most simple solution to this is go with a SaaS provider who can talk to you about your specific IT security requirements. This means discussing the need for VLANs, Firewalls, Encryption of your data and perhaps even using the Sarbanes-Oxley and Health and Human Services Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations as a guide when choosing your SaaS provider.

3. Software Licensing; as anyone who's implemented an IT project in their business will know, software licensing can be a large part of the overall project cost. With a SaaS cloud solution the need for software licensing is not negated, it's just handled in a different manner. Fortunately most software licensing vendors have cloud solutions in place for their clients and can offer provisioned licensing solutions. The best question to ask your IT provider is if they are able to offer pay-per-use licenses.

Finally, email me if you've got any questions about cloud computing or would like to give comment.

Here are the details of the authors and the journal details for the full article. It's a fascinating read if you've got time and absolutely worth taking a look at.

Armbrust, M. Armando, F et. al. A View of Cloud Computing, Communications of the ACM, Vol. 53, No. 4, April 2010

2. The elimination of an up-front commitment by cloud users, thereby allowing companies to start small and increase hardware resources only when there is an increase in their needs.

1. The appearance of infinite computing resources available on demand, quickly enough to follow load surges, thereby eliminating the need for cloud computing users to plan far ahead for provisioning.