Cloud Services
What is Cloud Computing?
Cloud Computing is a nebulous term that means different things to different people.
To some it means Software as a Service (SAAS) such as Google Docs, Hosted Exchange, Salesforce or just about any other on-line service.
To others it is a Platform as a Service (PAAS) which is the movement of programs and applications to a cloud hosting environment like Amazon's EC2 service.
Others are using it as an Infrastructure as a Service (IAAS) by moving individual servers out of their office or data centers to a cloud hosted environment. They are moving things like storage, operating systems, applications, shared files and other services. The infrastructure can be secure in that it requires a VPN connection to access the resources or it can be distributed and publicly available like a movie or image.
To add to the mix, Cloud Computing can also be in your data center or on the Internet or both.
Tying these all together... If it has on-demand service with broad network access and pools resources while providing rapid elasticity in a measure service, it is Cloud Computing. Confusing?
Perhaps the best definition for Cloud Computing was provided by Simon Wardley at OSCON 09: "Cloud computing is a generic term used to describe a disruptive transformation in I.T. towards a service based economy..." and it is turning out to be much like the Industrial Revolution was for manufacturing. The following video is his talk that helps explain Cloud Computing.
Cloud computing is a revolution not only in IT but also in business as a whole as companies adjust to this new way of doing IT.
Benefits of cloud computing
- Before Cloud Computing you needed boxes of hardware, racks space, racks, power, hardware engineers. With Cloud Computing maintaining hardware becomes someone else's problem - it helps you eliminate your large scale computing infrastructure.
- It allows you to move your applications off your desktop and into a distributed data center. This allows you to lower you cost of application licenses for every desktop.
- You get the economics of scale. You only pay for what you need and use.
Is the cloud right for me?
Please contact us for a free consultation to see if moving to the cloud is right for you.
We have answers for questions like:
- Can I move my mail server to the cloud?
- Is the cloud HIPPA/PCI compliant?
- Can I securely connect my network to the cloud?
- Can I just move part of my infrastructure to the cloud?
- Is the cloud secure?
Some of the services we offer are:
- Planning and migrating to the Cloud.
- Server management and administration.
- Storage management.