How Amazon Uses its Cloud to Turbocharge the Browser
Amazon’s Kindle Fire is the web company’s first tablet. While it may run Android 2.3 on hardware not dissimilar to that of the PlayBook it has a completely different feel and feature set compared to any of RIM or Google offering.
Besides leaving its content delivery up to the cloud, the Kindle Fire also leverages Amazon’s servers in delivering a nice, fast web browsing experience. Amazon calls its browser Amazon Silk, and says that it introduces a “split browser” architecture that uses Amazon Web Services cloud (AWS).
The Silk browser software resides both on Kindle Fire and on the massive server fleet that comprises the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2). With each page request, Silk dynamically determines a division of labor between the mobile hardware and Amazon EC2 (i.e. which browser sub-components run where) that takes into consideration factors like network conditions, page complexity and the location of any cached content.
Any users of the Opera Mobile browser can attest to the benefits of having a big server do the work for you. A browser like Opera Mobile or Silk will also be of great use to those with limited data plans. Instead of downloading a full-sized image that’d designed for high-resolution desktop viewing, the server will compress the image to a suitable size for your device, saving on bandwidth.
According to Amazon, a typical web page requires 80 files served from 13 different domains. Latency over wireless connections is high – on the order of 100 milliseconds round trip. Serving a web page requires hundreds of such round trips, only some of which can be done in parallel. In aggregate, this adds seconds to page load times. Amazon boasts that its EC2′s connection can score a round-trip latency of 5 milliseconds or less to most web sites.
For a mobile browser, this makes a ton of sense. Even John Carmack of id Software endorses the move. Carmack tweeted: “I always thought some kind of remote aggregator made huge sense for connection-challenged browsing – Amazon Silk seems like a Good Thing.”
It will make even more sense whenever Amazon introduces a 3G model.
#VIDEO_6392#
- Amazon Makes $199 Android-based Kindle Fire Tablet
- Amazon Announces Three New Ultra-cheap Kindles
- Report: “Better” Amazon Tablet Coming in January
For more information, please visit: us.news-republic.com
Leveling the Playing Field
By Rob Mayeda
Everyone loves a great against-all-odds story.
From religious fables to present day sporting events we can remember nearly every instance. Perhaps it was the story of David armed with only a slingshot to take down the mighty Goliath. In the Olympics, there was the “Miracle on Ice” from 1980 where an unknown team of American hockey players first defeated the odds-on-favorite Soviet Union and later Finland for the gold medal. Another moment well remembered was Buster Douglas’ victory over Mike Tyson that knocked out the boxing world. And every year in “March Madness” we hear of a tiny school we never knew existed somehow toppling a heavily favored powerhouse. Just as I have witnessed with my Arizona Wildcats stopped by the E. Tennessee States of the world too many times.
As they say in sports, “…sometimes the odds simply don’t matter, it really comes down to how you play the game.” If only that were true in business.
For young, upstart small businesses that lack the capital, infrastructure and people power of their conglomerate counterparts there really has been no such thing as a level playing field. You simply took your great idea, ran with it and hoped it would strike big like a David/TeamUSA/Buster long shot.
Its a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts in business that mirrors Darwinian evolution.
The strongest, fittest and most financially sound companies adapt, thrive, survive, have children (spinoff companies) and can afford to stay in the game no matter how strong or weak the global economy was. Then a funny thing occurred on the evolution of business management.
The internet happened.
First used as a novelty to search and accessing product information, the new wave of innovators realized the day would come when hardware would become less important than the software that was running on it. Many operating systems and browsers later we find many software companies now finding themselves standing as dinosaurs in a new world of leaner, more efficient cloud computing-based business management platforms.
Whether you realize it or not, we’re now witnessing a wonderfully empowering tipping point in how businesses gather the tools they need to succeed. Cloud computing has managed to finally level the playing field.
No longer do you need the largest army of servers or a library of software to assign individually to specific tasks. This is where AnaTango likes to believe there are stories like “the Miracle on Ice” happening every day if not every minute once a new company jumps online with their business management needs.
The cloud not only enables young upstarts to have a chance to succeed, but can also help larger, well-established companies maintain a competitive edge by successfully making the transition to a fully integrated cloud-based management system. This too will insure that company’s lifetime of success won’t be lost in the next great leap of technological innovation.
With services like Anavation and Anavoy companies can consolidate all of their frequently outdated software into one cohesive platform. The Adaptive Management Infrastructure core can adapt, evolve and match your needs without needing massive IT departments, server purchases and costly software upgrades.
This means even today’s Enterprise Resource Planning users can easily adopt this new era of adaptive business management platforms built with forward-thinking functionality for tomorrow’s needs.
If your company plans on being around for the next 10 years, why would you rely on hardware/software that was designed for yesterday’s business? This old model never assumed we’d see the powerful mobile computing tools like tablets and smart phones. Again, this is where many cloud computing platforms are already optimized for business going fully mobile.
That’s the wonderful part of this great evolution. It not only will grant us the ability to conduct business in ways never thought possible before, it most certainly will allow anyone with a great idea the means to become successful provided they follow the advice of an NFL legend.
“Success demands singleness of purpose” – Vince Lombardi
At least now with the new cloud-era of business management, more than ever before your company can win the game. – Rob Mayeda
Photo: CMO Rob Mayeda enjoying the ‘ocean air-conditioning’ of the Laguna Beach office.
AnaTango’s Chief Marketing Officer Rob Mayeda brings nearly 17 years of broadcast news/media experience to AnaTango and is a multiple Emmy-winning meteorologist and multimedia producer. Rob is a self-described technology ‘geek’ constantly researching and testing new software and hardware designs. Rob also leads the user-interface design and implementation for AnaTangoCloud. Contact Rob @ rmayeda@anatango.com
Are Sunny Days Possible in the Cloud?
Do you remember not too long ago hopping into your car, driving, across town (when gas was $1- something) to your local retail store and searching the computer department to purchase a cereal box that contained between 2- 8 3.5” (or are you “wise” enough to remember 5.25” floppy) disks? The disk contained software that would entertain us, make us more productive and educate. If you don’t remember that, how about going to the record store and perusing the aisles for hours reading the CD boxes that were twice as big as the CD.
Well those days seem long past; and inserting a disk in anything these days….well, seems a bit ancient.
Cloud
We’re now spoiled with the conveniences of iTunes, Salesforce.com, Facebook, Youtube, Yahoo Mail, etc.. In addition, we’re all too familiar with the seemingly millions of applications that run on a myriad of mobile appliances. None of these programs run on our PC’s hard drive. They’re browser based applications that are essentially utility services which we share with thousands of users.
So, I began to ponder the question, “What’s the big deal about the Cloud in Manufacturing and Enterprise?”
Is Cloud right for Manufacturing?
Most of us do not really care where our software is coming from—we just want stuff that works… right? One thing the “Cloud” model produces is this proliferation of different service models. These would be the infamous “aa” models. Not to be confused, of course, with the model that contains 12 steps, but Infrastructure as a Service (Iaas), Platform as a Service (PaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS) and Everything as a Service (XaaS) in private or public deployment. The potential merits of these new service models are well chronicled, especially for the business enterprise. For example, the prospect of a simplified cost and consumption model, faster provisioning of systems and applications, ease of integration and flexible and resilient business continuity, among other things are always worth the development and risk.
Manufacturing and process applications are a slightly different animal than the typical enterprise network. It’s a big issue when you lose strategic sales data or have trouble accessing the data when you have to report your quarterly numbers to the Sales VP, but it can be a catastrophic condition when your SCADA network brings down a complete line in your semiconductor fab or methane production plant costing your organization millions of dollars per hour. Or worst posing significant physical safety issues to your employees as a result of network bandwidth issues.
So, can there be sunny days in the cloud? Or does security, and network resiliency concerns and hurdles produce more storms, hurricanes, and tsunamis impeding the intended merits of the “Cloud”? Another main concern is that these hurdles regulate “Cloud” deployment to batch processed or non mission critical applications.
Trust
Cisco believes that gaining the advantages of cloud computing in manufacturing and process environments revolve around establishing a trusted approach to the cloud. Without trust, the economics of cloud computing make little difference.
Trust in the cloud centers on four core concepts:
•Security – Traditional issues around data and resource access control, encryption and incident detection
•Control – The ability of the enterprise to directly manage how and where data and software is deployed, used and destroyed
•Service-Level Management – The definition, contracting and enforcement of service level agreements between a variety of parties
•Compliance – Conformance with required regulatory, legal and general industry requirements
I have this utopian dream where companies run their manufacturing and process applications from the Cloud. Can you imagine the disruptive technologies that would spawn from providing a “Cloud” network platform that:
- Produces a network that is faster than the control system
- Provides deterministic packet delivery
- Enables synchronization across the system
- Meets data throughput requirements for motion control applications
This would make for a sunny day indeed. Think it’s impossible? Well In 1995, I never thought I would be able to stream High Definition video through my home network connection.
For more information, please visit: blogs.cisco.com
Cloud Computing Tips for Small Business
Cloud computing technology offers both time- and money-saving benefits, which makes it a great fit for small business. As cloud computing benefits become more tangible, more small businesses are moving to the cloud. Still, as with any technology, you don’t want to jump in without proper preparation.
First, it is important to recognize that there are several fundamentally different approaches to cloud computing, including:
- Public cloud: The cloud infrastructure is made available to the general public or to a large industry group and is owned by an organization selling cloud services. Most commonly used services here are application-specific — for example, Salesforce.com or Microsoft Office 365 — and pricing is often on a simple, cost-per-seat-per-month basis.
- Private cloud: The cloud infrastructure is operated solely for one organization. It may be managed by the organization itself or by a third party, and it may exist on premises or off-premises. CDW’s Cloud Computing Tracking Poll found that most IT decision makers, in SMB as well as other markets, would prefer the private option. However, the private option requires more knowledge and capabilities to manage, so getting there is a challenge for many organizations, and it is not for everyone.
Cloud computing has a lot to offer, and for small businesses with limited resources, public cloud services offer especially attractive benefits. For example, using applications in the public cloud can help address networking issues without requiring small businesses to invest in their own servers or expand their IT staff.
With public cloud services, businesses pay only for the seats or capacity they use at any given time, which is ideal for small business IT budgets. However, before making the move, small businesses need to be sure that they have a clear picture of all that the cloud entails, and then determine whether it is the right solution for them.
Make a Cloud Computing Plan
The availability and cost of public cloud services makes starting so easy that many IT departments discover some of their employees are using them before the IT team even has a plan. However, a plan — even a simple one — is essential to get the most value from cloud services. Look at how your IT staff spends its time and budget, and consider cloud services that will take pressure off them. For example:
• Software management: Is your business challenged by support and management requirements for widely used applications? A cloud-based service such as Microsoft Office 365 usually includes support and certainly eliminates the requirement to do patches and upgrades at every client device.
• What is the current state of your data storage? Are your storage needs close to exceeding your physical capacity? According to CDW’s Cloud Computing Tracking Poll, storage services are one of the most commonly used cloud applications.
Some businesses, as their servers near end of life, consider moving at least a significant portion of their infrastructure requirements to the cloud — the variant of cloud called infrastructure-as-a-service, or IaaS. Comparing the cost of using IaaS versus the cost of owning and managing data center equipment is a more complicated calculation. But transferring less critical items, or backup data, to the cloud can help reduce the time you spend managing less important data and avoid having to upgrade onsite storage.
It’s important to understand that cloud computing is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Each business is unique, with varying budgets and capacities, so your business may need a custom solution. The unique requirements of small businesses make cloud computing customization a key selling point to companies that may be undecided about cloud computing.
For more information, please visit: www.smallbusinesscomputing.com
Apple Working on 3D Displays With Holographic Gesturing for Future Devices
Your next Apple TV could be more like the Microsoft Kinect than a normal set-top box. Apple has just filed one insanely cool series of patents on 3D display technology.
Essentially, Apple has detailed 3D gesture and imaging designs of science fiction proportions. Say goodbye to the remote, and hello to the hologram!
Patently Apple explains:
“Apple’s patent covers a wild 3D system that could generate an invisible space in front of the user that could allow them to work with holographic images or project their hands onto a screen in front of them to manipulate switches or move pieces of virtual paper or parts of a presentation. One could only image how this could be applied to 3D gaming, business or medical applications in the future.
Accordingly, it will be understood that any virtual object could be grasped and manipulated within the virtual space of the imaging volume or space. Such objects, in addition to controls such as knobs, sliders, and buttons, can include virtually any kind of physical objects (e.g., a block of wood, a sheet of paper, hand tools, styli, virtual paint brushes, pencils, pens, grinders, knives, scissors, and so forth). When Apple mentions a “sheet of paper” or moving objects, I find that it fits in rather well with their latest projector system revelations of last month. Patent by patent Apple’s vision of an advanced 3D projection system is coming together.”
The is the future, folks. Want to play a racing game? A holographic steering wheel appears in front of you. Need to type an email? Turn on the virtual keyboard.
Obviously, this kind of tech is years out from reaching our living rooms, but, as Patently Apple notes, Apple has been filing patents and causing ripples that point towards this as the future of consumer devices.
For more information, please visit: www.cultofmac.com
“Microsoft BUILD: Windows 8, Microsoft’s big gamble”
Microsoft kicks off its BUILD conference in Anaheim, Calif., on Tuesday, where it will give an extended preview of its next operating system, which is being referred to as Windows 8. The company is talking to its developers about what has so far appeared to be a complete reinvention of its flagship product.
The biggest appeal of Windows 8 — or whatever it’s going to be called — is that it will offer the Windows platform on tablets for the first time in addition to personal computers. The biggest question is whether Microsoft is too late to make a stand in the tablet war raging between Apple’s iPad and various Google slates.
As the New York Times’ Steve Lohr pointed out in his Monday piece on BUILD, “Microsoft has a knack for comebacks.” And the company has taken pains to learn from its past mistakes (ala Vista) as it moves through the development process.
This is a very important moment for Microsoft, which needs to innovate now to keep a hold on it market share as users shift from using computers to using mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones. If the company can really find a way to bridge the gap between mobile computing and desktop computing, then it could have a winner on its hands.
Here’s are the highlights of what we know about Windows 8:
* It supports ARM architecture, creating a threat to the “Wintel” partnership Intel and Microsoft have shared for years. ARM chips are supposed to provide longer battery life, and — at least initially — fewer viruses, since the chip’s architecture differs from Intel, according to PC World. On the other hand, that report points out, lower power consumption most likely means lower performance, especially for gamers.
* It’s supposed to have faster boot times, USB 3.0 support and Hyper-V integration, which means that developers and IT departments will be able to run virtual environments.
* The interface is similar to the “live tiles” in the Windows Phone 7 system — and phones are supposed to get a flavor of Windows 8 at some point. Microsoft has also said that it’s adding the ribbon interface to Windows Explorer.
* The interface was designed as a touch-first interface, though it will work “equally well” with a mouse and keyboard.
For more information, please visit: www.washingtonpost.com
“Platform to success: get on top of cloud computing”
Cloud computing discussions invariably begin with the “IPS” taxonomy: Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service and Software as a Service. This taxonomy has the virtue of being comprehensible and neatly partitioning assessment requirements:
- Want an application? Look to a SaaS provider for a single purpose application (HR, financials, printing, etc.)
- Want to write your own application? Look to an IaaS provider that lets you create your own custom application.
- Want to understand the concept of leveraging someone else’s software smarts to manage the plumbing while you focus on application functionality? Then look at something like Google App Engine to get an idea of what PaaS could be.
This latter category was always kind of an afterthought because it lacked very strong entrants. However, that’s changing, big time. I wrote about this a few weeks ago in my blog, where I noted “PaaS is where it’s at.”
Cloud providers of every stripe are converging on what will be the development battleground of tomorrow: PaaS. They’ve clearly identified this as a crucial market, one in which the victors will enjoy huge spoils. It’s also a market that will present significant challenges to users.
The evidence of this convergence is all around us. Amazon, by far the most successful IaaS provider, has steadily been surrounding its core services with additional functionality that, while not announced as “platform,” has the undeniable effect of providing a set of services that help build applications faster and manage collections of resources easier. Think RDS for managing and scaling databases, direct connect for securing external application access, virtual private cloud to segregate applications within AWS (Amazon Web Services) data centres and CloudFormation for application management.
At last week’s Dreamforce event, Salesforce outlined its PaaS offering based on the recent acquisition of Heroku. While once a Ruby on Rails-oriented offering, Heroku has been extended to support Java. It’s also been integrated with Salesforce’s Database.com. And it’s supported by the Database Rights Option, which integrates on-premise data with Salesforce applications. Salesforce may call it “the social enterprise,” but the collective offering is clearly aimed at providing a generalised platform for application development.
Of course, it’s not just big players staking a claim here. A number of small firms have recently been funded, each providing a slightly different framework for building cloud-based applications. While each of them (including one from VMware, which is certainly no startup) claims to be open and multi-cloud, it remains to be seen how well they deliver. Just as likely, in my view, is that cloud providers will adapt (aka “improve”) each platform in a way that hampers its vision of application portability.
The net effect of this is that the neat IPS taxonomy is rapidly breaking down into a much more complicated cloud computing world in which every provider is seeking to offer a solution that covers a large proportion of customer computing needs. Your SaaS provider wants to help you write your own applications. Your IaaS provider wants to surround its infrastructure with useful functionality that makes your developers more productive.
In this new cloud computing combo plate world it’s far more difficult to easily discern just what a provider brings to the table, and that ambiguity presents definite challenges for enterprises.
The challenges PaaS presents
Why would one call PaaS a significant challenge for users? Simply because the undoubted power and productivity of these platforms brings a new set of issues to enterprises that they may not realise until well after they’ve deployed a number of applications.
Here are some of the things IT leaders should think about as they begin to evaluate their PaaS options:
1. Lock-in
Using a PaaS framework entwines your functionality with the CSP framework far more than installing your application into a provider’s virtual machine. Attempting to extract an application when it is internally dependent upon services the provider presents requires deep inspection of code, not just installing a tarball into a different provider. The productivity you gain by leveraging the PaaS provider’s offerings is matched by the dependence you suffer by being locked into the specifics of the offering.
I’m less disposed than many to see lock-in as purely negative, as in my experience organisations embrace lock-in because it provides significant benefits. But it’s important to go into this with one’s eyes open, because it definitely represents a higher level of lock-in.
2. Complexity
Every PaaS provider puts its set of functionality together differently, with its framework constructed according to its view of how applications should be designed. Trying to determine how best to write and run your application in a PaaS environment is not trivial. For sure, it’s a big step away from traditional on-premise environments.
3. CSP (cloud services provider) differentiation
As noted above, a number of PaaS frameworks claim to provide a layer of abstraction that hides the details of the cloud provider from the application developer. Setting aside the likelihood of this application abstraction really working, it overlooks the meta-application functionality that can lock one in as surely as anything. Much of this functionality will be provided by the CSP, think monitoring and payment systems for example, and will focus on operations, not application writing.
CSPs will use this level of functionality to differentiate themselves, with the net effect of locking you in at the operations level rather than the code level. Don’t think this won’t happen. The first thought a cloud provider has is, “How do I differentiate myself from other CSPs?” because they all fear becoming the computing equivalent of a “dumb pipe.”
4. New skills
Your application developers will need to learn a new framework and how to develop applications for it. While many early cloud adopters are blessed with highly skilled development personnel that build new skills quickly, in the rest of the industry, getting organisations up to speed with something new is a human capital challenge.
5. Mapping existing practices to new frameworks
Most organisations have defined frameworks, methodologies and operational practices. These will have to be evaluated in light of a new framework and modified accordingly. In effect, this issue already exists with IaaS cloud offerings, it will just be exacerbated as the richness of the new framework presents more touch points for mapping.
This list may seem like a jeremiad full of reasons to refuse to embrace cloud computing. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. The reality is that significant issues present themselves with every new platform, whether it be minicomputer, personal computer, cloud computer or mobile computer. It’s crucial to recognise what challenges accompany the benefits associated with every new platform and prepare to meet them.
It’s also important to keep in mind the stresses, and solutions, that have occurred in the past. To quote the writer George Santayana, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
“No pointing fingers for cloud security”
Analysis: Understanding who needs to do what can sometimes be tricky.
Part of the reason for the cartoon’s longevity is that it crystallizes in a single strip the security and trust issues associated with interacting across the web.
The irony is that the current growth and interest in cloud computing has made this cartoon as relevant today as it was in 1993. As organizations assess deploying new cloud services, security is generally acknowledged as the most significant inhibitor to broader cloud adoption.
But while there is widespread consensus among cloud providers and organizations that security is a key requirement for the cloud, the question of who is ultimately responsible for security remains unanswered.
The central debate on cloud security is whether the cloud providers or the end-user organization is responsible for security. Based on survey data from the Ponemon Institute, the two sides have surprisingly divergent views on security.
Data shows that, 69 percent of cloud providers believe security is primarily the responsibility of the cloud user; whereas only 35 percent of cloud users believe security is their responsibility. The survey results were not completely binary, as some participants did agree that security should be a shared responsibility between end-users and cloud providers, but these were clearly in the minority.
So who is ultimately responsible for cloud security – the end users or the cloud provider?
The short answer is that it really needs to be both. Part of the reason for this is that while people refer to the cloud as a nebulous monolithic thing, the cloud is comprised of many components (network transfers, firewalls, databases, web browsers, data centers, etc.) and that each of these individual components possesses security vulnerabilities that must be properly secured.
And since some components may reside at the cloud provider’s data center or in the end-user’s premises, each one has a responsibility to secure them. Expecting the security requirements for all cloud components to be handled by one entity is not a sound strategy.
Providers
When it comes to the vendors, one can look back at the emergence of internet commerce in the mid-1990s with companies like eBay and Amazon for guidance.
Some may recall that in its initial iteration, Amazon actually staffed and hosted a call center for end-users to call and place their orders over the phone because of concerns over security.
Over time, as Amazon built its reputation and trust, the phone centers went away, but in the initial phases, the call centers were an important tool to help consumers overcome their fears of buying online.
Likewise, eBay introduced its very simple but effective reputation based scoring for buyers and sellers – a great example of security and trust being shared by the provider and the end-user.
Assuming an organization has agreed to deploy some cloud services, what are the issues they need to be thinking about when looking at security in the cloud? Based on the above discussion, finding a cloud provider who agrees that security is a shared responsibility is an obvious important criterion, but what else?
Two words come to mind: vigilance and commitment.
Many cloud providers will throw about the various certifications (ISO, SAS-70, FIPS) as proof of their strong security. And while certifications are an important component, they only tell part of the story, which brings us back to vigilance and commitment.
The online world is an increasingly dangerous place with highly sophisticated hackers, and unfortunately, the attackers can often find ways around your certifications. And while no one is immune from a cyberattack, organizations that demonstrate a real commitment and vigilance against cyberattacks are going to be best prepared to repel them.
End-user organizations should really evaluate a cloud provider’s vigilance and commitment. This is tricky because it is a qualitative measurement, but should involve, at a minimum, questions about their underlying security architecture.
What kind of physical security do they have in the data center? What is their policy on deploying new security patches to the operating system and applications? Do they encrypt data, and if so, how are the keys managed and stored? What about disaster recovery?
This is obviously not a complete list, but provides some guidelines. By posing these questions to a cloud provider, one can hopefully sense their commitment and vigilance to security and thus determine whether they are a viable partner or not.
Users
Another consideration is that end-users should not idly stand by and expect cloud providers to automatically adopt strong security.
End-users need to start requiring strong security from providers by explicitly stating it in requests for proposal (RFPs). By doing this, providers will respond to these requirements and start enhancing security.
Economics and market forces can be a powerful motivator, and consistent security requirements can definitely influence the market.
Since the market will not react instantaneously to these security requirements, organizations will still need to maintain internal vigilance over their cloud environments in the interim.
This means implementing appropriate security controls and auditing as well, as seeking comprehensive aggressive service-level agreements (SLAs) from their cloud provider.
These SLAs need to cover not just the usual characteristics such as availability, disaster recovery and performance, but also security aspects such as answers to many of the questions listed in the previous section.
The net result is that the end-user will still be seen as responsible for any data leakage in the court of public opinion, so the end-users must do everything they can to protect data.
These security issues should not hold back organizations from deploying cloud services, but it is a strong reminder to work with providers who understand the security issues and demonstrate a commitment to data protection.
For more information, please visit: www.itnews.au.com
“Cloud Computing: CNBC Explains”
To hear the experts tell it, cloud computing may be the most innovative technology development in decades, or should be dismissed as a marketing tool for existing know-how that’s as old as computers themselves.
We can’t settle the debate on the uniqueness of cloud computing, but there are some issues that can be resolved without controversy: just what is cloud computing, who uses it, and what are the benefits and risks?
What is Cloud Computing?
The official definition from the National Institute of Standards and Technology reads: “Cloud computing is a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications and services)that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.”
Translation? Accessing the Internet anywhere, anytime and being able to use any or all of the data and applications that you want.
“Consumers don’t completely understand it yet and there’s been a lot of hype, but it’s having your data or software stored somewhere besides your PC or Mac and being able to get it through the Internet,” explains Chris Geiser, CTO of The Garrigan Lyman Group, a digital marketing and advertising agency.
When the technical jargon is stripped away, cloud computing can be grasped on its basic level— anytime, anywhere computing—without the user ever having to know much about the technology.
How Does It Work?
In simplest terms, cloud computing involves delivering hosted services over the Internet. The service end is where the data or software is stored and the user end is a single person or company network.
“Cloud computing minimizes the hardware, like memory, and application requirements, like word processing, for the users and pools those resources in the ‘cloud,” says Danny McPerson, CSO of Verisign.
So, a company in the business of hosting has specified data stored on its servers, a user fires up their computer, connects to the web (and to the servers holding their data), clicks on their application software and away they go.
“The economics are compelling and as Internet speeds increase, cloud services will continue to grow.”
Mike Marcellin
Juniper Networks
What gets somewhat mind-numbing are the kinds of storage systems services used in cloud computing. There are three basic ‘alphabet soup’ levels of storage capabilities, but there’s no real need to go into those here. Any or all three can be offered by the same provider—for a price.
And there are so-called public, private or hybrid clouds; public meaning the data is accessible to anyone, private being subject to a company’s firewall or security system, and hybrid, which combines both public and private.
But it’s fairly safe to say that most users are more than likely to be content knowing their data is stored somewhere other than their computer and they have access to it whenever and whereever they go online.
Who Uses Cloud Computing?
You are probably using it right now. If you use email, or go to a social network and post photos, access online document software, or use your company’s hardware/software, you’re probably using the cloud. You may also use it to store online tax or financial records. You can also use cloud computing to back up files for storage off your PC or Mac.
Businesses such as hotels use it for consumers to make reservations and a major electronics retailer is using it to fill their online orders. Sending a picture to a Facebook friend today? You are headed for the clouds.
Where Did Term Cloud Computing Come From?
The concept of cloud computing dates back to the 1960′s. The phrase originates from the cloud symbol used by flow charts and diagrams to symbolize the Internet. The diagram to the left underscores the idea that any computer connected to the web has access to a pool of computing power, applications and files.
The first reported public use of the term came in August of 2006 at a search engine conference in San Jose, Calif. when then GoogleCEO Eric Schmidt described one approach to data storage as “cloud computing.”
But in a sign of the ever-competitive Internet wars, research shows that Schmidt may have been trying to pre-empt Amazon,which was about to release its Elastic Compute Cloud system later that month.
Who Provides Cloud Computing Services?
Dozens of firms are providing ‘clouds’ in the U.S. and other countries. They generally fall into three categories of service: software, storage and computing power, or platform providers that give site developers tools to build and host applications. Some do all three. Big or small, all see this as a natural way to make money in a very competitive field.
Some names might be surprising as they may be better known as content providers or consumer sites. Here are just a few of the major players:
Amazon: considered one of the innovators in cloud computing since it began offering services in 2006. Amazonas thousands of small business and individual users along with customers like the New York Times and Eli LillyGoogle: in what might have been a strike again Microsoft the internet search giant launched Google Apps in 2007. Customers include small businesses and colleges like Northwestern University.
For more information, please visit: cnbc.com.
“Analyst: Amazon Tablet Will Be iPad’s Top Competitor”
Amazon’s Android tablet device hasn’t even been announced yet and research firm Forrester is already betting on its success.
“If it’s launched at the right price with enough supply, we see Amazon’s tablet easily selling 3 million to 5 million units in Q4 alone, disrupting not only Apple’s product strategy but other tablet manufacturers’ as well,” says Sarah Rotman Epps, the report’s author.
The device, rumored to launch this October, could even kick app development for Android tablets into high gear, Epps says. Currently, estimates suggest that less than 500 apps optimized for Android tablets are available in the Android Market. By contrast, more than 100,000 apps have been built specifically for the iPad.
What is that magic price of Amazon’s tablet? Forrester says that if Amazon releases a 9-inch LCD touchscreen tablet for $299 and has enough supply to meet demand, it could outperform Apple’s first quarter with the iPad, which moved 3.27 million units.
Amazon should be able to price it that low because, like with the Kindle ereader, the company stands to profit from selling services and goods on the device, so it can afford to sell hardware at a loss, Forrester says. The lion’s share of Apple’s revenue, on the other hand, comes from sales of the iPad itself.
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