So, what is cloud computing? Cloud computing is the practice of using a network of remote servers hosted on the Internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than a local server or a personal computer. It’s used for delivering information technology (IT) services in which resources are retrieved from the Internet through web-based tools and applications, as opposed to a direct connection to a server. Rather than keeping files on a proprietary hard drive or local storage device, cloud-based storage makes it possible to save them to a remote database. As long as an electronic device has access to the web, it has access to the data and the software programs to run it.

But…I bet you’re wondering how everything started. Well, around 1955, John McCarthy, the computer scientist who created the term “artificial intelligence,” came up with the theory of time-sharing, which is very similar to today’s cloud computing. In the 1960s and ’70s, the idea of service bureaus emerged, which allowed users to share these very expensive computers. Users had their own terminals that ran hosted applications. There was a protocol that would essentially send information from the service bureau to the remote terminal and take requests from that terminal and send it back to the service bureau, which would then be routed to the right application. And as time went on and people got connected online, it wasn’t until mobile Internet devices became popular that this idea of “cloud computing” returned. While smartphones indeed pack the computing power of a PC, they can lack in storage, which is where the modern day “timeshare” system picks up. Whether it’s syncing your fitness tracker data or your photos across your devices, today’s new cloud powers a variety of machines, keeping them in sync and running applications in a centralized place.

How does this technology work?

Cloud computing services all work a little differently, depending on the provider. But many provide a friendly, browser-based dashboard that makes it easier for IT professionals and developers to order resources and manage their accounts. Some cloud computing services are also designed to work with REST APIs and a command-line interface, giving developers multiple options.

Now, there are 3 types of cloud computing:

  • Infrastructure as Service (IaaS)- No need to invest in your own hardware, Infrastructure scales on demand to support dynamic workloads and has flexible, innovative services available on demand.
  • Software as Service (SaaS)- You can sign up and rapidly start using innovative business apps, data is accessible from any connected computer and no data is lost if your computer breaks.
  • Platform as Service (PaaS)-  You can develop applications and get to market faster, deploy new web applications to the cloud in minutes and reduce complexity with middleware as a service.

 

APPS based on Cloud Computing:

LinkedIn, Cloudon, Asana, Rapportive, Dropbox, Twitter, SlideRocket, TripIt, Microsoft Office, Google Docs, Skype, WhatsApp and many more!

REFERENCES

(Academics)

Foster, I., Zhao, Y., Raicu, I., & Lu, S. (2008, November). Cloud computing and grid computing 360-degree compared. In Grid Computing Environments Workshop, 2008. GCE’08(pp. 1-10). Ieee

Armbrust, M., Fox, A., Griffith, R., Joseph, A. D., Katz, R., Konwinski, A., … & Zaharia, M. (2010). A view of cloud computing. Communications of the ACM, 53(4), 50-58

Mell, P., & Grance, T. (2011). The NIST definition of cloud computing.

Marinescu, D. C. (2017). Cloud computing: theory and practice. Morgan Kaufmann.

Hashem, I. A. T., Yaqoob, I., Anuar, N. B., Mokhtar, S., Gani, A., & Khan, S. U. (2015). The rise of “big data” on cloud computing: Review and open research issues. Information Systems, 47, 98-115

 

Websites

Microsoft

“Cloud computing is the delivery of computing services—servers, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics and more—over the Internet (“the cloud”). Companies offering these computing services are called cloud providers and typically charge for cloud computing services based on usage, similar to how you are billed for water or electricity at home”

Forbes

“The office of the 1970s was built on paper files, the office of the 1980s was built on word processing, spreadsheets, and other PC software, and the office of the 1990s was built on websites.  These days, the office is is built on cloud-based apps”

WordPress

“With cloud computing, you eliminate those headaches that come with storing your own data, because you’re not managing hardware and software — that becomes the responsibility of an experienced vendor like SalesForce”

 

VIDEO

Crash Course on Cloud Computing

A summary of all things Cloud Computing!

 

TWITTER ACCOUNTS

Cloud Tech- Latest news facts about cloud computing.

 

IBM Cloud- Insider for your working convenience.

 

 

David Linthicum- CC Visionary

 

Randy Bias- CC pioneer

 

Ben Kepes-  He shares his insights of developments in cloud computing, including cloud security.