Cloud Computing

Cloud Computing

1. Concerns of cloud computing

   • Reliability of the network - you need internet access to get to your work.
   • Security of data - files are stored on the host's servers. You don't control the security of your data, the host does. You should know their security policies.
   • Software - the host might not have the most up to date software for you to use. It might not be the most secure either.
   • Potentially lower performance - as the host is elsewhere (possibly in another country). Retreaving the data may take longer than if it was on your client.

2. Types of Cloud Computing

   • Software As A Service - SAAS
     • Microsoft's Office365 Software As A Service At school you use software like WORD, Excel and Photoshop. All these packages of software take up space on your computer's disk drive. When you want to use them, they load into the computer's memory and are run from there. Computer software, is constantly changing and the packages are getting bigger and bigger which means you have to upgrade your computer hardware on a regular basis to keep up. Software As A Service is where the software you use, like WORD and Excel don't sit on your client computer. They are run on another company's servers. These servers are what make up the CLOUD. You PAY FOR WHAT YOU USE and it is up to the company that provides this service to make sure you have the most up to date software available to you. When you want to use the software, you log in to the company's servers and the software opens up on your screen. You can type away at your report and you can even get someone else to log on and contribute to
   • Infrastructure As A Service - IAAS
     • As SAAS is offered to you by another company, so is Infrastructure As A Service. IAAS is simply STORAGE and the most obvious examples of this are companies that store your photographs like Flikr, and companies that stream music or films. NETFLIX is a company that offers you films. They host films on their cloud and when you log in, you can STREAM the film to your computer, smart phone or smart TV. This means that you don't have to worry about the storage space on your phone. Indeed, smart TVs have very little storage space so you have to stream the films. You simply don't have the storage space to save films. The impact of IAAS is that you no longer have to upgrade your computers or phones as you did in the past. Instead of your phone getting full of photos, they are saved on the cloud for you.

3. Advantages of cloud computing

   • Cost and convenience - you only pay for the storage you use. Because you store your work, photos, music etc. on the cloud you don't have to worry about upgrading your computers to have more storage or more processing power.
   • Availability - Your work is available to you ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD and 24/7.....(as long as you have an internet connection)