There is no real definition for Cloud computing

The same question continues to be asked about Cloud computing: what is Cloud computing?

The IT industry seems more confused than ever before as it struggles to define and pigeon hole this disruptive change and there seems little agreement or consensus on what Cloud computing actually is.

In the US, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) attempted to alliviate the situation by putting out a definition – but this is now in version 15, has more than 760 words, includes five characteristics, three service models and four deployment models.

It also comes with a disclaimer that, in essence, says their definition is likely to change. So they don’t really know how to define what Cloud computing is because it is a changing paradigm.

Presenters at Cloud conferences cannot resist putting up their own new definitions, when Web search engines are queried on ‘what is Cloud computing‘ they return an increasing number of new results each day and the tweets continue to scroll down with many different viewpoints as the pro and ante Cloud camps continue to posit their own new theories and definitions.

On top of all this, many vendors are simply taking their existing services and products such as hosting, outsourcing and co-location and rebranding them as a ‘Cloud’ product which means that their definition of Cloud is translated into ‘our product’.

But while the IT industry grapples with the definition and argues amongst itself about whether this is something new or just a fad or hype, many in the industry are also just sitting back to see what happens.

Sadly they may be missing the real point that this Cloud computing disruption is not about a technology, it is not about a product, it is not about a service offering, it is not something that we have always done, it is not even about a deployment model, rather it is a transformation, a paradigm shift and a change in attitude and behavior that is occurring under their very noses.

Customer’s attitudes and behaviors towards how they want to buy IT are changing forever and this is the real transformation that is occurring. Sadly, many vendors may not be prepared for it.

Despite the criticism here of the various attempts to define Cloud computing, some much-needed thought leadership comes from Simon Wardley of CSC’s Leading Edge Forum in the UK, who bravely adds his definition of Cloud computing to the confused mix:

“Cloud Computing is a generic term used to describe the disruptive transformation in I.T. towards a service based economy driven by a set of economic, cultural and technological conditions”.

Cloud computing is a fundamental shift of the IT industry from a product based industry to a services based industry driven by factors other than just technology and products. This lifts the current thinking of Cloud computing out of the technology product space and into the realms of economics and culture, attitude and behaviour.

Looking deeper into Simon’s definition and his thinking on this, we find that he also presents the best comparative analogy of Cloud computing …the industrial revolution.

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References:

IBM What Is Cloud Computing – United States

Cloud computing, often referred to as simply “the cloud,” is the delivery of on- demand computing resources—everything from applications to data centers— over …

What is cloud computing? – Definition from WhatIs.com

Cloud computing is a general term for anything that involves delivering hosted services over the Internet. These services are broadly divided into three …

cloud computing

There is no real definition for Cloud computing

Cloud Services Improve Your Organization"s Business

Cloud services appeared to change the way people manages their businesses.

Internet revolution has been dramatically changing the business world over the past two decades. More and more people are becoming highly dependent on information technology both for personal and business use.

Cloud services have become widespread in most personal and organizational activities which involve the use of internet technology.

In essence, the term “cloud” is a metaphor for the Internet itself, as a core requirement within any network of communication between different parties. Cloud services can provide a wide variety of different business applications and can be accessed directly from a web browser.

Resources and data can be accessed through remote servers with corresponding economies of scale.

Fundamentally, the end-user is remote in every respect from the technical architecture required to operate the particular application, or to deliver the appropriate data.

This includes storage facilities, servers and communication networks. As a number of storage facilities and services may be combined, enhanced access and delivery speed may be expected, on demand. Such resources can be configured through a strategy only within a short period of time with just very minimal interaction with the provider or management effort.

Cloud services provide the benefit of elasticity, cost control, on-demand availability, resource sharing and wide network access. A number of cloud hosting organizations exist within the cloud configuration.

While the enterprise IT department of old would have to concentrate on procurement and management of its own servers as it expanded to meet demand on a variable basis, these days cloud computing services provided by a variety of hosts can take the strain.

By working in the background to provide the enterprise’s client with a seamless delivery experience, enhanced customer satisfaction follows.

Many organizations are perfectly happy to take advantage of the flexibility that cloud computing services provide and find that they are far more able to make plans for expansion and concentrate on the introduction of new products or services without internal resource application, roll out and associated maintenance worries.

Rather, cloud services can provide them with “utility computing,” with access on a per consumption basis or sometimes on a subscription allocation.

There would be multiple business customers that could be sharing the computing services provided by the cloud servers, which justifies the practicality of these resources.

This means that funds can be spent on the development of enhanced server capability without the worry that such capability could be subject to long periods of idle use, compromising the investment in the first place.

As the economy is just picking up from the economic recession, cloud service utilization that will be provided on an on-demand business model will make a lot of sense to the corporate management.

Outsourcing of services and solutions will help an organization to streamline, as it focuses on its principal delivery model.

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References:

Cloud computing – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cloud computing refers to the practice of transitioning computer services such as computation or data storage to multiple redundant offsite locations available on …

What is cloud services? Webopedia Computer Dictionary

Cloud services means services made available to users on demand via the Internet from a cloud computing provider’s servers as opposed to being provided  …

cloud services

Cloud Services Improve Your Organization"s Business