“Computing In The Clouds”
by Aaron Weiss
The Guide to Computing Literature, Networker Magazine
December 2007

In 1943, IBM Chairman Thomas Watson said, “I think there’s a world market for maybe five computer.” [pg. 18] The personal computing industry that began in the 1970’s and current popularity of cloud computing prove that Watson’s statement could not have been more wrong. Weiss defines cloud computing generally as the ability to distribute computer processes over a large number of small computers/servers in order to maximize the efficient use of resources. The idea being if one were to do an internet search through Google, for example, that Google could distribute the work of doing the actual search over a large number of computers rather than one large (and powerful) computer doing the search and returning the results to the user. The relevant question, in this case, is how does Google most efficiently distribute the task of fulfilling the search to many individual computers/servers in order to decrease the time it takes to conduct the search and then return the results to the user.

The article also provides working definitions of SaaS and utility computing in order to understand how they relate or should be considered as part of the larger cloud computing phenomenon. The most important and influential SaaS established to date is the creation of web-based email. While many individuals, organizations and companies do not entirely depend on web-based email service, the trend is quickly moving in that direction. Weiss refers to SaaS, as in the case of web-based email, as merely a revival of an older concept known as “thin client” computing. In the realm of cloud computing, the most relevant concern that emerges is privacy because operating in the cloud and allowing a third party to store and/or process your digital information requires a high level of trust.

This article is relevant because it sheds light on the fact that cloud computing is a popular, “buzzword almost designed to be vague[.]” [pg. 25] One reaction to this piece is to feel that it is not possible to provide a complete definition for the terminology ‘cloud computing.’ Nevertheless, a more appropriate conclusion might be to think of cloud computing as a trend that “draws on many existing technologies and architectures.” [pg. 25]

“What Cloud Computing Really Means”
by Eric Knorr, Galen Gruman,
InfoWorld.com

This article provides an effective explanation of ‘cloud computing’ for both techy and other individuals who are not at all familiar with the concept.  “Some analysts and vendors define cloud computing narrowly as an updated version of utility computing:  basically virtual servers available over the internet.  Others go very broad, arguing anything you consume outside the firewall is ‘in the cloud,’ including conventional outsourcing.” [pg. 1]  To understand the how broad the phenomenon of cloud computing spreads, the authors have broken it down in several categories including:

SaaS:  SaaS is an acronym for “software as a service.”   This refers to software that is provided to a user over the internet and used within a web browser rather than launching the software from the hard drive of the personal computer being used to operate that software.  Examples of this type of cloud computing include Salesforce.com and Google Apps.

Utility Computing:  The most traditional form of cloud computing which simply means using the internet to store data on remote servers hosted by third parties rather than lodging your data on your personal computer(s) or server(s).  Utility computing is commonly described as virtual servers that can be accessed on demand.  The companies that pioneer this area include IBM, Sun, and Amazon.com.  
Web Services (in the cloud):  This type of cloud computing is closely related to Seas, “web service providers offer APIs that enable developers to exploit functionality over the Internet, rather than delivering full-blown applications. “ [pg. 2] These services range from conventional credit card processing to Bloomberg.  

MSP:  Managed service providers (MSPs) are among the old members of the modern day cloud computing family.  These are essentially applications that are exposed to IT rather than to the end users of personal computers.   A virus scanning service for email that is contracted by an internet service provider for its clients is an example of an MSP.

Based on the description and variations of cloud computing described in this article we may be left wondering what do we actually do over the internet that is not in some way considered cloud computing.  If websites and web-based services do not actually fit into one of the known sub-categories of cloud computing it seems as if they will in the near future.