Cloud computing is bigger than AWS and Azure To some, cloud computing is synonymous with so-called ‘public cloud’ services such as AWS and Azure, but this isn’t the view of Reg readers. When 668 of you provided feedback during a recent survey on meeting infrastructure-level needs, the adoption of ‘private cloud’ (defined as ‘cloudy architecture running in your own data …
At this point I'd argue that "cloud computing" is just a meaningless buzzword. We had remote hosted servers before the "cloud" and now that they're the norm, we don't really need a term for virtualized remote servers. Add that to the fact that every marketing department in the universe has stretched the term to the breaking point I expect we'll see it fall out of use soon.
Nothing new here, really: cloud computing comes and goes. 40 years ago, it was called TSO (and other things).
IT was cloudy until the early 90's when thenextreallybigthinginIT became client-server. That pan has flashed and TNRBTIT is back to cloud. Prediction: when cloud operators have to turn a profit, things will change. Again.
>NIST has a pretty definition and its a lot more then a remote hosted VM server.
But the attributes nicely defines a bureau service, such as one providing payroll...
I think many think that just because cloud is more complex than what has gone before it is somehow a step change, in the way the railways and telephone systems were step changes.
Cloud is descended from 1970's outsourced/bureau services in the same way as the desktop OS Window10 is descended from the desktop OS's of the late 1970's. Yes Windows 10 might be massively different, more capable etc., but basically it is still a desktop OS performing the tasks expected of a desktop OS.
The step change that is possible with true cloud, is the widescale adoption of concepts such as Linda spaces ie. data structure and manipulation as a service.
I disagree that "cloud computing" is a meaningless buzzword.
While hosting can be handled internally and externally, the major difference between hosting externally (either as a managed data centre or a fully managed service), the difference is around scalability with cloud services.
Cloud computing gives you the ability to stand up or shutdown servers/infrastructure with minimal cost penalty and with minimal leadtime - something that you tend not to be able to do in traditional hosting (or if you can, the scale is extremely limited in my experience).
The seperate question is whether you can benefit from adding/removing capacity on-demand to reduce your overall costs. Cloud computing MIGHT provide the cheapest solution in some instances, but well managed in-house/third party data centres/third party managed services may provide more cost (or business) effective solutions.
Cloud == (Mist && Vapour)
Whether its a single or plural, you are still simply referring to a hosted service!
Using the term "Cloud" is simply giving an excuse for people failing to understand the technology and services which they are employing, they simply see as "magic".
"Whether its a single or plural, you are still simply referring to a hosted service"
This is like saying a car and a train are the same thing because at the end of the day they're both boxes on wheels that take you from A to B. Technically correct, but completely missing the point.
The critical differentiator of cloud is its elasticity. Do you have scalable, elastic hosting billed by the usage? Congratulations you've got a cloud.
Centralized and shared storage and compute, remote users who don't need to know about the backend, Yes, Cloud is more than just that, but so is mainframe computing.
IT is great at recycling old ideas and reapplying them with a new name. What is old is new again.
Remind me again how much IBM charged you by the hour for use of one of their publicly accessible mainframes.
I bet Amazon, Microsoft, Google etc. are envious of the rates IBM are able to charge for mainframe-based cloud services; but if your loads are that business critical, would you really entrust them to the "pile them high sell them cheap" merchants...
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