- Adam Stern is founder and CEO of Infinitely Virtual (www.infinitelyvirtual.com),
says:
Cloud computing isn’t
quite the overnight sensation that it first seems. This hugely
popular computing model has paid its dues, having been battle-tested by
organizations large and small for the better part of a decade. The
appeal is clear: the cloud model delivers 24/7 availability, the efficiency
(and affordability) of a virtual server infrastructure, the familiarity of a
web-based interface, and the almost infinite scalability of the underlying
architecture.
Even so, organizations
still have questions about the cloud model, its relevance for them and its
benefits overall. Among the first questions – “what kind of cloud is
best for me?” – speaks in part to the maturity of the model. Cloud
computing has had time to evolve a bit and, in the cloud, one size does not fit
all. Organizations can choose from at least two types of clouds: public
and private, with a third option -- hybrid cloud, which blends the two – also
worthy of consideration.
In a public cloud
(also known as a shared cloud), virtual computing services are
available publicly over the Internet, with users able to exert little or no
control over access or the underlying infrastructure. What’s so good
about this approach? Plenty: software, hardware and administration
are all less complex, and that relative simplicity translates to lower costs
and quicker deployments, since there’s no need to develop in-house
applications. Because a public cloud’s resources are shared across
the Web, no single user organization needs to manage or administer the
underlying architecture that supports the cloud. And as an
organization’s computing needs change, a public cloud can be scaled up.
Next: A look at
private and hybrid clouds, and some suggested criteria for making the right
choice.
Adam Stern is founder and CEO of Infinitely Virtual, a leading provider of
virtual server cloud computing services for businesses.
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