The Wonders of Cloud Computing

The term "Cloud Computing" is such a by-word nowadays with people claiming it's the trend of the future. The theory behind cloud computing is that individuals and business need not be limited by applications in their desktops. The applications, services and utilities needed in the performance of your work can simply be hosted in the "Cloud" or by a certain provider of your choice. You only need to log on to these services through an internet connection and a browser to access them anywhere you are.You probably didn't know it but you are already part of the cloud computing generation if you have an online email subscription, one that you access from the net and not installed in your desktop. Some of these are Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail. You can access your account from anywhere there's an available Internet connection and a browser, right? That's the most basic type of cloud computing there is.Best Cloud ComputingIf you can imagine the implications this kind of access will have for your enterprise, you'll be staggered. See, now you are dependent on the software applications to be installed on each desktop of every employee in your organization. What this means is that you will have to pay for either the software or the software license for each of these workstations. If you use a cloud computing service to host your applications, you only need to have ONE application hosted with your service provider and your employees can simply log in and use the service from anywhere they are. This will work best especially if you have employees that are always on the road and have to access or store files that are necessary for other members of the team that are waiting in the offices.About Cloud ComputingCloud computing is also highly scalable which means that it doesn't matter if you have a small business or a very large corporation. It can easily be customized to suit your needs and to upgrade the system when the need arises. The initial start up will only be minimal and you'll only probably face subscription fees to your hosting provider to keep the applications going.The best part about cloud computing is that you don't have to worry about how the system works, just that it works. You no longer have to have a dedicated IT group to take care of the system and the hardware for you. You're paying someone else to do that, as part of being the cloud computing host.Cloud Computing CostsPublic Cloud: This is usually how mainstream services are provided over the web. This type of web hosting is backed by a fairly large amount of shared infrastructure and resources that may be present on a single location. This model is provided to organizations on a self-service basis over the Internet. The billing is done on the basis of usage.Private Cloud: Private cloud computing solutions would be an extension of the Virtual Private Network (VPN) concept. This is best suited for individual companies that want to exercise significant level of control over their sensitive data. It offers great deal of security to the data while still allowing for sharing.Community Cloud: Community based cloud computing can be best understood as a culmination of various public cloud networks that come together to host a network.Cloud Computing CostThis joint effort is driven by similar needs and requirements of organizations that belong to a certain industry along with large scale requirements that cannot be hosted on a single public cloud. There are fewer users than a public cloud but more than private clouds. However, this expense is justified by higher standards of privacy and security levels.Hybrid Cloud: This type of a computing environment has the organization managing some resources in-house and others on a public cloud model. It is best known to be used in cases where companies want to grow and expand inorganically without committing huge capital in the process. Hybrid systems also offer relatively greater control over data.