Role Of Cloud Computing Providers In Cloud Industry

Cloud computing lets end users utilize shared collection of configurable computing resources for their own business perspectives. Such resources are data, servers and related services.

During last few years, cloud computing has made a huge impact on IT industry. Moreover it hasn’t stopped yet and continues to do the same. IT industry is becoming more familiar with cloud computing and is being benefited by cloud computing providers. One can also say that the era of cloud computing has begun.

Definition Of Cloud Computing:

Cloud computing is a representation of a shared collection of configurable computing resources to end users. End users use these resources for their own business purpose. Some of the computing resources are networks, data, servers and related services.

The concept behind cloud computing is that user uses shared resources for their own uses and he doesn’t possess any knowledge about the position of main source of these shared resources. Moreover user doesn’t have anything to do with technical specifications from where he is using cloud services. Almost the same concepts as you use something and pay the rent of it regardless any details about the provider.

About Cloud Computing Providers:

Cloud computing providers are the companies or organizations that provide cloud computing services to users. In this, users have to pay such providers for whatever resources they use. Users don’t have to purchase or register any server. This makes end user’s job a lot easier and faster.

Cloud computing providers have all the necessary resources that are required to provide cloud services to users. Some of the sources are operating system, eMail system, file storage system, accounting system. security services, encryption resources and backup sources. They allow users to use these resources as per business requirements and provide a convenient environment.

As far as operating system is concerned, generally they provide Microsoft Windows Server or Linux server (multi-core processors). These are the mostly used operating systems of all. For eMail services, cloud providers use Microsoft Exchange with Microsoft Outlook Clients for Windows based services and other email systems for Linux. File storage systems are mostly Microsoft Windows File Server and Linux File Server with Active Directory User Privileges.

Now talking about encryption resources, cloud computing providers use Private VPN with Cloud Servers. Here all files of end users are encrypted where stored. Moreover 24x7 helpdesk for users is a major benefit a user can get from cloud providers apart from these shared resources. This way, users won’t have to spend money on capital equipments and with the help of cloud computing providers can run their business with great ease and pace.

If you would like to get more information regarding cloud computing providers and cloud, please contact http://www.globalcloudsolutions.com.

Cloud Computing – A View On Cloud Computing Services

Cloud computing is to provide shared resources & files, and shared information are provided to computers and other mobile devices. It is usually divided into three major categories / cloud computing models: Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) nd Software-as-a-Service (SaaS).

Cloud computing is a term specified for everything that involves delivering hosted services over the Internet. It is considered as computation, computing software, data access and storage service that does not need end-user information of the substantial location and configuration of the system that delivers the services.

In cloud computing all applications, information and data resources are managed in a virtual environment. It involves virtual hosted environments allowing users to connect to the services being hosted over the internet. The reason behind it being called as Cloud computing is because the data and applications exist on a "cloud" of web servers. In other words, cloud computing can be defined as simply the sharing and use of shared applications and data resources of a virtual network environment to get job done without concerning about ownership and management of the particular network's resources and applications.

Talking about cloud computing services, these services are generally separated into three categories: Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). 

IaaS - Infrastructure as a Service is a stipulation representation in which an association outsources the tools used to maintain operations. It covers storage, hardware, servers and networking components. Cloud computing providers possess the tools and is responsible for hosting as well as maintaining it. User pays on a per-use basis. In the enterprise, cloud computing allows a corporation to pay for only as much capability as is needed, and bring more online as soon as necessary.

Platform as a Service (PaaS) is the release of a cloud computing platform and solution heap as a service. PaaS offerings facilitate deployment of applications without the cost and complication of buying and managing the fundamental hardware and software and provisioning hosting capacities, providing all of the facilities required to support the complete life cycle of building and delivering web applications and services entirely available from the Internet.

In the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model, the seller supplies the hardware infrastructure, the software product and interacts with the user through a front-end portal. As compared with others, SaaS has a very broad market. Cloud services provided can be anything from Web-based email to inventory control and database processing. Because the service provider hosts both the application and the data, the end user is free to use the service from anywhere.

Depending on user’s requirements, cloud computing services can be beneficial to a great extent. So if you would like to get more details about cloud computing, please visit: http://www.globalcloudsolutions.com/

Cloud Computing Providers Offering Cloud Computing & Hosting Services

Cloud computing providers from the USA are offering excellent cloud computing & hosting services as per user’s cloud computing needs.

GlobalCloudSolutions is an International cloud company & one of the leading cloud computing providers. It has offices in North America, Europe and Asia. Its headquarters can be reached at 650-369-9734 and it is located at Redwood City in California, USA.

GlobalCloudSolutions provides accurate cloud computing services and operates as an internationally distributed outsourcing agency. It has deployed cloud computing services for small offices as well as larger organizations, including well known hospitals in the USA and UK. It is well familiar with cloud computing services because it has deployed its own SaaS platform before the words "Cloud" and "SaaS" were a buzz.

It acts a useful cloud computer provider. It offers the rewards of having no IT staff to manage your servers and no delays in getting customers up and running with your software because all of the software you sell is a service in the Cloud ready to go.

It has a team of highly skilled IT professionals ready to address many software areas not directly related to Cloud Computing but which may also be related to Cloud Computing. Its expertise in the following software product lifecycle disciplines listed below.
•   New Idea Development
•   Product Requirements
•   Cloud Architectures
•   Software Architectures
•   Software Designs
•   Software Development
•   Software Quality Assurance
•   Customer Facing Documentation
•   Program/

Project Planning
•   Customer Deployment
•   Latest Technologies
•   Various Application Domains

For more information about cloud computing providers – GlobalCloudSolutions, please contact at: http://www.globalcloudsolutions.com/ or email at: info@globalcloudsolutions.com.

Cloud Computing Virtual Conference 2010

Cloud Slam 2010 is the premier international conference on cloud computing, networking, storage and analysis. The Cloud Slam Conference is global cloud computing event, covering latest trends and innovations in the world of cloud computing. Conference panels, workshops, and tutorials are selected to cover a range of the hottest topics in cloud computing.

Cloud Slam decided to make it a virtual event, since travel reduction and improved decision making are two greatest drivers of visual collaboration and communications. Video conferencing becoming popular in both business and personal communications, so they believe it is the next logical step in the evolution of business communications, and regardless of how quickly the economy improves, video conferencing solutions will continue to grow, simply because of the benefits and convenience they instill in business environments.

The 2nd Annual Virtual Conference on Cloud Computing! It is hosted online March 23-25, 2009.
This conference is the global cloud computing event, covering latest trends and innovations in the world of cloud computing. Conference panels, workshops, and tutorials are selected to cover a range of the hottest topics in cloud computing. Key topics will include the significant benefits of an open cloud, enterprise readiness of SaaS architectures, and the impact of cloud computing on application developers.

The World's First and Largest Virtual Cloud Computing Summit Will Bring Thought-Leaders From Around the World Together for Five Days – Virtually. The Cloud Slam 10 conference invites writers, editors and industry analysts covering the fields of cloud computing and networking to attend the conference. Cloud Slam 09 provides an unparalleled opportunity to meet and talk with the world's leading experts in CC.

You are cordially invited to participate in Cloud Slam 2010 through paper submission, a workshop or a special session organization, a tutorial, an invited speech, a demo, a poster, an exhibit, a panel discussion, whichever sounds more appropriate and convenient to you. The conference will include invited presentations by experts from academia, industry, and government as well as contributed paper presentations describing original work on the current state of research cloud computing, their use in business, their design, performance and use, and their applications.

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Cloud Computing: Providing Shared Resources Via Internet

Cloud computing is the latest trend nowadays in the world of computing and internet. It has served numerous companies as well as individuals successfully. Moreover its utilities have made cloud computing one of the most popular terms today.

Now before proceeding, let’s have a look at the definition of cloud computing as there is more than one view about it. Cloud computing can be defined as an Internet based processing where shared resources & files, latest software and shared information are provided to various computers and other mobile devices. Here one can have access to modern tools and technology without much difficulty and additional costs.

Talking about shared resources that are provided to other computers, these resources are computer devices or pieces of information on a machine that can be remotely accessed from another computer. This is accomplished by usually a local area network or an enterprise Intranet, as if it were a local resource in the particular local machine.

Some of the most used shared resources are shared scanner access, shared file access such as disk sharing and folder sharing, shared printer access, better known as printer sharing), etc. Cloud computing uses such resources and regularly takes the form of web-based tools or applications that remote users can access and use through any web browser as if it were a local program installed locally on their own computers.

Cloud simply offers a bunch of services provided through various universal centers and built on servers. It enables users a facility that often appears as single point of access for customers computing needs & specifications. Many companies have started providing cloud computing services such as Amazon, Salesforce and Google.  After the success of cloud concept, a lot of other MNCs have joined them.

For more information about cloud computing, please visit http://www.globalcloudsolutions.com/

The Future of Retail Industry is in Cloud Computing

The retail industry exemplifies the maxim, change is constant. Still, the approach of the industry towards emerging technology of cloud computing is somewhat baffling. Cloud computing, a paradigm shift after the client-server model break-through of the eighties, is starting to show up in every other business. Curious, retailing industry is clearly lagging behind. It happens when the practical applications of the technology can do wonders to the industry. The word 'cloud' in cloud computing is actually a metaphor used for internet. Using internet would have robbed the concept of its novelty.

Although everyone is familiar with information sharing through internet and worldwide web, performing all the operations of computing through the internet is not so familiar. Cloud computing exactly does the same. It shares information, software - applications and operating system - and infrastructure - hardware like servers and storage units - using internet. A revolutionary cloud computing model can avail high power computing to the customers who need to have only typical input/output infrastructure.

Software industry giants have already started providing their services on cloud. CRM of salesforce.com, office applications from Microsoft and Google and IBM enterprise solutions have already become popular. Sadly, retailing - one of the largest sectors of the economy - has not yet begun its experiences with cloud computing.

In the context of retail industry, cloud computing is particularly efficient in collection and analyses of huge volumes of sales data and in real time inventory management. In retailing, points of sales generate large amounts of data each day. The sales data can be obtained through loyalty cards and discount coupons also. Most low and medium level retailers do not have the necessary resources to capture or utilize such enormous amounts of data. Cloud provider in retail can collect such data from sophisticated server networks connected to the supply chain to independent cash registers at family owned small stores and store it for the retailer. Such stored data may be accessed from anywhere, provided internet is accessible.

A cloud computing provider can track performance of products in comparison to previous time periods. The cloud provider can identify the trend and seasonality component of each product, brand or category and identify and monitor the performance. Then it can provide analytical results to the retailers. The provider of the service can serve many retailers at the same time, without making each retailer do it individually for themselves.

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Cloud Computing: An Introduction To Cloud Computing Services

As the Information Technology Industry is expanding its wings like never before, various new services are emerging rapidly. Cloud computing is one of the most recognized services of all nowadays. The number of advantages and facilities that cloud computing provides makes it a popular service amongst all IT professionals.

What is cloud computing and what are its benefits?

First of all, lets see the definition of cloud computing. It can be defined as a computing service that provides users accurate and efficient computing resources and services via the Internet. In other words, numerous shared resources, computing software and useful information are provided to user's computers via Internet's medium.

Let's take an example to understand this. Suppose there is a newly developed company and it wants to use software to maintain records. For that it needs to first buy a server and then to install software. After that, it will need a staff such as network engineer and other technicians to maintain this software. It will also have to deal with salaries of these people.

But if it uses cloud options instead, then it will not be facing such financial issues anymore. If it consults a cloud provider, then that provider hosts that software by third party servers that are reachable through the Internet. So that company will only pay for the software and services it uses - no need to pay for costs like hosting. Suppose the company uses accounting software and its services, then it will have to pay only for the amount of usage of that particular software - nothing more than that.

Definitely cloud software and services can prove to be the backbone of any company's growth and success. Many companies are using it effectively and larger number of companies is going to use it in coming future.
So if you would like to get more information regarding cloud computing services, then please feel free to contact us at: http://www.globalcloudsolutions.com/

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Cloud Computing - Does Your Business Belong in 'The Cloud?'

The SaaS model that began a few years ago has now evolved into the "Cloud' computing model being utilized today. Improvements were made to enhance performance and strengthen security. It is a great option for many organizations because it provides:

• Lower maintenance and support costs than premise based alternatives
• Lower entry point than a licensed purchase
• Fast Deployment
• Reduced challenges associated with upgrades, updates, and security patches
• The ability for remote employees to stay connected
• Reduce workload on already busy IT departments
• Highly customizable user settings
• Lower risk with the ability to easily change vendors if desired

Pushing information in the cloud improves collaboration; business partners, employees and customers all benefit from the ease and availability that Cloud computing delivers. Anyone with access to the Internet can now engage in operations through these web based services.

Another key benefit of computing in the Cloud is the cost savings. Businesses today are cash strapped and are looking to reduce costs without compromising services. The financial benefits of Cloud computing are huge. The Yankee Group estimates that Cloud computing brings cost reductions of 50% or more for IT spending. Typically IT savings demands high up front costs, with savings being realized over time. Cloud computing brings almost instants savings, since there are no large, front end costs around implementation.

Types of Clouds:
Cloud computing offers organizations improved options that were not available with SaaS. Cloud models include:

• Private/Internal Clouds -emulate cloud computing on private networks capitalizing on data security, corporate governance, and reliability concerns. Users "still have to buy, build, and manage them" and as such do not benefit from lower up-front capital costs and less hands-on management.
• Hybrid Clouds - consist of multiple internal and/or external providers; an organization provides and manages some resources in-house and has others provided externally.
• Community Clouds - several organizations have similar requirements and seek to share infrastructure so as to realize some of the benefits of cloud computing.
• Public Clouds - a shared environment where service provider makes resources, such as applications and storage, available to the general public over the Internet. Public clouds may have hundreds or even thousands of businesses running in isolated containers within the same physical environment.

With the advances is security and delivery, Cloud computing is proving to be an excellent tool to improve business services while reducing costs. Author Nicholas Carr, argues that the cloud computing paradigm shift is similar to the displacement of electricity generators by electricity grids early in the 20th century. At first there was fear about pooling services with other businesses, but security measures were put in place and costs were greatly reduced by sharing infrastructure.

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The Pros & Cons of Cloud Computing, and is it Secure?

Remember, our simplified definition of cloud computing consists of shared computing resources that are virtualized and accessed as a service through an APL.

The Pros

1- Costs/capital expenditures
If cloud computing is right for your company, then major cost savings can be seen in buying and maintaining the needed infrastructure, support equipment, and communication costs. The vendors and/or service provider, who charge the users a utility or user type fee, own these costs.

2- Scalability
One of IT's biggest problem is the constant need to add more equipment to keep up with the growing demand of accessing, storing and analyzing information by both internal and external users. One example is in the data center where adding servers is a major cost issue (actually power for the data center is the number one issue, but it is related to the growing need for items like servers). Since cloud computing is virtual, one can expand or contract equipment/infrastructure as demands change.

3- Start - up
Since the cloud (theoretically) contains the infrastructure and applications, all one just needs to do is "dial" in to the cloud. One can start using applications immediately versus a customary installation, testing and then providing access to the appropriate user community. (Training is assumed to a constant.)

4- Business Applications
Again, the cloud (actually the vendors and/or service providers) through contracts (Service Level Agreements -SLAs) provides numerous business applications for any user who is their client. Again like scale, enterprises only need to know which applications they need to run their business and understand what is actually provided to have access to various business applications. (Training is assumed to be a constant.)

5- Flexibility
Since cloud computing is a virtual offering, a user has the flexibility to choose, on a regular basis, the applications, amount of bandwidth or the number of users by basically modifying his user contract and increasing or decreasing costs at a known rate or factor.

The Cons

1-SLA Agreements
This is the tricky and most important one. SLAs can be very involved and it really leaves the onus on the user to understand and define all requirements in specific detail, and more importantly understand what one is getting in the terms of support, performance, security, etc. A good example is quality of service; one should understand what is offered and what the recourses are if the specified quality is not maintained.

2-Performance
Performance guarantees are usually part of the SLA document, but I have singled this one out because it is critical to maintain the performance (uptime) one needs both for internal AND external users. Understand if the performance guarantee is defined as an average or just during peak times versus a "uniform" performance. If performance is compromised, it can impact many things including revenue and your company's goodwill.

3-Vendors
Not all vendors are created equally! Many vendors are claiming to provide cloud computing, but in reality, they are just providing a specific service, or a specific application or worst they are a middleman and provide no value-add at all. As I sated in my previous posting, one needs to understand the difference between cloud computing and hosted services or managed services or seemingly some form of virtualization. My best advice is to definitely get with reference customers and see if they model what you would like from the cloud.

4-Security
We all know that the internet has some security issues and since the cloud utilizes the internet coupled with applications infrastructure and support, users should be aware of the potential for new threats and increased risk exposure. It is important to include your firm's risk tolerance in any decision to move to cloud computing, as not all the security issues are understood, and new ones will arise.

5-IT Staffing
If one does utilize the cloud, then make sure one understands the vendor staffing that is available to support your needs and hundreds of others using their cloud. A number of vendors out-source staffing and some of the personnel may not be as good as your own internal organization. Ask the potential service provider if they have trained personnel to support the applications you request.

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What is Cloud Computing? 10 Defining Points

This seems like an odd question to ask since you probably already have some concept of "the cloud." However, given some of the conversations I have been having recently, I think there's a good deal of cloudy thinking about cloud computing.

So here is the gist of what the cloud is (imho) summed up for you in a set of bullet points:

1. "Cloud Computing" is currently a marketing term. And that's why I'm writing this; to divorce the use of Cloud Computing, the marketing term, from the use of Cloud Computing as an architectural idea. Marketing terms don't have to conform to precise definition. They get used, then abused, then severely exploited and finally, as their bandwagon grinds to a halt, they get pitched onto the sorry stack of broken buzz words. That's what happened to "eBusiness", "Web Services", "On Demand" and so on. Until the recession began in earnest Cloud Computing was a reasonably sane marketing term. That's now changing because, in the minds of the IT audience, the cost of cloud computing is lower. That makes cloud the hype-word du jour.
2. Cloud Computing is NOT SaaS (Software As A Service). I'm making this point because some commentators have been equating these two ideas as if they were identical. SaaS is healthy terminology. SaaS is out-hosted software that you can access directly. Although you might not think of it as such, your electronic banking capability is SaaS - you just don't pay for it directly. As such electronic banking is no different to Zoho or Google Apps. However, electronic banking is definitely not Cloud Computing, no matter how much you stretch the definition.
3. Cloud Computing Is Not About Emulating Google It looks suspiciously like the initial enthusiasm for cloud computing as a technology strategy was prompted by Google envy. Google was doing something unprecedented in building huge data centers to support its business. It was clearly a fact that Google's operation was highly efficient and some CIOs mused about whether they could emulate Google. Actually there was no chance, because Google's business was defined by just two uncommon transactions: searching the web and placing adverts. Google designed a huge massively parallel operation using computer servers and switches they built themselves within an architecture that was optimized for precisely that workload. You can't emulate that unless, like some social networking sites, you have a small variety but very large numbers of transactions. As you might expect, some social networking sites have emulated Google.
4. Cloud Computing Is About Technology Stacks Cloud computing is about technology stacks in the same way that the ISP business is about technology stacks. In general ISP deliver a consistent service to the myriads of web sites they host by employing a standard technology stack, most commonly, the LAMP (Linux Apache, MySQL, PHP) stack. This means that management effort is minimal because everyone is running the same application (a web site) with the same technolgy (LAMP) and, where customers do have problems, they will normally be the same issues cropping up time and again.
5. Cloud Computing Is About Economies of Scale The only thing that everyone seems to agree upon about Cloud Computing is that it is constructed for scale and that it is hosted on a set of resources that are distinct from the typical IT network. In other words within "the cloud" there is an architectural attempt to build for scale. Most cloud offerings are going to be based upon scalability. The truth is that if you plan to have a very large data center and you organize its use so that most of the workloads are very similar, or better, identical, then you will achieve significant economies of scale. You will then be able to offer the service at prices that undercut the customer's costs of running the application in-house. The more customers you achieve the better the cost advantage.
6. Cloud Computing Is Not Outsourcing The typical corporate data center is not a cloud and will never become one. Its workloads are mixed the platforms they run on are mixed - the whole technology stack is mixed. That means you cannot transform the whole data center into a cloud operation. However, you can outsource it.
7. Are There Any Clouds Computing Standards? Not really, or perhaps better to say "not yet." In general cloud computing infrastructure is built on servers that employ virtualization technology to deliver efficient resource utilization and typically, abide by open standards and, for the sake of economy, use open source software extensively. There is an organization formed by a group of universities, called the Open Cloud Consortium (OCC), which is promoting open frameworks that will let clouds operated by different organizations work together seamlessly.
8. Is there Such A Thing As An Internal Cloud? Again, not really, or perhaps better said "not yet." There is sense in organizations creating "domains" within their own networks that are built on cloud-type architectures, especially if they have applications that may need to scale over time. If cloud standards existed then such domains could be thought of as Internal Clouds. They would become staging areas for possibly moving internal applications into the cloud, or if the organization has its own software that it intends to offer as a service, then such a domain could become the platform for providing that service.
9. Is Cloud Computing Anything To Do With Web 2.0? No nothing at all. But you can make the connection if you want to. Many web sites that are said to be Web 2.0, primarily because they are social networking sites, have had to scale up dramatically when their user population shot into the millions. Because of that they have had to adopt highly scalable architectures (or die). Because they have such architectures they may be in a good position to offer some services to users in the manner of cloud computing.
10. Do Clouds Offer Guaranteed Service Levels? The answer to this is "yes" or at least it should be, and in the future it surely will be. We have to exclude free services, like Yahoo Mail and many of Google's services, which can be described as Cloud Computing from most perspectives, because a free service is never going to offer guarantees (even if it makes an excellent living from adverts.) But Cloud Computing will ultimately be defined, from the user's perspective, by service levels and the nature of the service itself. If Cloud Computing Services are well defined in that way, then it becomes possible to compare such services with the cost of providing a similar capability from your own data center - as long as the Cloud Computing provider is transparent in providing details of the technology that it deploys.

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An Explanation of Cloud Computing For the Unenlightened

Another decade, another buzzword. If you are involved in IT it is likely that you will have seen terms like Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Application Service Provider (ASP) and Utility Computing appear in technology and business media more frequently. Whatever you care to refer to it as they all essentially mean the same thing. In the US it is known as Cloud Computing.

What exactly is Cloud Computing?

The Cloud Computing concept is one based on the outsourcing of computing resources. Rather than purchasing certain hardware or software at relatively high capital expenditure, companies instead rent applications from service providers and access them over the Internet. An alternative to managing traditional IT resources - a host company takes care of the background technicalities and you simply connect to your services through a secure Web-browser, using them whenever needed.

These services are hosted online on secure servers - a network of computers collectively referred to as 'the cloud'. If you have ever had a free MSN Hotmail or Google Mail account you will have used a Cloud Computing service in the form of hosted email.

Nicholas Carr, technology writer and former chief editor of the Harvard Business Review, recently claimed that cloud computing is "a paradigm shift similar to the displacement of electricity generators by electricity grids in the early 20th Century". The idea is that in the future a company's IT infrastructure will be viewed as a utility expense not dissimilar to that of a water or electricity bill. It might seem far fetched, but it is quickly becoming a reality.

What does Cloud Computing mean to the small-medium sized business?

Firstly, a utility based delivery of IT services can have a huge cost advantage for the SME. By avoiding the initial expenditure of hardware and software licences, companies can save money and utilise resources. Their system infrastructure now becomes only an operational expense - since there is no hardware to purchase or maintain.

IT staff no longer need to spend time on maintenance jobs and can set about improving efficiency in other areas of the company. The Cloud model can also help companies avoid return on investment (ROI) risk and uncertainty. Should their cloud service not work for them they can easily cancel their subscription and switch to an alternative provider - avoiding the nightmare of fixed asset failure six months down the line.
 
This 'pay-as-you-go' model also offers improved scalability. Businesses can allocate more or less funds to their cloud provider depending on how many licenses they need - increasing or decreasing over time. Cloud computing is a great advantage to start-up companies. By avoiding upfront capital expenditure, small firms can get up off the ground and running much quicker. This can be a massive benefit - with no initial cost barrier holding them back they can drastically decrease time to market.

The advantage of location independence is another key benefit of cloud services. Advances in 3G and Wireless Broadband technology have made accessing the Internet on the move easier. Users can connect to their software applications and store data and information instantly over the net. The result is freedom from the office. For companies with multiple users in the field, applications no longer need to be installed directly onto the user's machine making them run more efficiently and securely.

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Cloud Computing - A Win For Everyone

Cloud Computing is a form of computing in which all applications, information and resources are managed in a virtual environment.  The term cloud computing, specifically the use of the word "cloud", it meant to represent the nature and structure of cloud computing. Cloud computing involves virtual hosted environments allowing users to connect to the services being hosted over the internet.

Google Apps is a great example of cloud computing as companies to no longer require the need for installed word processing software, in house email servers, multiple IT personnel and many more cost saving advantages. Google Apps allows companies to access all services including email, website hosting, calendar, document editing/creation and much more directly through a web browser.

The advantage to using Google Apps is increased productivity, security, lower IT costs and data backup. Microsoft has also entered the cloud computing realm by integrating its current software such as Word and outlook with online storage and easy accessibility.

Many hosting companies and even a few internet retailers are beginning to offer cloud hosting services. Rackspace, an internet hosting company, has begun to offer cloud hosting for clients who wish to have personal cloud applications in an environment controlled by them. Amazon.com is also offering cloud hosting services due to its large infrastructure and internet bandwidth capabilities.

Most cloud hosting companies offer easy setup and creation of private cloud hosting with simple user interfaces. Most cloud hosting companies have per usage pricing instead of flat rate pricing. Users simply pay for the amount of processing, bandwidth and storage that they use. This pricing method benefits both cloud hosting companies and end users.

There are three main variations of cloud computing:

1. IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service): The need for expensive equipment is outsourced. Instead of companies purchasing expensive equipment including servers, hard drives and networking equipment, they would instead be used over the Cloud and hosted by a cloud computing company. The business entity would use the virtual equipment on a cost usage basis.
2. PaaS (Platform as a Service): Applications are run off of cloud servers hosted virtually. A small company selling cloud applications to businesses will use PaaS to "host" the sold cloud applications and have them run off of the cloud servers instead of having them run off of in-house servers. The company selling the applications pays for the services based on a processor/bandwidth basis.
3. SaaS (Software as a Service): Cloud applications are paid for on a per use basis and not sold in bulk licenses. This allows small companies to purchase a la carte licensing for applications they may use infrequently. Instead of purchasing 15 licenses a company can instead only pay when the software is used and removing the limits on how many machines the software can be installed on.

IaaS, Infrastructure as a Service, is currently the most widely used cloud service. IaaS allows small, medium and even large companies to cut costs considerably. Companies can completely remove the need for expensive network equipment, expensive bandwidth to support their network, expensive network storage equipment and much more.

A company only pays for what they use from the cloud infrastructure thus eliminating the capital lost due to lack of usage from in house network equipment, bandwidth, etc. As IaaS gains more popularity and more cloud hosting companies emerge, costs can potentially drop even more due to oversupply and increased cloud hosting competition.

PaaS, Platform as a Service, is second to IaaS in terms of popularity and consumer adoption. A small company selling cloud applications and/or cloud services does not have to host the applications but can instead have them hosted elsewhere. Platform as a Service saves the company selling the applications/services as expensive network equipment, bandwidth and the need for additional IT personnel are instead outsourced to a cloud hosting company.

This allows cloud application companies and even small developers the ability to enter the cloud application market without the need for considerable startup capital. PaaS has the potential to overtake IaaS in terms of consumer adoption and overall use.

SaaS, Software as a Service, is the least used cloud hosting service. It is a win-win for both consumers and the software companies. Consumers save money as heavily priced software licenses are no longer necessary due to the fact that consumers are only paying when the software is used. The need to purchase software in bulk is removed and every consumers' software needs are custom suited based on usage.

This is also a win for cloud software companies as it will attract more consumers due to the custom pricing model. Consumers who could not afford the high cost of bulk software licenses will now be able to purchase based directly on their software usage needs. SaaS has the potential to completely revolutionize the software industry and may even curb software piracy.

The customized nature of cloud computing is what makes it such a popular and newly adopted internet technology. It will revolutionize the way that networking and everyday computing is run. It is a great win-win situation for both cloud companies and consumers.

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