What does cloud computing mean?

Cloud computing is gaining popularity, says Ben Pring, a senior analyst at Gartner. "It's becoming a popular word." "But the problem is that everyone seems to have a different understanding of cloud computing," he said. As a metaphor for the internet, "cloud" is easy to understand. But once associated with computing, its meaning expands and becomes blurred. Some analysts and companies have defined cloud computing only as an upgraded version of computing-basically the many virtual servers available on the Internet. Others have defined cloud computing more broadly, saying that everything consumers consume outside the firewall is in the cloud.

Cloud computing is a concern that people need to find a way to increase the capacity and capacity of the Internet without adding new investments, new human resources and new software, given what the IT industry really needs. And cloud computing provides that possibility.

Today, cloud computing is at a start-up stage, with large and small companies offering a wide range of cloud computing services, from software applications to networked storage to mail filtering. These companies are part of the infrastructure provider and the other is SaaS (software as a service) provider like Salesforce.com. The main achievement today is internet-based personal services, but the aggregation and consolidation of cloud computing is emerging.

The InfoWorld website has discussed several broad forms of cloud computing with dozens of companies, analysts, and it users:

1.SAAS (software as service)

This type of cloud computing passes the program to thousands of users through the browser. This, in the eyes of the user, eliminates the expense of server and software authorization, and from a vendor standpoint, it is sufficient to maintain a single program, which can reduce costs. Salesforce.com is by far the most famous company for such services. SaaS is more commonly used in human resource management procedures and ERP. Google apps and Zoho office are similar services

2. Practical calculation (Utility Computing)

The idea was very early, but it was only recently that the Amazon.com, Sun, IBM, and other companies that provided storage services and virtual servers were reborn. This cloud computing is the creation of a virtual datacenter for the IT industry that enables it to centralize memory, I/O devices, storage, and computing power as a virtual resource pool services for the entire network.

3. Network Services

Closely related to SaaS, network service providers are able to provide APIs that allow developers to develop more internet-based applications rather than providing stand-alone programs.

4. Platform as Service

Another kind of SaaS, this form of cloud computing provides the development environment as a service. You can use the middleman's device to develop your own program and upload it to users via the Internet and its servers.

5.MSP (Management service provider)

One of the oldest applications of cloud computing. This application is more for the IT industry rather than end users, often used for mail virus scanning, program monitoring and so on.

6. Business Service Platform

A mixed application of SaaS and MSP, a cloud that provides a platform for interaction between users and providers. For example, the user's personal expense management system can manage their expenses according to the user's setup and coordinate the various services they order.

7. Internet Integration

Integrate companies that provide similar services on the Internet so that users can compare and choose their own service providers more easily.