In August 2008, IT CHANNELPLANET® author Mike Elgan
complained about the problems with the term "Cloud Computing." He called it a
confusing term, misleading, "a marketing buzzword." It would appear that no
one's listening! The term is here to stay; albeit, its definition is cloudy at
best.
What is cloud computing? It's essentially a catch-all phrase
that can describe anything that happens on the internet. Because almost all
business transactions occur over the internet, by this definition cloud
computing has actually been around for a long time. The term is new, but the
events that make up the cloud have been operating for some time. As Elgan says,
"Cloud computing...was coined to put a new coat of paint on something old." It
only makes specific, well understood technologies more vague and difficult to
grasp.
What makes this new term so attractive is the perception
that it makes new technology available, at tremendous cost savings. In reality,
cloud computing does make technology available where it wasn't available
before. Often, it does save money. Yet, within the same reality, what it offers
isn't really new. Even where it is offered isn't all that new. Why not call
webmail "cloudmail?" It's the same thing. Or is it?
Cloud Computing - Technology or Business?
The real difference in Cloud is the resultant business
model. Businesses typically pay for the cost of servers, network, IT staff,
rent, electricity and air conditioning when bringing a new service to market. With
Cloud Computing, this changes. The model is to pay for the value received and
not the cost of the infrastructure that delivers the value. A big
difference...but not really a technology story.
However, the complexity of cloud services is beginning to
change. When the cloud first began with software as a service (SaaS) models,
the applications that were accessed were simpler to utilize. An application
service such as customer relationship management (CRM) or sales force
automation (SFA) was easy to use when hosted in a Cloud. But, now the need has
arisen for complex, hybrid models. In service oriented architecture (SOA)
applications, parts of it may reside in the datacenter, other parts in a cloud
and still other services from your trading partners may be in yet a different
cloud. This model is quite flexible. But, with that flexibility comes a cost -
complexity. This is where the need for technology is quite necessary. These
complex, hybrid services need to be monitored to ensure they provide the level
of service necessary to the business.
Cloud Computing - The Balance between Reliability and Poor Performance
As the cloud has grown, so has the complexity of the IT
environment. What was once SaaS has now
expanded into public, private and hybrid cloud service models. Now, applications can be accessed from a
central location that may be on the other side of the world. Anything from
video conferencing and web service interfacing to movies and email are
available to businesses via cloud services.
But there is one concern. And it isn't a new one either. How
does a business prevent poor performance of its applications? How does a
business guarantee reliability? Whether the cloud is limited to a private
company network or has expanded to embrace multiple firms in a trading partner
network, this is a problem that has always existed and still needs to be addressed
every day.
Cloud Computing - The AutoPilot Solution
Nastel's AutoPilot has been managing complex environments
for years. It's complex event processing core design enables efficient service
monitoring, deep-dive transaction tracking, message tracking, application
performance management, operational monitoring, and capacity planning
across all tiers of the IT infrastructure, whether the components are local or
on the cloud.
AutoPilot's predictive capabilities make delivering
dependable service to all end-users an attainable goal. The design of the complex
event processing (CEP) engine makes events that occur on the cloud just as
visible and trackable as those events that occur in-house. Transaction tracing,
automated root-cause isolation, performance analysis and determination of
business impact-AutoPilot delivers. It is a solution that enhances business
process efficiencies, guarantees service level agreements (SLAs) are met, all
while reducing cost and managing risk.
Nastel's AutoPilot is a proven solution that provides the
visibility that cloud users demand . AutoPilot offers the dependability of a
proven business IT management solution, with the visionary ability to fit any
business' cloud computing needs.
Denise Rutledge enjoys researching and writing about
technology products. She writes on many financial and business topics,
including software solutions that impact business performance in the financial
industry. In addition to working with clients to develop website content,
she writes on how to make a living as a writer on her writing blog.
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