Cloud Computing
Gartner Says Cloud Computing Will Be As Influential As E-business

Cloud Computing has become among the hottest topics in the world of IT. According to Gartner Inc. Cloud Computing will have an impact on business models no less influential than e-business itself. Gartner defines Cloud Computing as when massively scalable IT-related capabilities are provided “as a service” to multiple external customers using Internet as the underlying platform.

The Cloud Computing model is emerging as three major IT trends converge – Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), virtualization, and standardizing of computing through the Internet.

It’s a concept that has had previous names and approaches – utility computing, Application Service Providers, and more recently Software as a Service (SaaS). But up until now none have gained the widespread acceptance as the way IT services can be delivered quickly, flexibly, efficiently, and globally to an enterprise, large or small.

The types of IT services that could be provided through a cloud computing model are many. Computational services to provide massive compute facilities on-demand so that an enterprise can use tremendous amounts of CPU cycles when needed without buying computers. Storage services can also be “cloud-based” providing customers a way to store large amounts of data and documents without having to continually grow their own farms of storage networks and servers. SaaS companies such as Salesforce.com offer Customer Relationship Management (CRM) services through their multi-tenant, shared facilities so clients can provide their sales teams with a complete set of sophisticated customer management capabilities without buying software.

Gartner predicts that the impact of cloud computing on IT vendors will be huge. Established vendors such as IBM and HP who have a great market share in the traditional server and software markets are all charging into the space, and as new Web 2.0 and cloud business models evolve and expand into large enterprises a great deal can change when thinking about your future IT investment strategy and support model going forward.

To talk some more about what this Big Idea in Technology Directions, as well as others, can mean for your business, contact us at Technology Directions.