| Cloud computing is the new IT trend that is grabbing | | | | available hardware, usually at one bottleneck point, |
| the industry magazine headlines, and although it is being | | | | such as single server. However, cloud hosting has no |
| positively embraced by many users, some are | | | | such restrictions as it utilises the processing power of |
| needlessly worried about security issues. | | | | a series of servers in real time. A user of cloud hosting |
| Bringing together the three major trends of | | | | simply purchases as much processing capacity as |
| virtualisation, utility computing and software as a | | | | they require from a resource that is virtually |
| service (SaaS), cloud computing is still regarded with a | | | | inexhaustible and therefore provides a seamless |
| degree of suspicion by some. However, as both the | | | | service regardless of peaks and troughs in visitor |
| US and UK governments utilise the technology they at | | | | numbers. |
| least have no doubts over its use. | | | | Intelligent systems simply ensure that load-balancing is |
| It is the combination of the three component parts of | | | | applied across a series of servers, adding or removing |
| cloud computing that make it particularly appealing to | | | | them from the cluster as required providing an invisible |
| users as they need little or no knowledge of the | | | | transition for customers. The technology underpinning |
| technology needed to operate it. First used to describe | | | | the infrastructure enables small and medium–sized |
| large ATM networks in the early 1990s, when used in | | | | enterprises to utilise web hosting architecture in a way |
| the computing context ‘Cloud’ is describing the | | | | that was only available a large corporate IT |
| internet and the way that resources are used across | | | | department a few years ago. |
| its entirety. It involves the provision of services to users | | | | Cloud technology is now utilised by major corporations |
| who don’t have to worry about any of the | | | | and governments throughout the world. It is certainly no |
| technical issues surrounding the service. | | | | fad, and despite myths about its lack of security is |
| Because resources can be pulled from across the | | | | almost as robust as any traditional system; it is |
| internet it means that cloud computing solutions are | | | | dependent upon the quality of the software and |
| entirely scalable and peak loads are easily | | | | operator. There are also varying types of cloud, such |
| accommodated. That allows users to go about their | | | | as an on-premise cloud or a virtual private cloud, which |
| business without having to worry about allocation of | | | | are as secure as the system operator wishes them to |
| CPU, storage or network bandwidth. | | | | be as it is in a private environment. However you |
| The shared hosting infrastructure model in regular use | | | | would be constrained to your pre-configured |
| today is limited by the physical constraints of the | | | | environment. |