Cloud Computing – How Do I Get in the Cloud?

June 29th, 2011 Posted in Amazon, Cloud Computing, John Shaw, Microsoft Online
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As the diagram above shows, the cloud is not quite so simple as first appears! To connect your business to the cloud, you would need to deal with Google, Amazon or Microsoft, as they are the main service providers. As the diagram shows using Google as an example, the service providers offers what is called PaaS, or Platform as a Service, which is the same as saying service provider.

However, rather than dealing directly with Google, Microsoft or Amazon, it is better to employ an IT service company specializing in cloud computing. There are now dozens of these companies. Be careful about their expertise, though. You would need to know how much of your business relies on Microsoft software, how much on Google (I’m not just talking about Google searches) and how much on Amazon (I’m not just talking about buying books and CDs!). If it turns out you primarily use Microsoft – as many businesses do – you will do best by contacting a Microsoft Gold Partner, who can then do an assessment of your business needs in terms of gaining access to ‘the cloud.’

Cloud computing is the future of IT, and if you do business on the Internet, your revenue will ultimately benefit from gaining access to the cloud early. The trickiest part remains, of course – starting to understand the technology involved!

For more information about how to integrate your business in the cloud, please contact Nimbo at info@Nimbo.com or visit the website at www.Nimbo.com.

- John Shaw

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Summary of Microsoft Coud Computing Offerings (Azure Platform, BPOS, etc.)

June 29th, 2011 Posted in Azure AppFabric, BizTalk, Cloud Computing, John Shaw, Microsoft Online
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  1. Azure Services Platform is a Microsoft application built ‘in the cloud.’ It allows applications to be hosted and run at Microsoft datacenters. It provides a cloud operating system called Windows Azure that serves as a runtime for the applications and provides a set of services that allows development, management and hosting of applications off-premises. All Azure Services and applications built using them run on top of Windows Azure.
  2. BPOS is a range of Microsoft products that work and integrate well in the cloud. BPOS stands for Business Productivity Online Standard Suite (BPOS) and consists of Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Office Communications Online and Office Live Meeting. Taken together, all four products are a great way to integrate your business in the cloud with proven technology. Many cloud service providers specialize in these products, such as Nimbo (www.nimbo.com).
  3. The future of the cloud. The intercloud is an interconnected global “cloud of clouds” and an extension of the Internet “network of networks” on which it is based. The term was first used in the context of cloud computing in 2007 when Kevin Kelly opined that “eventually we’ll have the intercloud, the cloud of clouds. This Intercloud will have the dimensions of one machine comprising all servers and attendant cloudbooks on the planet.” It became popular in 2009 and has also been used to describe the datacenter of the future.

What might the intercloud look like?

The Intercloud scenario is based on the idea that individual clouds do not have infinitive physical resources. If a cloud saturates the storage resources of its virtualization infrastructure, it could not be able to satisfy further requests for service allocations from clients. The Intercloud aims to address this situation – here, each cloud can use the computational and storage resources of the virtualization infrastructures of other clouds. Such form of pay-for-use introduces new business opportunities for cloud providers. Nevertheless, the Intercloud raises many challenges concerning cloud federation, security, interoperability, QoS, monitoring and billing.

For more information about how to integrate your business in the cloud, please contact Nimbo at info@Nimbo.com or visit the website at www.Nimbo.com.

- John Shaw

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How Does My Business Access the Cloud?

June 29th, 2011 Posted in Amazon, Cloud Computing, Ira Bell, Microsoft Online
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An alternative to the common ‘cloud’ diagram is the above 5-point platform, showing how your business is connected to the main server. You are the client. The application is the kind of software you use to gain access to the platform – somewhat like using Facebook or Twitter to gain access to the main Facebook or Twitter site, which acts as the platform.

However, behind the scenes the controllers of Facebook or Twitter (men in dark suits in shady underground bunkers) operate what is known as the “infrastructure.” This is most likely what your business is lacking in gaining access to the cloud. This is where IT cloud specialists can help – they would do an initial assessment of your company’s needs, part of which is to assess where you host the infrastructure. Your main computer systems will either be hosted ‘on-premise’ (within your business, and thereby carrying associated costs) or otherwise partly – and this is the movement of the future – off-site, where everyone can do business together. The idea of the cloud is to get EVERYONE doing more business together off-site, with real time access to the internet.

The server is merely the central point of location in the cloud – run by Amazon, Google or Microsoft – but in order to gain access to the server, you need to clarify the kind of infrastructure you’re using. An IT company can make this transition smoother – and also work backwards from this infrastructure connection, to the platform you use, and the various applications your business requires – so you can do more business, more often, and more effectively.

Hence, cloud computing clients don’t usually own the physical infrastructure. Instead, they avoid capital expenditure by renting from a third-party provider. The business model is analogous to how electricity is provided, employing a utility computing model, while others charge on a subscription basis. Basically, everyone wins in this dynamic – the providers get more traffic (saving on hours when computers are idle) and the client gets a cheaper way of access to ‘the business cloud,’ without maintaining its own infrastructure, such as hardware servers, storage, etc.

For more information about how to integrate your business in the cloud, please contact Nimbo at info@Nimbo.com or visit their website at www.Nimbo.com.

- Ira Bell

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