Essays

Information Technology (IT) is changing rapidly. Power grids, traffic control, healthcare, water supplies, food and energy, along with most of the world's financial transactions, now depend on information technology. Thus, it forms an invisible layer that increasingly touches every aspect of our lives. Some of the companies researching cloud computing are big names in the computer industry. Microsoft, IBM, and Google are investing millions of dollars into research.

Cloud computing is an emerging IT delivery model that can significantly reduce IT costs and complexities while improving workload optimization and service delivery. Cloud computing is massively scalable, provides a superior user experience, and is characterized by new, internet-driven economics.

Cloud computing could change the entire computer industry. The present method of installing a suite of software for each computer can be replaced with having to load only one application. That application would allow workers to log into a Web-based service which hosts all the programs the user would need for his or her job. Remote machines "owned by another company would run everything from e-mail to word processing to complex data analysis programs.

In a cloud computing system, there is a significant workload shift.  Instead of local computers, the network of computers that make up the  Cloud do all the heavy lifting when it comes to running applications.  This results in decrease of hardware and software demands on the user’s Side. The only thing the user's computer needs to be able to run is the cloud computing system's interface software, which can be as simple as a Web browser, and the cloud's network takes care of the rest. Web- based e-mail service like Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail or Gmail do not run an e-mail program on your computer, you log in to a Web e-mail account romotely. The software and storage for your account does not exist on your computer but on the service's computer cloud.

Although cloud computing is an emerging field, the idea has been around l for a few years, it is called cloud computing because the data and applications exist on a 'cloud' of Web servers. A cloud computing System can be divided into two sections: the front end and the back end. They connect to each other through a network, usually the Internet. The Front end is the side the computer user, or client, sees. It includes the client’s computer for computer network) and the application required to access the cloud computing system.

The back end is the 'cloud' section of the system. Various Computers servers and data storage systems that create the 'cloud' of computing services are practically. In theory, a cloud computing   system could include practically any computer program you can imagine, from data processing to video games. Usually, each application will have its own dedicated server. A central server administers the system, monitoring traffic and client demands to ensure everything runs smoothly. It follows a set of' rules called protocols and uses a special kind of software called middleware. Middleware allows networked computers to communicate with each other.

If a cloud computing comp.iny has a lot of clients, there is likely to be a high demand for a lot of storage space. Some companies require hundreds of digital storage devices. Cloud computing systems need at least twice the number of storage devices it requires to keep all its clients’ information stored. That is because these devices, like all computers, occasionally break down. A cloud computing system must make a copy of all its clients' information and store it on other devices. The copies enable the central server to access h.iekup machines to retrieve data that otherwise would be unreachable. Making copies of data as a backup is called redundancy.

The applications of cloud computing are practically limitless. With the right middleware, a cloud computing system could execute all the programs a normal computer could run. Potentially, everything from generic word processing software to customized computer program designed for a specific company could work on a cloud computing system.

It is a good idea to rely on another computer system to run programs  and store data as it would enable clients to access their applications and  data from anywhere at any time. They could access the cloud computing system using any computer linked to the Internet. Data would not be confined to a hard drive on one user's computer or even a corporation’s internal network. Also, it could bring hardware costs down as the client would not need to buy the fastest computer with the most memory, because the cloud system would take care of the rest. Instead, , a client could buy an inexpensive computer terminal with a monitor, a keyboard  and mouse and just enough processing power to run the middleware  necessary to connect to the cloud system.

If the cloud computing system's back end is a grid computing system, then the client could take advantage of the entire network’s processing power. Often, scientists and researchers work with calculations so complex that it would take years for individual computing to complete them. On a grid computing system, the client could send the calculation to the cloud for processing. The cloud system would tap into the processing power of all available computers on the hark end significantly speeding up the calculation,                          

While the benefits of cloud computing seem convincing, secsecurity and privacy are perhaps its biggest concerns. The idea of handing over important data to another company worries some people. Cororate executives might hesitate to take advantage of a cloud computing system because it would not allow them to keep their company's information under lock and key. The counterargument to this position is that the companies offering cloud computing services live and die by their reputations. It benefits these companies to have reliable security measures in place. Otherwise, the service would lose all its clients. Hence, it's in their interest to employ the most advanced techniques to protect their clients' data.

Cloud computing companies will need to find ways to protect client privacy. One way is to use authentication techniques such as user names and passwords. Another is to employ an authorization format where by each user can access only the data and applications relevant to his or her job. Then there are a few standard hacker tricks that could cause major problems to cloud computing companies. One of those is called key logging. A key logging program records keystrokes. If a hacked manages successfully to load a key logging program on a victim's

 Computer, he or she can study the keystrokes to discover user names and passwords. Of course, if the user's computer is just a streamlined terminal,, it might be impossible to install the program in the first place.

There is a growing concern in the IT industry about how cloud computing could impact the business of computer maintenance and repair. If companies switch to using streamlined computer systems, they will have fewer IT needs. Some industry experts believe that the need for IT jobs will migrate to the back end of the cloud computing system.