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Cloud Computing As An Architectural Idea Essay

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This seems like an odd question to ask since you probably already have some concept of "the cloud." However, given some of the conversations I have been having recently, I think there 's a good deal of cloudy thinking about cloud computing. So here is the gist of what the cloud is (imho) summed up for you in a set of bullet points: "Cloud Computing" is currently a marketing term. And that 's why I 'm writing this; to divorce the use of Cloud Computing, the marketing term, from the use of Cloud Computing as an architectural idea. Marketing terms don 't have to conform to precise definition. They get used, then abused, then severely exploited and finally, as their bandwagon grinds to a halt, they get pitched onto the sorry stack of broken buzz words. That 's what happened to "eBusiness", "Web Services", "On Demand" and so on. Until the recession began in earnest Cloud Computing was a reasonably sane marketing term. That 's now changing because, in the minds of the IT audience, the cost of cloud computing is lower. That makes cloud the hype-word du jour. Cloud Computing is NOT SaaS (Software As A Service). I 'm making this point because some commentators have been equating these two ideas as if they were identical. SaaS is healthy terminology. SaaS is out-hosted software that you can access directly. Although you might not think of it as such, your electronic banking capability is SaaS - you just don 't pay for it directly. As such electronic banking is no different

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