How Does Cloud Computing Work?
November 8, 2011
Despite an enormous amount of coverage on the internet, television and no doubt in the workplace, for some unknown reason ‘cloud computing’ and, by association, ‘cloud telecommunications’, are terms that remain some of the most enigmatic of modern technological parlance…
And yet if you’ve had anything to do with social media, need I say Facebook and Twitter, email such as Gmail or even retail sites such as Amazon, you will already be directly implicated in what has been billed the ‘cloud revolution’, ‘the sky’s the limit’ and so on. But how does it work?
Luckily, upon hearing the term ‘Cloud Computing’, the image that often pops into one’s head is quite close to the reality:
Most computers that are part of a network source their information from centralised servers, sometimes even designated computers. The difference between this approach and ‘the cloud’ is that a cloud system will utilize resources from the network of computers to create a virtual computer on which applications and information can run independently of the server.
The network of computers can then draw upon this somewhat spectral, omnipresent virtual computer in order to use applications and data without having to manage hardware issues, such as direct compatibility and availability.
Programs can be web-based, and it is this latter point which is essential to understanding business motives. Web-based software limits the need for expensive software licensing per computer; thus creating huge savings using very few resources.