Cloud computing SaaS, PaaS, … these new terms are very trendy but incomprehensible to most of us. Cloud concept has many advantages to utilize. But is it profitable? How to use? This post provides answers to your questions.
The concept
According to Gartner, cloud computing is currently in first position in which technology companies must invest. See it closer.
Instead of having to install or configure software, they are directly accessible on the Internet. Actually, cloud computing is not new and we use it almost without realizing it. Take for an example the email messaging types “Microsoft Outlook”, or “Mozilla Thunderbird” in which you must install the software on your PC and configure it with your email address, but you access free email services like Gmail, Yahoo mail, etc … without any installation and can access from any computer in the World. Imagine the same for all your applications.
Benefits
Traditional enterprise software often represent a huge cost and purchase of equipment not always justified. Their implementation, configuration, security and updating often require the presence of an expert that many small organizations can not afford.
Using applications based on “Cloud”, all these problems no longer exist because the software is not installed on your computer, you access them only when you use them. The initial investment is almost zero, you do not install anything and applications are automatically updated.
Cloud Storage Services
The cloud storage solution such as a hard disk, but based on the Cloud can also be beneficial. Instead of storing all your data on your computer you can store it in the “Cloud” and access it from anywhere. The data is safe and you can share it with anyone you want, and can have more space on your computer.
In fact you do not store your data in a cloud, but in a truly physical data center one that setup a large cluster of servers with thousands of racks containing the servers that store your data.
SaaS
SaaS (Software as a Service) is associated with cloud computing. It is a software model which unlike traditional software, offers a user via internet and use billing. It’s a bit like renting instead of buying.
We also hear about PaaS (Platform as a Service) and IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) which are an evolution of SaaS increasingly used by large organizations.
