Goals of Cloud Computing

Cloud computing offers a value proposition that is different than traditional enterprise IT environments. By offering a way to exploit virtualization and aggregate computing resources, cloud computing can offer economies of scale that would otherwise be unavailable. It can also offer opportunities to immediately exploit installed hardware and software, rather than expending time and resources to design, deploy and test a new implementation.

Because virtual instances can be provisioned and terminated at any time and the user organization pays only for the computing resource they are employing, costs can be lower. Likewise, fee structures need to be adequately clarified and understood to estimate future costs.

The benefits of cloud computing are compelling.

- Cloud computing permits the expense of infrastructure and its management to become an operational expense rather than a capital investment. This can be beneficial for the business both from a tax perspective, and also because it allows the organization to conserve capital for other purposes. [15]

- Cloud computing offers a centralized, remote facility for computing, leading to economies of scale in both the use of hardware and software and a reduction in required resources for administrative management.

- The ability to make use of computing resources on an immediate basis, rather than a need to first invest time and skilled resources in designing, implementing and testing infrastructure (hardware and middleware). This leads to faster time to value which may mean enhanced revenue, greater business agility, larger market share, or other benefits.

Cloud computing does not exist in a vacuum. Most organizations will have a broad variety of applications already running in their data center. For most, cloud computing will extend their existing infrastructure. It can be used mainly for new projects. Or, an organization may use it for overflow, guaranteeing a certain level of performance for enterprise computing.

Figure 1.2 - Cloud computing