Cloud computing, or cloud computing, is characterized by providing operational resources and services remotely via the Internet. These resources can be shared in a public cloud or, exclusively, in a private cloud. Services can be offered in the SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS models — concepts we will learn more about in this post.
If you’re an IT manager, you know that few terms were as prevalent as Cloud Computing is today; when it comes to technology in the corporate world — who doesn’t know what it is, seeks information, who knows, researches how to implement it and, who uses, talks about the fruits he has been reaping.
What Is Cloud Computing?
Cloud computing is characterized by providing IT resources over the Internet and delivering on demand. In it, the client only pays for the rented and active resources for a certain period. It opposes the traditional computing model, in which companies need to invest in hardware, operating systems, and software to be able to run some applications.
In the traditional model, the IT department needed to be concerned with each item supporting an application: ordering the purchase, configuring, maintaining the entire infrastructure, and licensing the software.
How Did Cloud Computing Come About?
Despite being a technology that has become popular recently, Cloud Computing is the result of a process that began even before the World Wide Web, when the first computers began to be networked.
When the so-called Cold War occurred, computing was still limited for military purposes. Despite the ideological differences that permeated the scenario, this time was necessary to develop information technology and even the Internet as we know it today.
The American computer scientist John McCarthy is the father of cloud computing, as he developed the first studies on the subject. John had an idea that computing was a public service offered to the population, as was the case with piped water and electricity supply.
Is this model similar to today’s Internet? Yes, but you have to consider that we are talking about the 1960s, almost 70 years ago. Therefore, John McCarthy can be considered a visionary who contributed a lot to the development of Cloud Computing.
In 1970, there were already prototypes of virtual machines using this concept, when the same computer can run multiple operating systems simultaneously in isolated environments. However, it is clear that this technology only became commercially viable when the Internet itself reached companies en masse.
However, the term Cloud Computing was applied for the first time only in the 1990s, when the commercial Internet began to gain strength worldwide. The author of this word is the American information systems professor and researcher Ramnath Chellappa. He created this vocabulary inspired by the functioning of the Internet, which develops in cyberspace, a space that is abstract and not physical, like the others.
How Does Cloud Computing Work?
It is expected that, outside of the IT environment, many people still have doubts about Cloud Computing, even though the service is becoming increasingly popular. To make these people understand how Cloud computing develops, it is essential to remind them that virtually everything consumed on the Internet today is stored in a cloud.
Cyberspace is a virtual space, as pointed out by the theorist Pierre Lévy in his book “Cyberculture.” The scholar explains that the technical phenomenon of the Cloud is not based only on computer resources but also involves cultural, behavioral, and social situations since the Internet has changed how people relate and perform a series of activities.
From this point of view, when explaining to a manager or any other layperson about Cloud Computing, the excellent idea is to bring practical examples of these applications that are already common in our daily lives, whether at work or for our leisure and entertainment.
It should be shown that, despite not being in a fixed location, the organization’s data and files can be stored in this virtual space without any harm, bringing advantages, such as the possibility of accessing them from any location.
Another benefit of cloud computing to organizations is that the company’s physical space will be freed up. In the past, it was common for large binders and folders to be arranged to store printed documents; today, this has become unnecessary. The same goes for the data centers, which occupied entire rooms, as they were very large equipment. In the next topic, we will discuss the advantages and benefits of cloud computing.
Advantages And Benefits Of Cloud Computing?
Indeed, you are already aware of the benefits that Cloud Computing introduces, both in terms of implementation, maintenance, and product guarantee. To reinforce them even more, we have developed a list of the main ones and will explain them briefly. Be sure to check it out!
Reduction In Hardware Investment
With cloud computing, you only pay for what you use the resource. If we were to make an analogy to a rented house, we can say that if there are three rooms, but you only use one, you would only pay for the occupied room. In Cloud Computing, this is also the case; if cyberspace is unlimited, you will only pay for the gigabytes used to store your company’s data, which does not happen when the data is arranged in hardware.
Flexibility
You can scale and determine your demand just a few minutes in advance. This is very beneficial as working in companies will become much more flexible.
Speed And Agility
You can access IT resources with just one click, cutting the time to get them available from weeks to minutes. Plus, you can access your files from anywhere, not just the company.
Reduction In Maintenance Costs
With cloud computing, you can focus on your customers instead of worrying about running your IT infrastructure smoothly. The company, therefore, becomes less operational and more strategic.
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