Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is a major step forward in the evolution of IT towards commoditization of hardware and other computing resources. Cloud abstracts computing resources (infrastructure, platform, or applications) for rapid assembly and deployment. Cloud computing, or any IT change, is not just about buying some new technology.

Cloud computing is generally viewed as an IT strategy that offers significant benefits in cost reduction and business flexibility. In a nutshell Cloud is a style of computing in which dynamically scalable and rapidly deployable IT resources are provided as a service over a network (typically the internet). Cloud computing is also commonly defined as the ability to provide (and consume) computing resources and other IT capabilities, on a subscription basis, over a network.

While there is an ever increasing plethora of “as a service” offerings that seem to pop up every other week, the majority of these can be seen as marketing categories and at the foundational level there is general agreement that there are 3 foundation categories of cloud services. (SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS)

An increasing pattern that I have seen is the adoption of more complex cloud environments that include one or more of the following options:

Hybrid Cloud – is a strategy of utilizing and combining cloud services from both a private cloud and public cloud providers.
Multi Cloud – is a strategy of utilizing and combining cloud services from multiple public cloud providers.
Hybrid IT (Realistic Hybrid) – is a strategy of utilizing and combining on-premise resources with resources from privater and/or public services.

Principles

This is a collection of Work in Progress Cloud Principles. These principles are NOT meant to be used as is but as the basis for discussion, selection, modification, and alignment.