Value In The Cloud

Cloud computing is definitely one of the top buzzwords in technology today. Yet, there doesn't seem to be any consensus on what it all means. Yes, many people have there own opinions or definitions of the topic, each slightly different from one another. There aren't many agreed-upon components that make up cloud computing technology. At least one thing remains unclear; where is the value for the end user in all of this?

To better understand the some of the more obscure value propositions offered by cloud computing technology, we need to understand the shortcomings of the current technology available. That is, the current technology that allows people to make applications available over the web. There is no shortage of hosting providers out there that make it easy for both businesses and individuals to deploy an application over the web. In fact, these providers often have the application pre-built and ready to go. It really depends on what you are trying to do on the web and if it falls within the realm of the commonplace, you're in luck.

Once you want to start requiring customizations that these pre-built applications simply cannot provide, it is time to build something. If you're not a developer, you need a team of them to build you a web application that does what you need. This means that you need to figure out which framework to use, what platform it will run on, etc. These are all details that just don't interest non-technical folks. Nevertheless, it is a reality in order to survive these days.

Whether you use a pre-built, or a custom-built web application, having a presence on the web is the ultimate goal. The Internet has an ever growing user base and without if you're not there, you'll go unnoticed. The web is a big part of cloud computing but that isn't the whole story. What about desktop applications? Do they simply have no place in cloud computing? Like it or not, desktop applications are still in heavy use today. Some development efforts involving re-creating the same desktop applications that will run in a web browser. This is nice to have but it would also be nice if we could move desktop applications into the cloud without re-inventing the wheel.

Virtualization allows us to do just that. We can run our desktop applications inside a virtual machine without having to re-write the entire program. We can also access these virtual machines remotely so we don't necessarily need to see the user interface inside a web browser, even though it is possible to do so. Virtualization is another key component of cloud computing. In fact, it is probably the key to differentiating cloud computing from a more traditional web application deployment. Virtual machines can be created an destroyed upon request. They can also be moved around to different physical nodes without interruption to the running application contained within the virtual machine.

There are several well known virtualzation technologies available today that service providers can use to their advantage. If they have the hardware, they can make the these cloud computing resources available to their customers. One shortfall to using these virtualization platforms is that they are missing several key components necessary in order to provide a cloud offering. For instance, we're doing some interesting things here at Enomaly with our cloud computing platform, ECP. ECP offers features that are essential to service providers such as multi-tenancy and a highly-customizable user portal.

Having said all this, what is it about cloud computing that really sets it apart from a more traditional web application deployment? That is, where is the value? I believe the value of cloud computing is enabled by virtualization. This gives us a level of freedom to do what we want with our deployed applications previously unheard of. What can be now be done with cloud computing can also be done with a more traditional deployment, it will just cost a lot more. When you loose the ability to create you're own environment precisely as you need it, it suddenly becomes much more difficult to do things.

Virtual machines are their own self contained environment so they can also be copied. That is, once you have an environment setup the way it needs to be setup, that same work is never done twice. You simply clone the virtual machine if you need more capacity, or for some other reason. What this means is that you never have to do the same thing twice and that translates to much time saved.

This customization work can even be performed by the cloud providers themselves. This gives them an opportunity to not only provide the cloud computing services, but to also add value by providing appliances to their customers. These appliances are virtual machines that have been built for a common purpose. Typically, they will have some commonly used application stack installed and minimally configured.

In summation, there is value in cloud computing that is often overlooked because it is obscured by the more technical aspects of trying to define what exactly cloud computing is. The hidden added value cloud computing offers is sometimes hard to see unless you're using the technology that makes it possible. Mind you, this technology is still in its' infancy but the end results all look very promising.