Cloud Computing

Definition: Cloud computing is an umbrella term used to describe the use of computing services that are hosted on a network (typically the internet) and used by PCs (or other devices) without having to specify specific servers or systems. The term has evolved to encompass a mix of many technologies and methods that have existed for years, even decades, as well as more recent developments, that enable computing to be hosted remotely from the user. The main driver for cloud computing though is the increase in speed and reliability of the internet and one of the major characterising features is that services are usually paid for on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Webmail A Simple Cloud Computing Example A simple example of cloud computing is webmail. Anyone can access their webmail from anywhere in the world simply by knowing the web address of the webmail service, there's no need to know the name of the server or an ip address or anything else. The webmail provider takes on the job of making sure that there's enough disk space and processing power to allow all their customers to store and retrieve their mail on demand. The user doesn't have to worry about maintaining web clients on their PC or, in the case of companies, local email servers. More Complex Software as Service Applications Take this example a little further and you can see how different services can be provided to individuals and small companies at a fraction of the cost of setting up and IT infrastructure, servers and applications. Salesforce.com is perhaps the best known example of a customer relationship management (CRM) system that uses cloud computing to provide a fully-fledged software application that can be used by one user or hundreds. By paying an amount per user per month (although there are volume discounts) very small companies can get access to professional CRM functions for a very low initial cost compared to buying, installing and maintaining their own CRM software. Of course the offering form the application provider is different cloud computing variations.

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Different Cloud Computing Variations This is an example of a cloud computing variant known as Software as a Service (SaaS) where an application and your data are hosted in the cloud. There are two other major variants, Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS). As the names suggest, these variants offer infrastructure or platforms on the web that companies pay to use as and when they need them. Companies can buy time on servers as disk space (IaaS) and deploy their own software and applications on that rented infrastructure. This was initially known as Hardware as a Service (HaaS) but IaaS appears to have displaced that term. PaaS describes buying something more than IaaS in that software is included in the offering. A typical PaaS deployment would be workflow or development platforms, which teams use over the internet or a private network to collaborate on projects. There is often little or no dividing line between PaaS and SaaS.

Supporting Technology for Cloud Computing The idea of cloud computing has been around for a while, with application software providers (ASP) first appearing at the beginning of this century. But it is in recent years that a number of technologies have been developed that make cloud computing more accessible and workable that it might otherwise be. Virtualisation is one of those technologies. It allows many instances of an operating system, or many different operating systems, to run on one server. This allows providers of cloud computing services to make the best use of their hardware and tailor it to customer demand, taking virtual servers up and down and even moving them between physical servers as required. . Stronger Communications Links Inside and Outside the Cloud Infiniband is another cloud computing enabling technology, a standard for connecting highpowered servers and storage arrays. This has allowed the building of larger server 'farms' in which individual computers can talk to each other and pass computations between them. Infiniband has enable the spread of grid computing which has fuelled the spread of cloud computing. Cloud computing operators need to have strong networks that are laid over the ordinary internet to be able to provide guarantees of service. This technique is known as optimised internet overlay and improve the reliability of communications over the internet. Business Benefits from Using Cloud Computing There's no doubt that cloud computing offers significant advantages to businesses, particularly small businesses and start-ups. Precious start-up capital can be seek out of the initial years by paying low monthly charges for just the software and services that a company needs, when they need them. This offers a start-up the same software that multinationals use without having to invest in an IT infrastructure and IT personnel from the word go. Users also only need low-power, low-cost PCs because the power and space that they need for heavyweight applications can be provided by the cloud. Only high intensity applications like heavy database crunching or video processing need be done locally.

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Possible Disadvantages of Cloud Computing Many people have concerns about the hosting of company and personal data on remote servers and there's no way that cloud computing can operate without strict data privacy agreements and adherence to them. Companies are also unwilling to have their data on the internet where it may be at risk from corruption or theft. There are impacts on company growth and overheads too. Once a company has a significant number of users on a cloud computing platform they are at risk from price rises from the hosting companies. Companies may then find that moving away from a hosted service to their own infrastructure and data is technically and managerial a significant challenge. Support from the Big Boys Whether or not cloud computing is considered to bring benefits or disadvantages all of the major technology companies in computing have thrown their weight behind it including Microsoft, IBM, Google, and Amazon.

Software As A Service
Definition: Software as a Service (SaaS) is a type of cloud computing offering where users access internet-hosted software applications using a browser rather than a traditional client or client-server based application. SaaS and Cloud Computing SaaS is the most easily understood variant of cloud computing with applications such as webmail and Google Docs perhaps the best known examples. In fact most of the so-called Web 2.0 networking applications such as Facebook, YouTube and MySpace could be categorised technically as SaaS applications. As an example, compare the difference between using webmail and client-based email applications such as Microsoft Outlook, Lotus Notes or Eudora. With a PC-based client the users preferences and settings are all tied to their PC, and emails are usually copied down to it as well. Emails are stored somewhere that most users can't find and moving them from one PC to another requires a significant degree of IT knowledge. With a webmail client all you need is a PC and an internet connection to link to your webmail provider and all email, past and present, all contact details and settings are available straight away. There's no link to any one PC so anything that can be done from the user's usual PC can be done from a colleagues PC or from an Internet caf. SaaS in a Business Environment These well known consumer applications are not often referred to as SaaS applications though. The term tends to be used more in the commercial software space where there is a different relationship between the user and the SaaS provider. This is usually characterised by payment being made to use the service and the payment model being of the 'pay-as-you-go' (PAYG) type.
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The major financial difference SaaS offers an enterprise compared to a traditional internally hosted application is the ability to pay for application software on an 'as-needed' basis. An enterprise-quality software application would traditionally be offered in batches of licenses such as 1-10, 10-50 etc. This means that enterprises have to pay up front for software, often before they have the people to really justify it. Pay as You Go With the PAYG model and the software and data hosted on servers in the cloud, an enterprise can simply pay an application provider an amount per user per month, or perhaps the number of minutes used per month, depending on the type of application and the precise model that the SaaS provider is operating. There are far less IT management overheads as when operating servers to host a company's own copy of an application, all that is required, are PCs with a browser and an Internet connection. An enterprise SaaS also offers all the benefits of consumer web-based application in that all the data is centrally hosted so that it can be accessed from anywhere. Another secondary benefit is that the PCs in an enterprise do not have to be particularly powerful as all the highpowered computation is done on the application provider's servers. Start-ups and SMEs Profit Most This is all of particular benefit to start-ups and growing SMEs as it all means lower costs, immediate access to a fully-fledged application and fewer resources wasted on maintaining a computing environment. Companies in these situations do however need to be aware that they will be tied into that application provider. They should monitor costs as they grow to ensure that they don't pass a breakpoint where a traditional model is more cost effective. A good example of commercial SaaS is Salesforce.com's web-based customer relationship management (CRM) system. Installing an organisation-wide CRM system using a traditional local hosting model can be a real headache, with a lot of up front expense to install and maintain hardware, operating systems and the application itself, which then has to be tailored to the organisation. To use a web-based CRM all that employees need to do is register and login to the central system and import any existing customer data. Salesforce.com's application is available in four levels from basic to unlimited at a range of prices per user per month. This all sounds like it's too good to be true; surely there are disadvantages to SaaS? Many companies are concerned about not being able to control their own IT infrastructure and platform. The risk to the organisation of having a third party company in charge of their data, with concerns about privacy and data piracy, is considered too great for many companies to embrace cloud computing in general and SaaS in particular. Operational Concerns There are operational concerns too. For a company to lose its Internet connection is currently a great inconvenience. For an organisation using a SaaS model, losing their Internet
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connection becomes a complete disaster so steps would need to be taken to provide backup connections. This all increases telecommunications costs. With the advent of mobile internet connections it becomes harder to imagine a business person being somewhere where there is no Internet connectivity but it does happen. Once employees get used to working in an 'always-on' environment they find it harder to be productive when they are suddenly disconnected. Strategic Issues Strategically, the SaaS model presents some problems in addition to the tie-in to a supplier mentioned above. Suppose a SaaS provider begins to get overloaded and is slow to put more resources online; that would result in slower performance for their customers. Smaller customers are likely to feel the pinch as larger customers are prioritised and his might also happen with customer support resources. Although it might not be a stated policy of a SaaS provider to downgrade support for smaller customers it is easy to understand that customer service personnel might inadvertently or even subconsciously put more effort into responding to larger customers. Organisations are often reluctant to allow control of significant processes to pass outside their own walls, sometimes with good reason.

Security As A Service
Definition: Security-as-a-service (SaaS) is an outsourcing model for security management. Typically, Security as a Service involves applications such as anti-virus software delivered over the Internet but the term can also refer to security management provided in-house by an external organization. Security-as-a-Service offers a number of benefits, including:
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Constant virus definition updates that are not reliant on user compliance. Greater security expertise than is typically available within an organization. Faster user provisioning. Outsourcing of administrative tasks, such as log management, to save time and money and allow an organization to devote more time to its core competencies. A Web interface that allows in-house administration of some tasks as well as a view of the security environment and on-going activities.

Internet-based security (sometimes referred to as cloud security) products are a segment of the Software as a Service (SaaS) market. Gartner predicted that cloud-based security controls for messaging applications (such as anti-malware and anti-spam programs) would generate 60% of the revenue in that industry sector by 2013, up from 20% in 2008. Security as a Service product vendors include Cisco, McAfee, Panda Software, Symantec, Trend Micro and VeriSign.

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The Security as a Service Model By John in Cloud-based Security It has been almost four years ago since I started to look at the SaaS security model for Trend Micro. To be honest, being a software company, it was very hard getting anybodys attention. However, the team persisted and sometimes learnt the hard way around what it takes to deliver high availability SaaS applications. Software as a Service (SaaS) is now a wellestablished, cost effective way to deliver traditional software applications without the investment in infrastructure and qualified personnel. The most adopted applications for SaaS are around productivity such as CRM and ERP. However, there is another SaaS market growing rapidly and with global revenues in excess of $500m. Security SaaS applications, sometimes referred to as Security as a Service, offer the same benefits any other SaaS application. In fact, some Security SaaS applications have additional benefits. Hosted Email Security offers a very cost effective way to protect your email systems and takes the burden of tuning for the best Spam detection from the team. Such services are ideally suited for all types of customers. For example, Trends IMHS Hosted Email services hosts customers as small as 5 seats and as large as 50,000 seats. Value adds email security SaaS applications, such as encryption, can be added with rapid deployment times. Another successful Security as a Service application is vulnerability scanning and assessment. This is also referred to as the hybrid model since the majority of the functionality is carried out in the cloud with some elements placed within the customer network. However, not all security applications are suitable. Its debatable if you want all your Internet traffic flowing through SaaS security gateways. Firewall and web proxy traffic may be enabled best on premise because of the traffic volume. Endpoint Security applications that require constant interaction with internal network elements or for larger customers with very distributed networks may be too complex for cookie cutter security SaaS providers. In these cases, Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) are sometimes used to compliment internal resources. Companies today should probably choose a combination of pure SaaS security, hybrid SaaS security, managed security services and on-premise (or Private Cloud) solutions. It will depend on the applications and the network size/architecture as to which is used. Security as a Service in different businesses No one is immune to cyber-risk. With the onslaught of Internet-borne threats facing businesses today, it doesnt matter whether youre running a multinational corporation or a small family business. You have to protect your information assets or you could be in big trouble. The problem for small and medium businesses (SMBs) is that they rarely have enough fulltime IT staff to effectively manage all the security measures necessary to fully protect their computers and their data. Small businessestypically with 100 or fewer employeesoften dont have a dedicated IT person at all. Even in larger businesses, IT people wear multiple hats, which mean that critical security tasks are done only at the expense of other equally important business computing needs. Fortunately, a new class of security solutions is emerging to address this dilemma: security delivered as a managed service.

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Offloading Headaches The concept behind security as a service is simple. Rather than acquiring your own security software tools and the technical expertise to administer them internally, you contract with security vendors to have a turnkey service of virus defence, firewall management and e-mail filtering. Outsourcing cyber-security eliminates all the labour and infrastructure, while still giving you the state of the art in anti-virus, firewall and spam-fighting technologies. This approach also relieves SMB IT staffers from having to become security experts as well. "Lots of people go to an accountant or a tax preparation service, because they dont have the time or the expertise to do their taxes themselves," explains Lillian Wai, Senior Product Marketing Manager for McAfee Managed Services. "Managed security services simply apply this same reasoning to computer securityallowing SMBs to turn the job over to professionals who have the tools and expertise necessary to do the job better and more economically." While managed services eliminate the need for SMBs to perform routine daily security tasks, they still give IT managers a clear view into security operations and system status. A variety of reports show SMB IT managers know whats been done, what threats have been intercepted, and which problems may require further attention. Businesses dont have to sacrifice control, even as they gain convenience. Simplicity and Safety Jon Law is a managed services convert. He is the network administrator at Albina Fuel, a family-owned business that sells fuels, lubricants, and asphalt products in Portland, Oregon. Like many of his peers, Jon has his hands full keeping his companys critical IT systems up and running smoothly. He is also trying to devote more of his time and energy to projects that have strategic value to Albina. Therefore, the last thing he needs to do is go from desktop to desktop, updating anti-virus signatures and scanning hard drives. Thats why he has become a customer of the McAfee Managed VirusScan anti-virus service. "My day is too busy to devote a lot of time to desktop housekeeping tasks, but I obviously cant allow any of our systems to become vulnerable," Jon says. "By letting McAfee handle the whole job for me, all I have to do is check the reports and address any issues that require my attention." One thing Jon looks for is irregular activity on any individual machine. With the McAfee reports, he quickly sees which users desktops are picking up the most virus, adware or spyware hits and he can take a closer look at whats happening."The reports I get from McAfee show me who is picking up the most infections, so I can talk to them about taking the precautions necessary to protect themselves and the company."
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The Big Picture Jon Law isnt alone. The Yankee Group projected that managed security services market would grow from $1.5 billion in 2002 to a projected $3.7 billion market in 2008. As the challenges faced by IT departments continue to expand faster than their HR budgets, turning to a managed service is more than wise move it becomes a necessity. This is reflected in a broader trend towards software-as-a-service or on-demand solutions. Companies around the world are turning to service providers to deliver everything from network management to core customer relationship management applications. Security is thus just one of many IT disciplines being outsourced so that internal IT staffs can focus on objectives that increase business value, such as software innovation and strategic planning. "When you only have a limited number of technology professionals on staff, you dont want them downloading updates," says McAfees Wai. "With a trusted partner like McAfee, your staff can concentrate on adding value rather than doing routine tasks." Wai emphasizes that, in addition to being more cost-effective, managed services can also be much safer. "If you depend on an overworked administrator to keep your anti-virus and antispam software up to date, theres a chance it might not get done with potentially disastrous results. Our managed services eliminate that risk and therefore improve the level of protection and productivity for your company." Since this article was written, McAfee has introduced new products that offer similar capabilities. Please see our products section for additional information. Microsoft unveils cloud-based operating system in India (Economic Times- 09/03/2010) THE worlds largest software maker Microsoft on Monday made its cloud-based operating system commercially available for Indian users. The computer power on Windows Azure, a cloud-based operating system hosted in Microsofts data centers, will be available at $0.12 on an hourly basis, while storage on Azure will cost enterprises $0.15 per GB on a monthly basis. The web edition of its database service SQL Azure will be available at about $10 per month for up to 1 GB. The business edition of its database service will be priced at about $100 per month for up to 10 GB of database per month. Rajan Anandan, managing director, Microsoft India, said: All of our popular products are already cloud-ready, and we have a clear future roadmap to provide anytime, anywhere access across diverse devices spanning computer, mobile and Internet. The company claims to have over 3,000 applications developed from India that are currently hosted on the cloud platform. It already claims to have about 250 small and medium-sized customers in India. There are about 22,000 developers from India who are making applications on the Azure platform. Companies like Infosys, HCL Technologies, Persistent Software, Wings Info, Cerebrate and CDC Software are developing commercial applications and solutions on Windows Azure platform. Microsofts estimates reveal that with the Windows Azure Platform, customers and partners can realise a reduction in Total Cost of Operations of key workloads by up to 30 to 40% over a three year period. The announcement makes Microsoft one of the few companies in India that is ready to offer cloud-based services across all three service layers in the cloud, including infrastructure, platform and software applications. For software-as-a-service, Microsoft had launched Microsoft Online Services, Office Web Apps, Microsoft Hosted Dynamics, Office Communication online and SharePoint online in November last year. For infrastructure-as-a-service, Microsoft had launched its offerings via Reliance ADAG, Netmagic last year. The platform as a service stack was rolled out today as part of Windows Azure and SQL Azure launch.

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