Cloud Computing

Why cloud computing represents a paradigm shift for business, and how business users can best take advantage of cloud services. Most of the information available on cloud computing is either highly technical, with details that are irrelevant to non-technologists, or pure marketing hype, in which the cloud is simply a selling point. This book, however, explains the cloud from the user's viewpoint—the business user's in particular. Nayan Ruparelia explains what the cloud is, when to use it (and when not to), how to select a cloud service, how to integrate it with other technologies, and what the best practices are for using cloud computing. Cutting through the hype, Ruparelia cites the simple and basic definition of cloud computing from the National Institute of Science and Technology: a model enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources. Thus with cloud computing, businesses can harness information technology resources usually available only to large enterprises. And this, Ruparelia demonstrates, represents a paradigm shift for business. It will ease funding for startups, alter business plans, and allow big businesses greater agility. Ruparelia discusses the key issues for any organization considering cloud computing: service level agreements, business service delivery and consumption, finance, legal jurisdiction, security, and social responsibility. He introduces novel concepts made possible by cloud computing: cloud cells, or specialist clouds for specific uses; the personal cloud; the cloud of things; and cloud service exchanges. He examines use case patterns in terms of infrastructure and platform, software information, and business process; and he explains how to transition to a cloud service. Current and future users will find this book an indispensable guide to the cloud.

The latest textbook from best-selling author Provides a comprehensive introduction to cloud computing

Clouds are distributed technology platforms that leverage sophisticated technology innovations to provide highly scalable and resilient environments that can be remotely utilized by organizations in a multitude of powerful ways. To successfully build upon, integrate with, or even create a cloud environment requires an understanding of its common inner mechanics, architectural layers, and models, as well as an understanding of the business and economic factors that result from the adoption and real-world use of cloud-based services. In Cloud Computing: Concepts, Technology & Architecture, Thomas Erl, one of the world’s top-selling IT authors, teams up with cloud computing experts and researchers to break down proven and mature cloud computing technologies and practices into a series of well-defined concepts, models, technology mechanisms, and technology architectures, all from an industry-centric and vendor-neutral point of view. In doing so, the book establishes concrete, academic coverage with a focus on structure, clarity, and well-defined building blocks for mainstream cloud computing platforms and solutions. Subsequent to technology-centric coverage, the book proceeds to establish business-centric models and metrics that allow for the financial assessment of cloud-based IT resources and their comparison to those hosted on traditional IT enterprise premises. Also provided are templates and formulas for calculating SLA-related quality-of-service values and numerous explorations of the SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS delivery models. With more than 260 figures, 29 architectural models, and 20 mechanisms, this indispensable guide provides a comprehensive education of cloud computing essentials that will never leave your side.

The easy way to understand and implement cloud computing technology written by a team of experts Cloud computing can be difficult to understand at first, but the cost-saving possibilities are great and many companies are getting on board. If you've been put in charge of implementing cloud computing, this straightforward, plain-English guide clears up the confusion and helps you get your plan in place. You'll learn how cloud computing enables you to run a more green IT infrastructure, and access technology-enabled services from the Internet ("in the cloud") without having to understand, manage, or invest in the technology infrastructure that supports them. You'll also find out what you need to consider when implementing a plan, how to handle security issues, and more. Cloud computing is a way for businesses to take advantage of storage and virtual services through the Internet, saving money on infrastructure and support This book provides a clear definition of cloud computing from the utility computing standpoint and also addresses security concerns Offers practical guidance on delivering and managing cloud computing services effectively and efficiently Presents a proactive and pragmatic approach to implementing cloud computing in any organization Helps IT managers and staff understand the benefits and challenges of cloud computing, how to select a service, and what's involved in getting it up and running Highly experienced author team consults and gives presentations on emerging technologies Cloud Computing For Dummies gets straight to the point, providing the practical information you need to know.

Exploring the Cloud Computing (CC) commercial landscape as it matures; this book asserts that the key ingredient in sustaining the Software as a Service (SaaS) business model is subscription renewal. Chronicling the evolution and future trajectory of the CC concept, the authors examine the new paradigm it is creating for the distribution of computer software applications among business-to-business (B2B) clients. CC enabled SaaS has been fundamentally changing the revenue expectations and business model for the application software industry, and impacting on how SaaS providers pursue, acquire and retain B2B clients. Securing SaaS subscription renewal is critical to the survival and prosperity of this business as attrition can have a significant impact on the financial viability of SaaS businesses based on this model. Focusing on the B2B client and the SaaS industry dependency on renewal subscriptions delivered through the CC channel, the primary research presented in this book seeks to examine the key drivers behind the B2B SaaS subscription renewal decision and, in doing so, to explore the recurring revenue framework for the Cloud SaaS business.

The purpose of this book is first to study cloud computing concepts, security concern in clouds and data centers, live migration and its importance for cloud computing, the role of firewalls in domains with particular focus on virtual machine (VM) migration and its security concerns. The book then tackles design, implementation of the frameworks and prepares test-beds for testing and evaluating VM migration procedures as well as firewall rule migration. The book demonstrates how cloud computing can produce an effective way of network management, especially from a security perspective.

A guide to cloud computing for students, scientists, and engineers, with advice and many hands-on examples. The emergence of powerful, always-on cloud utilities has transformed how consumers interact with information technology, enabling video streaming, intelligent personal assistants, and the sharing of content. Businesses, too, have benefited from the cloud, outsourcing much of their information technology to cloud services. Science, however, has not fully exploited the advantages of the cloud. Could scientific discovery be accelerated if mundane chores were automated and outsourced to the cloud? Leading computer scientists Ian Foster and Dennis Gannon argue that it can, and in this book offer a guide to cloud computing for students, scientists, and engineers, with advice and many hands-on examples. The book surveys the technology that underpins the cloud, new approaches to technical problems enabled by the cloud, and the concepts required to integrate cloud services into scientific work. It covers managing data in the cloud, and how to program these services; computing in the cloud, from deploying single virtual machines or containers to supporting basic interactive science experiments to gathering clusters of machines to do data analytics; using the cloud as a platform for automating analysis procedures, machine learning, and analyzing streaming data; building your own cloud with open source software; and cloud security. The book is accompanied by a website, Cloud4SciEng.org, that provides a variety of supplementary material, including exercises, lecture slides, and other resources helpful to readers and instructors.

The ultimate guide to assessing and exploiting the customer value and revenue potential of the Cloud A new business model is sweeping the world—the Cloud. And, as with any new technology, there is a great deal of fear, uncertainty, and doubt surrounding cloud computing. Cloudonomics radically upends the conventional wisdom, clearly explains the underlying principles and illustrates through understandable examples how Cloud computing can create compelling value—whether you are a customer, a provider, a strategist, or an investor. Cloudonomics covers everything you need to consider for the delivery of business solutions, opportunities, and customer satisfaction through the Cloud, so you can understand it—and put it to work for your business. Cloudonomics also delivers insight into when to avoid the cloud, and why. Quantifies how customers, users, and cloud providers can collaborate to create win-wins Reveals how to use the Laws of Cloudonomics to define strategy and guide implementation Explains the probable evolution of cloud businesses and ecosystems Demolishes the conventional wisdom on cloud usage, IT spend, community clouds, and the enterprise-provider cloud balance Whether you're ready for it or not, Cloud computing is here to stay. Cloudonomics provides deep insights into the business value of the Cloud for executives, practitioners, and strategists in virtually any industry—not just technology executives but also those in the marketing, operations, economics, venture capital, and financial fields.