The answer to the question why cloud technologies in Russia have not yet reached global scale is quite simple: misunderstanding and a completely normal feeling of extreme caution in relation to all innovations relating to such a serious issue as a business enterprise. It can also be said that this technology is considered by many managers as exotic and of little use in our economic situation.

What is cloud technology

The definition of cloud computing is at first glance very confusing: it is a model for providing ubiquitous and convenient network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (for example, servers, applications, networks, storage systems and services) that can be quickly provisioned and released with minimal management effort and the need to interact with the provider.

In order to better imagine what cloud computing is, we can give a simple example: previously, to access email, a user resorted to certain software (messengers and programs) installed on his PC, but now he simply goes to the website of the company whose services emails he likes, directly through the browser, without the use of intermediaries.

But this example is more suitable for private clouds. We are interested in these technologies in business. Modern implementation began in 2006. Then Amazon introduced its web services infrastructure, which not only provides hosting, but also provides remote computing power to the client.

Three models of "clouds"

Recall that there are three cloud computing service models:

1. Software as a service (SaaS, Software as a Servise). The consumer is provided with software—provider applications running on the cloud infrastructure.
2. Platform as a service (PaaS, Platform as a Service). The consumer is provided with the means to deploy consumer-created or purchased applications on the cloud infrastructure, developed using the provider's supported tools and programming languages.
3. Infrastructure as a service (IaaS, Infrastructure as a Service). The consumer is provided with data processing, storage, networking, and other underlying computing resources on which the consumer can deploy and run arbitrary software, including operating systems and applications.

Benefits of cloud services

Last year, the total volume of the global market in the field of cloud technologies was about $40 billion. Some experts predict that by 2020 this figure will reach $240 billion. Russia ranks 34th in the introduction of cloud computing into business with an indicator of $250 million.

There are several advantages associated with the use of cloud technologies.

Availability

Anyone who has a computer, tablet, or any mobile device connected to the Internet can access information stored on the cloud. The following advantage follows from this.

Mobility

The user is not permanently tied to one workplace. Managers can receive reports from anywhere in the world, and managers can monitor production.

Economical

One of the important advantages is reduced cost. The user does not need to buy expensive computers and software with large computing power, and he is also freed from the need to hire a specialist to maintain local IT technologies.

Rental

The user receives the necessary package of services only at the moment when he needs it, and pays, in fact, only for the number of purchased functions.

Flexibility

All necessary resources are provided automatically by the provider.

High technology

Large computing power that is placed at the user's disposal, which can be used for storing, analyzing and processing data.

Reliability

Some experts argue that the reliability provided by modern cloud computing is much higher than the reliability of local resources, arguing that few businesses can afford to purchase and maintain a full-fledged data center.

Google Apps for Business highlights these same benefits, only adding that the company protects the environment by using its cloud computing, explaining that Apps services run on Google's ultra-low-power data centers, so the carbon intensity and energy costs of using them will be significantly lower when using local servers.

How much does all this cost?

The cost of Google Apps for business, according to the company, is $5 per user per month, with free 5 GB of cloud disk space (if desired, you can purchase another 20 GB to 16 TB at prices ranging from $4 to $1,430 per month, respectively).

The user can also purchase Google Apps with Safe for $10 per month, which includes the standard package of services plus archiving of important business data, data collection for forensic purposes, search and export of any corporate data. Providing domains is available at an additional cost. It is worth noting that a user is considered to have one email account.

Try it - new clients get 3 months without a subscription fee. Current account in Kontur.Bank with built-in accounting and reporting. Corporate card and electronic signature are free. Up to 5% on balance.

Microsoft is also fighting for its share of cloud computing. They are based on Office 365. It focuses on a comprehensive CRM solution, arguing that Microsoft Dinamics CRM includes marketing, sales, and customer service management units. That is, with the help of this function it is possible to solve a range of relationship management problems, from attracting customers to cross-selling.

“Smart” analysis, role-based interface and high mobility also stand out.

There are several options for purchasing Office 365: Office Professional Plus 2010 tariff - 555 rubles. per month per user. Subsequent tariffs cost 250, 300, 525 and 750 rubles. per month for each user, respectively. By the way, you can try Office 365 for free.

Despite all the positive reviews, there is also some criticism of cloud technologies.

The main criticism is that when using virtual software, information automatically falls into the hands of the developer of this software. So says Richard Stallman, founder of the free software movement.

The problem of data integration with both internal corporate and cloud services of other providers is highlighted.

Experts point to the problem of uncontrolled data: information left by the user will be stored for years without his knowledge or he will not be able to change any part of it. For example, on Google services, the user is not able to delete services and even individual groups of data that he has not used.

Despite this, most experts are of the opinion that the advantages of this technology outweigh its disadvantages.

And again, hello, dear readers! :) Let's talk about cloud technologies.

You mean, today another article will be entirely devoted to a very entertaining and promising technology (so to speak, the “gold mine” of the IT industry), hiding under the pseudonym - cloud technologies or in common parlance - “cloud”.

We will talk about the very concept of cloud computing, we will give a variety of examples of its implementation (at the level of solutions for ordinary users), namely, we will talk about the theory, then we will smoothly move on to practice and a little... wander in the clouds :-)

Thus, the purpose of our note, as always good (it cannot be otherwise) is to systematize the basic information related to this topic and sort everything out.

So, Earthlings, get ready, now we will talk about cloud technologies, which, every day, are becoming closer and closer to us.

Let's fly..

Cloud technologies. About everything, a little bit

In recent years, this topic has become one of the most popular in the IT sphere, many articles have been written about it, even more conferences have been held, and how many solutions already exist on the market (and are used to their full extent in everyday life, sometimes even unconsciously) , and can’t be counted at all.

However, as always, there is one “but”, namely, most users still don’t even know what kind of “know-how” cloud technologies are and why they gave up. Well, we will correct the current situation and we will start, as it should be, with theory.

Cloud computing is a distributed data processing technology in which computer resources and power are provided to the user as an Internet service. If you explain it in accessible language, then this is your, in a sense, work platform on the Internet, or rather on a remote server.

Let's look at an example to make sure that almost each of us, one way or another, has already encountered this decision.

Do you have an email (e-mail)? Of course have. So, if you work with mail on some service site (for example), which allows you to use this mail, then this is nothing more than a cloud service, which is part of such a thing as cloud technologies. Or, for example, image processing.

If you reduce the size or flip your photo in Photoshop or another special program, then you have nothing to do with cloud technology - everything happens and is processed locally on your computer. But if, having downloaded an image, for example, through , you process it on the other side, in the browser, then this is that very “cloud”.

More details about cloud technologies

Actually, the whole difference lies solely in the method of storing and processing data. If all operations take place on your computer (using its power), then this is not a “cloud”, but if the process takes place on a server on the network, then this is precisely the trendy thing that is commonly called “cloud technology”.

In other words, cloud technologies are various hardware, software, methodologies and tools that are provided to the user as Internet services to realize their goals, objectives, and projects.

As practice shows, the terms “cloud technologies”/“cloud service”, with their generally accepted graphical representation in the form of “clouds”, only confuse users; in fact, their structure can be easily understood if it is presented in the form of the following pyramid.

The base of the pyramid is “infrastructure” - a set of physical devices (servers, etc.), above it is built a “platform” - a set of services and the top - software available upon user request.

Also, you should know that cloud computing is a kind of basis vector obtained as a result of the synthesis of a number of technologies and approaches (so clever! :-)). To make it clear what I mean, here is the following diagram:

I think that now it has become a little clearer, since the scheme is quite simple. However, generally speaking, cloud technologies are a kind of mess that performs calculations with servers and other things without directly involving the resources of your computer.

It may happen that we will all return to computers that are close in power to, so to speak, the first ones and, in fact, will be just a screen with a microprocessor, and all calculations and power will be located and performed remotely, i.e. in servers living there somewhere, namely, in the cloud mentioned repeatedly.

Services provided by cloud systems

Everything related to cloud computing (hereinafter CC) is usually called the word aaS. This is simply deciphered - “as a Service”, that is, “as a service”, or “in the form of a service”.

Currently, cloud technologies and, in fact, their concept, involve providing the following types of services to their users:

• Storage-as-a-Service
  This is perhaps the simplest of the CC services, representing disk space on demand. Each of us has at some point encountered a situation where an ominous warning appears on the monitor: " The logical drive is full, to free up space, remove unnecessary programs or data". The Storage-as-a-Service service makes it possible to save data in external storage, in the “cloud”. For you, it will look like an additional logical drive or folder. The service is basic for the rest, since it is included in almost every Examples include other similar services.
• Database-as-a-Service
  This is probably more for administrators, because this thing provides the opportunity to work with databases, as if the DBMS were installed on a local resource. Moreover, in this case it is much easier to “share” projects between different performers, not to mention how much money can be saved on and required for the competent use of a DBMS in a large or even medium-sized organization.
• Information-as-a-Service ("information as a service")
  Makes it possible to remotely use any type of information that can change every minute or even every second.
• Process-as-a-Service
  Represents a remote resource that can link together multiple resources (such as services or data contained within a single cloud or other available clouds) to create a single business process.
• Application-as-a-Service
  It may also be called Software-as-a-Service (“Software as a service”). It is positioned as “software on demand”, which is deployed on remote servers and each user can access it via the Internet, and all updates and licenses for this software are regulated by the provider of this service. Payment, in this case, is made for the actual use of the latter. Examples include Google Docs, Google Calendar, etc. online programs.
• Platform-as-a-Service
  The user is provided with a computer platform with an installed operating system and some software.
• Integration-as-a-Service ("integration as a service")
  This is the ability to receive a complete integration package from the cloud, including software interfaces between applications and management of their algorithms. This includes the familiar services and features of Enterprise Application Centralization, Optimization and Integration (EAI) packages, but delivered as a cloud service.
• Security-as-a-Service
  This type of service allows users to quickly deploy products that enable the secure use of web technologies, email correspondence, and local networks, which allows users of this service to save on the deployment and maintenance of their own.
• Management/Governance-as-a-Service("administration and management as a service")
  Makes it possible to manage and set operating parameters for one or many cloud services. These are mainly parameters such as topology, resource usage, virtualization.
• Infrastructure-as-a-Service ("infrastructure as a service")
  The user is provided with a computer infrastructure, usually virtual platforms (computers) connected to a network, which he independently configures for his own purposes.
• Testing-as-a-Service
  Makes it possible to test local or cloud systems using test software from the cloud (no on-premises equipment or software is required).

For clarity, let’s summarize all these services of the “cloud” architecture, into one diagram behind which cloud technologies lie (sorry, it’s in English):

Which shows the classification of services by type of service.

Now let’s look at what cloud technologies there are, so to speak, according to the form of ownership. Here, there are three categories:

• Public
• Private
• Hybrid.

Briefly about each:

• Public cloud is an IT infrastructure used simultaneously by many companies and services. Users do not have the ability to manage and maintain this “cloud”, and all responsibility for these issues rests with the owner of the resource. Any company and individual user can become a subscriber to the services offered.
  Examples include online services: Amazon EC2, Google Apps/Docs, Microsoft Office Web.
• A private cloud is a secure IT infrastructure controlled and operated in the interests of a single organization. An organization can manage the private cloud in-house or outsource the task. The infrastructure can be located either on the premises of the customer or at an external operator (or partly at the customer and partly at the operator).
• Hybrid Cloud is an IT infrastructure that uses the best qualities of the public and private cloud to solve the problem. This type is often used when an organization has seasonal periods of activity, in other words, as soon as the internal IT infrastructure cannot cope with current tasks, part of the capacity is transferred to the public cloud (for example, large volumes of statistical information), as well as to provide access to users to enterprise resources through the public cloud.

Confused? It’s okay, we’ll look at the examples soon and everything will fall into place;)

Cloud computing capabilities

Now let's look at the possibilities of cloud computing:

• Access to personal information from any computer connected to the Internet
• You can work with information from different devices (PCs, tablets, phones, etc.)
• It doesn’t matter which operating system you prefer to work in - web services work in the browser of any OS
• Both you and those around you can view and edit the same information simultaneously from different devices
• Many paid programs have become free (or cheaper) web applications
• If something happens to your device (PC, tablet, phone), you will not lose important information, since it is no longer stored in the device memory
• Fresh and updated information is always at hand
• You always use the latest version of programs and do not need to monitor the release of updates
• You can combine your information with other users
• You can easily share information with loved ones or with people from anywhere in the world.

There are quite a lot of opportunities, however, there are also disadvantages (where would we be without them), which should also be mentioned.

“Fly in the ointment” - disadvantages:

• The need for constant connection.
  To gain access to cloud services, you need a constant connection to the Internet
• Software and its “customization”.
  There are restrictions on software that can be deployed on the clouds and provided to the user. The user has limitations in the software used and sometimes does not have the opportunity to customize it for his own purposes
• Confidentiality.
  The confidentiality of data stored in public clouds currently causes a lot of controversy, but in most cases, experts agree that it is not recommended to store the most valuable documents for a company on a public cloud, since there is currently no technology which would guarantee 100% data confidentiality
• Safety.
  The “cloud” itself is a fairly reliable system, but upon penetration, an attacker gains access to a huge data storage. Another disadvantage is the use of systems that use standard OS kernels (for example Windows) as a hypervisor, which allows exploit viruses and system vulnerabilities
• High cost of equipment.
  To build your own cloud, you need to allocate significant material resources, which is not beneficial for newly created and small companies
• Further monetization of the resource.
  It is possible that companies will in the future decide to charge users for the services they provide.

As you can see, there are two sides to the coin. However, this does not harm the development of technology, and may even spur it.

Cloud technologies - the view from the user's side. Solutions overview

We have come to perhaps the most interesting (and so beloved by many readers) part of the article - examples and, so to speak, practice. Here we will look at what solutions, services, programs already exist on the market and what you should pay attention to. Let's start with the services:

• iCloud
  The iCloud cloud service from Apple (which replaced MobileMe) is fully automatic and free (albeit with minor functional limitations). It stores your various content (mail, calendar, contacts, documents, music, videos and images, etc.) on servers, and then delivers it to all devices (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac and PC) using wireless Push technologies.
• Google Play
  A fresh cloud service called Google Play from the “good corporation”, which is designed for users to place movies, music, applications and books on servers specially designed for storing digital information. Access to the service is provided directly from the browser, regardless of the OS, and therefore can be done both from a PC and from mobile devices based on Android. Each user has the opportunity to place and store up to 20 thousand music records for free, as well as directly download to the server purchased in stores (Android Market, Google Music and Google eBookstore) digital goods - movies, e-books, programs, music tracks, both purchased and rented.
• OnLive
  I think that everyone is familiar with the service, fortunately I have already written about it. Provides the opportunity to play modern games even on the simplest and weakest computer. Technically, it looks like this: the game itself is located on a remote server, and the graphics are processed there and are sent to the user’s computer in a “ready” form. Simply put, those calculations that are performed during a normal game on a computer, etc., are already performed on the server, and your computer is used only as a monitor that receives the final picture. If you don’t understand, then all this means that all problems with computer performance and the amount of free space on the hard drive are automatically removed, because no installation is even required. In addition, there is no need to pay quite a lot of money right away for a product (game, etc.) that you do not necessarily like. Moreover, it’s no secret that you don’t want to play through most games again, so it turns out that the cost of several hours (or even several days) of pleasure is unreasonably high. A much more convenient option would be one in which you pay only for the time you play. Or - you would pay some small fixed amount monthly, which would allow you to play any of the available games without restrictions. That's exactly what OnLive offers.
• Xbox Live
  Another well-known gaming service, which also provides rich Internet functionality and is related to cloud technologies. The essence of the service is that owners of Xbox 360 consoles and PDAs based on Windows Phone 7 can play computer games and communicate with each other, as well as buy add-ons and various multimedia content in the online store. It turns out that the service creates a kind of virtual universe for gamers, the components of which are located not on end-user consoles, but in the cloud.

Thus, the last two services offer games as a service. Now let’s imagine that we are not talking about games, but about software. That is, you pay not for the product as such (for the box with the disc), but for the specific functions/opportunities that it provides you. Interesting? Here it is for me :)

Small note

And since we, as users, are most interested in software (and not all sorts of platforms as a service), now we will look at the “software landscape” (SaaS) of clouds. In other words, let's give the most popular software solutions that, within the framework of the concept of cloud technologies, actually now exist on the market.

Actually, according to the SaaS concept, as mentioned above, you do not pay a lump sum when buying a product, but, as it were, rent it. Moreover, you use exactly those functions that you need (and, accordingly, pay for them). For example, once a year you need a certain program and you are not going to use it more often. So why buy a product that will sit idle?

And why waste space on it (in an apartment, if it’s a box with a disk, or on a hard drive, if it’s a file)? That's right, no reason, because there is an alternative option - a free online service (providing the full functionality of this program).

Working with documents in cloud technologies

It was along this path that the two headliners of the IT industry (and also competitors) - Google and Microsoft - took this path. Both companies have released sets of services that allow you to work with documents.

On Google's side, this is their Google Docs (now Google Drive):

Free online office, including a word processor, spreadsheet processor and “stuff” for creating presentations, as well as an Internet service cloud file storage with file sharing functions.

This is web-based software, that is, a program that works within a web browser without installation on the user’s computer, that is, an alternative version of all sorts of Word, Excel, etc. without the need to purchase and all that. Documents and tables created by the user are saved on a special Google server or can be exported to a file.

This is one of the key advantages of the program, since access to the entered data can be carried out from any computer connected to the Internet (access is protected by a password).

From Microsoft's side, this is their Microsoft Office Web Apps:

Microsoft Office Web Apps allow you to use the capabilities of Microsoft Office through a web browser and work with documents (and not only view them, but also edit them) directly on the website on which they are stored.

Thus, documents look exactly the same in the browser as they do in Office programs, i.e. complete, so to speak, unification.

It is also worth noting that both services are closely interconnected with mail (Gmail in the first case and Hotmail in the second) and file storage, so to use Google Docs, you just need to create a free Google account and you will receive a set of programs for working with texts, spreadsheets and etc., right in the browser. For many, Google Docs has completely replaced, as mentioned above, the paid MS Office.

To sum it up briefly (for these two services), we can say that the user is transferred from his usual offline environment to online.
Let's move on.

Cloud technologies and data storage

Cloud file storage is no less popular. The most famous repository is considered...

• Dropbox.
  You may have several computers, but with the help of this cloud storage you can create a common folder with files for all your PCs and even smartphones. The most interesting thing is that you don’t have to do any special actions here, because the operating system itself will perceive the shared folder, like all other folders on the hard drive, and Dropbox will simply take care of synchronization. The service allows you to store up to 2 GB of data for free. Its main emphasis is on synchronization and information exchange. Dropbox keeps a history of downloads so that after deleting files from the server, it is possible to restore data, plus it keeps a history of file modifications, which is available for the last 30 days.
• Windows Live SkyDrive.
  The SkyDrive service allows you to save up to 7 GB (and you can exchange files up to 100 MB) of information organized using standard folders. Images have a preview mode, as well as the ability to show them in the form of slides. In addition to the fact that the service is integrated with Microsoft Office, it also supports the new operating system (more precisely, the SkyDrive client is built into Metro applications and allows you to upload documents and photos to the cloud in one click, and open files from remote storage).
• And of course Google Drive. There will be a separate article about it.

By the way, not only all kinds of offices and file storage use cloud technologies. For example, in the fight against digital “evil spirits” they also relied on cloud computing. And here is the result - free antivirus Panda Cloud Antivirus.

It is based on innovative "collective intelligence" technology (which automatically identifies new threats in a minimum period of time) and allows you to minimize the impact of protection on your computer's system resources, using the computing power of cloud technologies for most operations: analysis, blocking and attempts to remove malware.

Antivirus servers use information collected from millions of users of Panda antivirus products around the world to automatically detect and classify new types of malware emerging every day.

In a nutshell, it’s something like this, although there are still a lot of services that could be talked about, but then you’ll have to write a volume of War and Peace :)
So let's get to the results slowly.

Cloud technologies. Cloudy or clear?

Simply put, the cloud is an opportunity to always have guaranteed and secure access to all your personal information, as well as avoiding the need to keep a lot of unnecessary things in your pocket (all sorts of flash drives, disks, wires and all that other stuff) or buy a new computer/components /programs/games, etc. There is no doubt that at the moment, cloud technologies are one of the most popular and interesting topics in the IT sphere and more and more interesting solutions appearing in the world are connected with them.

Of course, it is still difficult for the average user to fully appreciate (and reveal) their full potential, but the fact that it exists is visible to the naked eye.

Thus, without any doubt, the future of cloud technologies seems very bright, because such giants (Microsoft, Apple and Google) are simply not doing anything and it is absolutely clear that if they have entered this uncharted territory, they are clearly not going to it should go away, because two years ago the concept of “cloud” seemed only a beautiful idea and a bold experiment, and today the benefits of cloud technologies can be felt even by those people who are not associated with program development, web technologies and other highly specialized things (the above-mentioned Xbox Live, Windows Live, OnLive, Google Docs- vivid examples of this).

Afterword

Something like that. I hope that the information was interesting, useful and exciting for you. Stay with the project - you are always welcome here;)

As usual, if you have questions, additions, and other differences, then comments are at your service.

PS: Thanks to team member 25 KADR for the existence of this article

The IT sector is the most actively developing industry, which is reflected in the constant emergence of new technologies and services.

Cloud technologies are also one of them; active Internet users encounter them every day, but not all of them can talk in detail about the features and purpose of these technologies.

What are cloud technologies?

Before moving on to the essence of this method, you need to pay attention to its name. were named because the image with a cloud is used as a graphic symbol. Essentially, they allow you to access the service without installing a special application. For example, using email through an email client (Bat, Outlook) is a common approach, but working with email through a browser is already cloud technology. This is a simplified example; other services can also be classified as cloud technologies:

• Utility computing – this technology works on the principle of public services (the user has constant access), its advantage is that payment is charged only for the services provided.
• MSP (managed services) - the essence of this service is the ability to manage several interconnected programs (antivirus, email program, application monitoring service).
• SaaS – this cloud technology provides users with a development environment as a service, which is limited by the technical capabilities and settings of the provider.
• Service commerce platforms – this service is a symbiosis of SaaS and MSP. This cloud technology has become most widespread in the sales field (it can be used to remotely order tickets or secretarial services).

Advantages and disadvantages of cloud technologies

The advantages of cloud technologies include the following aspects:

• Saving money – you don’t have to spend money on purchasing and setting up server equipment.
• Convenience – access to the necessary information from anywhere in the world can be obtained using one browser.
• The ability to free up the disk space of your computer from the information accumulated on it.
• Increasing network capacity.

In addition to the advantages, cloud technologies also have certain disadvantages. The latter includes the vulnerability of confidential information to hacker attacks. In addition, the use of technology will require certain experience to set up the service; if this is not available, then you will need to hire a qualified specialist.

Scope of cloud technologies

The benefits will primarily go to individuals and small companies that simply do not have the opportunity to purchase server equipment and control its operation. Large corporations prefer to have their own servers and fully control the process of storing and processing information on them.

In recent years, SaaS solutions or, in other words, IT services implemented on a cloud platform, have become increasingly popular in the business environment. We can say that cloud technologies have confidently entered our lives and continue to gain momentum. In this article we will try to find out what does cloud computing mean and what are its benefits for business?

In a nutshell, cloud solutions are software products that can be accessed via the Internet. If previously people downloaded software exclusively to a computer or server, today cloud technologies have given us access to programs through a web browser. Such applications are especially popular among small and medium-sized businesses. And the well-known IT magazine “CRN” has calculated that today small businesses spend about 100 billion US dollars on purchasing cloud tools.

Today, many software developers offer business software on a cloud platform. Such solutions include office suites, systems for managing customer relationships, as well as industry-specific applications for managing sales, production, logistics, etc. And, for example, separate products have been developed for each area of ​​logistics: warehouse automation, transport logistics automation and tender automation procurement

So why are so many businesses moving to the cloud? The answer is simple. Cloud tools increase productivity, reduce costs for businesses, and, in addition, offer the user many other benefits.

So, let's look at the main advantages of cloud technologies:

1. Flexibility

If a company is actively developing and, as a result, the network of its branches and representative offices is expanding, because such services are hosted on remote servers.

2. Disaster recovery

When using cloud technologies, companies do not need to worry about the problems of disaster recovery of systems. Suppliers of such solutions take care of all the worries about maintaining the functionality of systems, and problems are resolved very quickly. According to Aberdeen Group research, enterprises that used the cloud solved system recovery problems four times faster than other companies.

3. Automaticsoftware update

According to research, in 2010, UK companies spent 18 working days per month maintaining non-cloud systems and managing their security. Cloud service providers are independently responsible for maintaining and updating servers, including guaranteeing the safety of data.

4. No capital costs

Cloud solutions do not require capital investments for the purchase of servers and their support, and since they are implemented very quickly, minimal effort is required from the customer to “launch” the project.

5. Expanding the scope of interaction

Cloud technologies allow all company employees, regardless of their current location, to synchronize work with documents and applications, working in real time.

6. Work from anywhere in the world

To work with the cloud system, you only need a mobile device and access to the Internet.

7. Document management

According to one foreign publication, 73% of knowledge workers interact with people in other time zones and regions at least once a month. Unless a company uses the cloud, employees are forced to share files via email, resulting in multiple versions of the same document. Cloud solutions allow all files to be stored in one place, and employees can simultaneously work in one central copy, as well as communicate with each other as changes are made. Such cooperation improves overall work productivity.

8. Security of information

It is known that tens of thousands of laptops are lost at airports every year. Valuable and confidential information is lost along with laptops. If information is stored in the cloud, then if the device is lost, there is no data loss.

9. Competitiveness
The cloud allows companies to act faster in emergency situations than their competitors. Businesses that do not use cloud services are forced to resort to backups and complex data recovery procedures in the event of a system failure, which is slow and painstaking work.

10. Eco-friendliness

Research shows that using cloud technologies reduces carbon dioxide emissions and energy consumption by at least 30%, which gives an additional benefit to business.

In my work, I very often come across the situation where I have to make brief reviews of IT technologies for my boss, colleagues, etc. This information is usually compiled into an article and answers the following questions:
- why “this” is better than “that” (I deliberately wrote it impersonally, since such a question is asked very often and on various topics related to IT and not only);
- what are the advantages and disadvantages of switching to “this” or “that”;
- what is the best way to do so... etc.

The problem is that writing a short article on “this” or “that” is inevitable, although it is much faster to explain than to type text, but you need text and nothing can be done about it, and it’s a waste of time, which is priceless and runs away with every second. I think that I am not the only one facing this problem, so I propose to start a section called “Helping the Boss” in which we will publish articles of this kind (especially since they will be written by you anyway), thereby saving time and helping each other. At some point, you will be approached with such a question, and perhaps someone has already written an answer to this question and it will be easier to write an article or simply send a link to one that has already been written, saving valuable time.

So let's get started. The question they asked me was the following. “Why is cloud computing better than the classic scheme for building a network infrastructure, what is the main reason why many organizations are “moving to the cloud”?” Below are my thoughts on this matter.

Why cloud computing?

In order to understand the “clouds,” I decided to start with the history of this issue and understand whether this is really something from the category of new ideas or whether it is an old idea that could not be implemented before.

History and key development factors

The idea of ​​what we call cloud computing today was first voiced by J.C.R. Licklider, in 1970. During these years he was responsible for the creation of ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network). His idea was that every person on earth would be connected to a network from which he would receive not only data and programs. Another scientist, John McCarthy, expressed the idea that computing power would be provided to users as a service. At this point, the development of cloud technologies was suspended until the 90s, after which a number of factors contributed to its development.

1. The expansion of Internet bandwidth in the 90s did not allow for a significant leap in development in cloud technology, since practically no technology company at that time was ready for this. However, the very fact of the acceleration of the Internet gave impetus to the rapid development of cloud computing.
2. One of the most significant developments in this area was the emergence of Salesforce.com in 1999. This company became the first company to provide access to its application through the website; in fact, this company became the first company to provide its software on the principle of software as a service (SaaS).
3. The next step was the development of a cloud web service by Amazon in 2002. This service allowed storing information and performing calculations.
4. In 2006, Amazon launched a service called Elastic Compute cloud (EC2) as a web service that allowed its users to run their own applications. Amazon EC2 and Amazon S3 were the first cloud computing services available.
5. Another milestone in the development of cloud computing occurred with the creation by Google of the Google Apps platform for web applications in the business sector.
6. Virtualization technologies, in particular software that allows the creation of virtual infrastructure, played a significant role in the development of cloud technologies.
7. The development of hardware contributed not so much to the rapid growth of cloud technologies, but to the availability of this technology for small businesses and individuals. As for technical progress, the creation of multi-core processors and increasing the capacity of information storage devices played a significant role in this.

Cloud computing is more common nowadays.

Wikipedia defines cloud computing as follows. Cloud computing is a distributed data processing technology in which computer resources and power are provided to the user as an Internet service. Providing services to the user as an Internet service is key. However, an Internet service should not be understood as access to a service only via the Internet; it can also be provided through a regular local network using web technologies.

From the definition and history it is clear that the basis for the creation and rapid development of cloud computing systems was large Internet services such as Google, Amazon, etc., as well as technological progress, which essentially suggests that the emergence of cloud computing was just a matter of time . Let's consider how the development of the above areas has allowed cloud systems to become more accessible.

1. The development of multi-core processors has led to:
- increased productivity, with the same equipment sizes;
- reduction in the cost of equipment, as a result of operating costs;
- reducing the energy consumption of the cloud system, for most data centers this is really a problem when increasing data center capacity.
2. Increasing storage media capacities and reducing the cost of storing 1 MB of information allowed:
- unlimitedly (at least that’s how most “clouds” position themselves) to increase the volume of stored information;
- reduce the cost of maintaining information storage facilities by significantly increasing the volume of stored data.
3. The development of multi-threaded programming technology has led to:
- efficient use of computing resources of multiprocessor systems;
- flexible distribution of cloud computing power.
4. The development of virtualization technologies has led to:
- creating software that allows you to create a virtual infrastructure regardless of the amount of hardware resources provided;
- ease of scaling and system expansion;
- reducing the cost of administering cloud systems;
- availability of virtual infrastructure via the Internet.
5. Increased throughput has led to:
- increasing the speed of working with cloud systems, in particular the virtual graphical interface and working with virtual storage media;
- reducing the cost of Internet traffic for working with large volumes of information;
- penetration of cloud computing into the masses.
All of the above factors have led to an increase in the competitiveness of cloud computing in the IT field.

Advantages of cloud computing

availability– clouds are available to everyone, from anywhere where there is Internet, from any computer with a browser. This allows users (enterprises) to save on the purchase of high-performance, expensive computers. Also, company employees are becoming more mobile as they can access their workplace from anywhere in the world using a laptop, netbook, tablet or smartphone. There is no need to purchase licensed software, configure it or update it, you simply go to the service and use its services by paying for actual use.
low cost– the main factors that have reduced the cost of using clouds are as follows:
- reduction in costs for maintaining virtual infrastructure caused by the development of virtualization technologies, due to which fewer staff are required to maintain the entire IT infrastructure of the enterprise;
- payment for the actual use of resources, the cloud user pays for the actual use of cloud computing power, which allows him to effectively distribute his money. This allows users (enterprises) to save on purchasing software licenses;
- using the cloud on a lease basis allows users to reduce the cost of purchasing expensive equipment and focus on investing money in setting up business processes of the enterprise, which in turn makes it easy to start a business;
- development of the hardware of computer systems, and therefore a reduction in the cost of equipment.
flexibility- unlimited computing resources (memory, processor, disks), through the use of virtualization systems, the process of scaling and administering “clouds” becomes a fairly easy task, since the “cloud” can independently provide you with the resources you need, and you only pay for their actual use.
reliability– the reliability of “clouds,” especially those located in specially equipped data centers, is very high, since such data centers have backup power supplies, security, professional workers, regular data backups, high Internet channel throughput, and high resistance to DDOS attacks.
security – “cloud” services have fairly high security if properly ensured, but if neglected, the effect can be completely opposite.
large computing power - you, as a user of a cloud system, can use all its computing capabilities, paying only for the actual time of use. Enterprises can use this capability to analyze large volumes of data.

Flaws

permanent connection to the network– to gain access to cloud services, you need a constant connection to the Internet. However, in our time this is not such a big drawback, especially with the advent of 3G and 4G cellular communication technologies.
software and its customization– there are restrictions on software that can be deployed on “clouds” and provided to the user. The software user has limitations in the software used and sometimes does not have the opportunity to customize it for his own purposes.
confidentiality– the confidentiality of data stored on public “clouds” is currently causing a lot of controversy, but in most cases experts agree that it is not recommended to store the most valuable documents for a company on a public “cloud”, since currently there is no technology that would guarantee 100 % confidentiality of stored data.
reliability– regarding the reliability of stored information, we can say with confidence that if you have lost information stored in the “cloud”, then you have lost it forever.
security – the “cloud” itself is a fairly reliable system, but when an attacker penetrates it, he gains access to a huge data storage. Another disadvantage is the use of virtualization systems, which use standard OS kernels such as Linux, Windows, etc. as a hypervisor, which allows the use of viruses.
high cost of equipment– to build its own cloud, a company needs to allocate significant material resources, which is not beneficial for newly created and small companies.

Types of services provided by cloud systems

As for the services provided, the current concept of cloud computing involves providing the following types of services to its users:
- Everything as a Service;
With this type of service, the user will be provided with everything from hardware and software to business process management, including interaction between users; the user only needs to have access to the Internet. In my opinion, this type of service is a more general concept in relation to the services below, which are more specific cases.
- infrastructure as a service;
The user is provided with a computer infrastructure, usually virtual platforms (computers) connected to a network. Which he independently adjusts to his own goals.
- Platform as a service;
The user is provided with a computer platform, with an installed operating system, possibly with software.
- Software as a service;
This type of service is usually positioned as “software on demand”, this software is deployed on remote servers and the user can access it via the Internet, and all updates and licenses for this software are regulated by the provider of this service. Payment in this case is made for the actual use of the software.
- hardware as a service (Hardware as a Service);
In this case, the service user is provided with equipment, which he can use on a lease basis for his own purposes. This option allows you to save on maintaining this equipment, although in essence it is not much different from the “Infrastructure as a Service” type of service, except that you have bare equipment on the basis of which you deploy your own infrastructure using the most suitable software.
- Workplace as a Service;
In this case, the company uses cloud computing to organize the workplaces of its employees, setting up and installing all the necessary software necessary for the work of the staff.
- data as a service;
The main idea of ​​this type of service is that the user is provided with disk space, which he can use to store large amounts of information.
- Security as a Service.
This type of service allows users to quickly deploy products that ensure the secure use of web technologies, the security of electronic correspondence, as well as the security of the local system, which allows users of this service to save on the deployment and maintenance of their own security system.

Classification of cloud services.

Currently, there are three categories of “clouds”:
1. Public;
2. Private;
3. Hybrid.
Public cloud is an IT infrastructure used simultaneously by many companies and services. Users of these clouds do not have the ability to manage and maintain this cloud; all responsibility for these issues rests with the owner of this cloud. Any company and individual user can become a subscriber to the services offered. They offer an easy and affordable way to deploy websites or business systems, with great scalability that would not be possible with other solutions. Examples: online services Amazon EC2 and Simple Storage Service (S3), Google Apps/Docs, Salesforce.com, Microsoft Office Web.
Private cloud is a secure IT infrastructure controlled and operated in the interests of a single organization. An organization can manage a private cloud in-house or outsource this task to an external contractor. The infrastructure can be located either on the premises of the customer, or at an external operator, or partly at the customer and partly at the operator. The ideal option for a private cloud is a cloud deployed on the territory of an organization, maintained and controlled by its employees.
Hybrid Cloud is an IT infrastructure that uses the best qualities of the public and private cloud to solve the problem. Often this type of cloud is used when an organization has seasonal periods of activity, in other words, as soon as the internal IT infrastructure cannot cope with current tasks, part of the capacity is transferred to the public cloud (for example, large volumes of statistical information, which in raw form are of no value to the enterprise ), as well as to provide users with access to enterprise resources (private cloud) through the public cloud.

Where should we develop or where can we make money?

According to experts, the potential of cloud computing is very high. And accordingly, it will be possible to get into this flow and grab part of it by working in the following directions:
1. Providing cloud computing services - this opportunity is not available to many companies; significant investments are required in the construction and development of a data center.
2. Development of software for building a virtual infrastructure; we should not forget about those who will implement and configure this software, i.e., specialists in this field will be required.
3. Outsourcing, cloud administration – specialists in administration and consulting in the field of cloud computing will be required.
4. Hardware – companies engaged in the development and design of hardware for creating “clouds”.
5. Design - this area covers almost all of the above areas, from data center design to software design.

Future …

In my opinion, in the future cloud computing will become more accessible to users and companies. This will be caused by a number of factors:
- hardware virtualization – increasing the performance of cloud computing;
- reduction of hardware power consumption – reduction of power consumption;
- increasing speeds - the throughput of network equipment is constantly increasing, which increases productivity and reduces the amount of equipment for the same channel.

This is where I end my story and hope that it will help you and your colleagues and bosses in mastering cloud computing. If you have comments and suggestions on the idea expressed above and on the text, write and I will answer.