The Case for Cloud Computing
In the situation of enterprise software packages, the existing implementations have typically been very involved and overpriced. They necessitate a corporation in Garvin to spend heavily on capital expenditure to build an in-house data center with office space, temperature controls, electrical power, dedicated computers, storage disks, and network bandwidth. In addition to all this expensive infrastructure is the need for a complex software stack for the program. Even after the software has been written, you will also need a group of specialists to set up, configure, and run the software. But that was before the introduction of cloud computing.
An easy example of cloud computing is email provided with no software installation from suppliers such as Microsoft's Hotmail or Google's Gmail. You don't need to install any software or purchase a centralized server in order to make use of them. All a business needs is just an internet connection so the customers can start issuing emails. The server and email administration software is all on the cloud and is completely managed by the cloud service supplier such as Microsoft, Yahoo, or Google. The consumer will get the use of the software and enjoy the advantages.
Cloud computing is so reliable and cost-competitive that a highly respected financial research newsletter has recently dubbed it the "$59 computer." Of course there is not really an actual product called the $59 computer -- it is simply a general term to refer to the general notion of cloud computing being so affordable that making use of it can lower your company's computing costs to the level where your total expenditures would be equivalent to spending only $59 per computer end user.
One important issue that many IT departments overlook or miscalculate is the T1 Line Internet demands for supporting cloud computing. In one report, the chief information director of a insurance company said she had to enhance the company's network power by over 500 percent when they switched to another vendor's cloud computing product. This is not a rule of thumb for every person, but it's a great case of what a single organization implemented. If you are planning to switch to a cloud computing solution, do yourself a big favor by initially talking about your bandwidth requirements with an independent T1 line consultant who can give you all your available alternatives such as Gigabit Ethernet service.
