As buzzwords go, few have conjured up as much debate and discussion as cloud computing. The idea behind cloud computing is that software, services and information can be provided to users over a network connection and through a web browser, rather than running locally on a computer or a local network server.

1. August 27, 2011
batteryfast.co.uk
The Layperson’s Cloud Computing Guide
to Distributed Networks
The Layperson’s Cloud Computing Guide
to Distributed Networks
As buzzwords go, few have conjured up as much
debate and discussion as cloud computing.
The idea behind cloud computing is that software,
services and information can be provided to users Major Cloud Providers and
over a network connection and through a web brow- Companies
ser, rather than running locally on a computer or a
local network server.
Popular cloud applications like Google Docs and
Salesforce.com offer users robust ways to manage
and access content, and the beauty of the cloud is
that the content is accessible from any web browser
or connected device.
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Amazon Web Services: In 2006, Amazon launched
its cloud computing platform, Amazon Web Services.
AWS is comprised of a number of different products
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that allows businesses and application developers
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2. August 27, 2011
batteryfast.co.uk
The Layperson’s Cloud Computing Guide to Distributed Networks
to build their own cloud-enabled applications. These Microsoft: Microsoft’s Azure platform lets users
tools include Amazon S3 storage service and the build, host and scale their web applications using
Amazon EC2 cloud computing platform. Microsoft’s data centers.
Amazon is a huge player in the cloud platform space, Last summer, Microsoft launched its platform ap-
with major web companies like Groupon and Fours- pliance aimed at allowing large customers like eBay,
quareusing various parts of Amazon’s cloud infras- HP and Dell to offer their own cloud services using
tructure to power their products. Because so many Microsoft’s technology, but in their own data centers.
businesses — big and small — have come to rely on
AWS, system outages can cause problems for those IBM: IBM has been working on various cloud initia-
companies. tives for the last several years. In April, it launched
its more robust set of offerings by way of the IBM
Salesforce.com: When it comes to the enterprise SmartCloud and IBM SmartCloud Enterprise brands.
cloud, Salesforce.com is a huge player. Beyond its
flagship Salesforce.com CRM system, Salesforce.com Consumer Cloud Services
also allows enterprises and businesses to build their
own tools on its Force.com platform.
Since acquiring the popular Ruby cloud platform
Heroku in December, Salesforce has pushed its cloud
application offerings into even higher gear.
Google: Although Google offers its own infras-
tructure product by way of its Google App Engine,
the search giant’s bigger cloud ambitions are still
emerging. Right now, most of Google’s cloud offe-
rings are accessible in the form of consumer- and
enterprise-focused services, such as Google Apps
and Google Docs.
Still, Google maintains its own cloud infrastructure
and has helped define the idea of the modern cloud-
based web application.
Google Apps: Google Apps, which includes Gmail,
Perhaps its most ambitious cloud offering Google Calendar and Google Docs, is one of the
is ChromeOS and the new Chromebook line of best known consumer cloud applications. Google
computers. With ChromeOS, the operating system Docs is tremendously popular with startups, busi-
is in essence, the web browser. Every app and every nesses and individuals.
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action is built around the idea of cloud services and
applications. It’s a fascinating concept and could Box.net: When it comes to collaboration, document
prove to be very disruptive for businesses that have management and storage, Box.net is consistently
their employees primarily interacting through web one of most innovative players in the cloud com-
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applications anyway. puting space. The company started off as a more
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3. August 27, 2011
batteryfast.co.uk
The Layperson’s Cloud Computing Guide to Distributed Networks
consumer-focused cloud storage company, but has cloud and those benefits are only going to increase
pivoted quite successfully into a leading collabora- as products that heavily use cloud infrastructures
tion services offering that’s geared toward small and technologies integrate themselves into our lives.
businesses and larger corporations.
Other Business News:
What makes Box.net unique is that it has robust
APIs and application support not just for other web
apps, but for mobile and tablet apps as well.
CloudTag: Cloud Computing , Layperson’s Guide
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simple. The service is focused on consumers, but
many businesses use it, too. Dropbox has an API
and is supported by a multitude of web and mobile
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The Layperson’s Cloud Computing Guide to Distributed Networks
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