E-business, cloud computing

Résumé du document

Cloud computing, what does it mean? If we mention it to our relatives, it sounds difficult to figure it out, and nevertheless this is a trend that we can witness in everyday life. The definition is, 'it is a way for the computers to forget the use of hard drives, all applications and data will be present on internet servers.' In fact, the phenomenon has brought a lot of applications and allows various users to communicate, share, learn, manage and enjoy entertainment in any place and whenever they wish. The use of virtual servers is more than useful for companies. Indeed, the fact that the data is centralized brings an important flourish of assets. The different companies that play an important role for building the clouds are various. But we are able to identify the pioneers, Amazon and Microsoft. Microsoft is clearly the leader but is strengthened by the pestering competition of Google, which recently formed an alliance with IBM. The position that IBM and Google have reached may change the situation of the market in the future, at the expense of Microsoft. Now regarding the benefits that it brings to the corporation, it is incredibly profitable since it allows a cost reduction, a great speed and ease of use. Furthermore, the platform for the employees is very beneficial in terms of knowledge sharing, network building and maximization of the company's productivity. Unfortunately, we will see that there is a balance to make, because certain effects are not to be ignored. But the future of cloud computing is not compromised.

Extraits

[...] Apple came up with the idea of creating Safari application on I phone for instance, but is also a pioneer for MobileMe's service that “pushes new email, contacts and calendar events over the air to all your devices, so your iPhone, Mac and PC stay in perfect synchronisation”[4] In fact, Apple's computing cloud is a common space between the different devices so that Apple's customer has all its music, photos, e-mails (etc) updated. For instance, there is a notification to the customer's i-phone when a new message comes to the inbox of the mail account. It allows a great ease of use for people doing business, but also for entertaining. [...]

[...] There is no doubt that the future of cloud computing on short and long term is secured. But is it likely that we might reach a certain dematerialization of the business relations when exploiting too much the virtual world? Bibliography Websites - Definition of cloud computing http://www.expresscomputeronline.com/20071210/technology06.shtml - A history of cloud computing http://www.computerweekly.com/ . /a-history-of-cloud-computing.htm - Google Chrome contre Internet Explorer de Microsoft http://www.referencement-internet-web.com/17814-Google-Chrome-contre- Internet-Explorer-de-Microsoft.html - Cisco buys e-mail supplier for the cloud; goes head-to-head against Microsoft http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/31753 - Apple corporate website http://www.apple.com/uk/mobileme/ - Google, IBM Partner on Utility Computing Cloud http://www.itjungle.com/bns/bns100807-story02.html - Google's Gmail Fail Casts Dark Cloud on 'Cloud Computing' http://www.thestandard.com/news/2009/09/02/googles-gmail-fail-casts-dark- cloud-cloud-computing?page=0%2C0 - Cloud computing http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3874599.ece - Gartner Research VP Thomas Bittman compares the various benefits of cloud computing and how they will evolve http://www.gartner.com/it/products/research/cloud_computing/2009/cloud- computing09.jsp - Cloud computing: understanding the risks http://www.continuitycentral.com/feature0714.html This assignment is based on: - E-business course, Brian Bedrick, seminar in Sup51C http://www.expresscomputeronline.com/20071210/technology06.shtml www.computerweekly.com/ . [...]

[...] economies of scale, that are an important advantage of cloud computing. But this can be an important advantage for the consumers too: what Google wants to do with the centralized system is to gather the different possibilities of internet platforms into a unique one (applications, website hosting, documents, etc.). The danger might be that for certain people it can become too impersonal (what if the customer would rather have a website hosted by someone he knows in case he has some problems?) The strengths and weaknesses of the IT companies Nowadays, the phenomenon of cloud computing is widely used and can be applied in a large range of areas. [...]

[...] The firm is considered as the first accessible cloud computing infrastructure service. In the early 2000s, Microsoft extended the concept of SaaS through the development of web services. IBM detailed these concepts in 2001 in the Autonomic Computing Manifesto, which described advanced automation techniques such as self-monitoring, self-healing, self-configuring, and self-optimizing in the management of complex IT systems with mixed storage, servers, applications, networks, security mechanisms, and other system elements that can be virtualized across an enterprise. The main contribution to the concept that we are studying is from Microsoft, but also Google. [...]

[...] In fact, the computing system is linked with the bureaucratic system of the sixties. Since this idea, the concept of cloud computing has known different phases such as Web the most recent evolution. Though, the internet phenomenon started to exist in the nineties, thus the notion of cloud computing can be considered as real from this period. The arrival of Salesforce.com in 1999 is the first marking step: the pioneer established the concept of delivering enterprise applications through a simple website. [...]