A recent Educause publication Embracing the Cloud – Six Ways to Look at the Shift to Cloud Computing discusses many of the issues associated with cloud computing with examples of usage from the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
It describes cloud computing as a means of enabling users to utilise IT and web services without needing knowledge, expertise or control over the technology involved in using these tools or services.
It goes on to describe how NJIT are utilising such services as Google, Moodle and Mahara in delivering email, learning management and e-portfolio services to their students at a greatly reduced cost to that previously offered.
For business and educational services there are many advantages to exploring the use of cloud computing services to support their own operations. Some simple examples include the use of:
- externally hosted email services
- web-based shared calendars and contact managers
- externally hosted backup services and document storage services
- more….
Future business operations are sure to make further use of cloud computing as a means to controlling costs and operations of IT services.
It should really be the cloud service provider that has to supply this specific expertise and control over the technology. If you are an organisation that wants to move their IT infrastructure to the cloud, but are not sure how, then you need to pay for it. So far the cloud has pointed to a fast ROI. http://twitter.com/Cloud_Zone
By: Cloud_Zone on September 16, 2010
at 6:47 pm