Demystifying the cloud

The marketing of IT has been characterised by buzzword concepts for many years. The latest of these terms to take hold is ‘the cloud’ – a nebulous phrase that has been floating around in the public consciousness.

Here we attempt to pin it down, as well as assessing what it means to your organisation, and how it can influence strategic IT decisions.
This white paper defines what people really mean by the cloud and explains this with real-world examples of what cloud-based IT means to users – looking at cloud infrastructure, cloud platforms, and cloud software. It goes on to look at different models of cloud use from a fully private cloud service to public models offered over the Internet.

The paper also outlines the benefits of migrating to the cloud, including potential benefits for resilience, scalability, energy efficiency, and cost reduction. But it warns that realisation of the benefits of cloud services is predicated on the usual assumptions made when looking to purchase ICT services.
It concludes that cloud services might not be for everyone – but they should now be part of your strategic thinking.

Author: David Cohen, Principal Consultant