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January 3, 2011

Look Before You Leap into the Cloud

By Hugh Latimer

Cloud computing is an Internet service provided by a third-party vendor that offers data storage and management—functions that were previously done with software installed on an individual computer. The service generally falls into one of three categories: software-as-a-service (SaaS), platform-as-a-service (PaaS), or infrastructure-as-a service (IaaS). Most people are already familiar with SaaS, though they might not know it. Google Maps, Microsoft Hotmail, and Yahoo's Flickr are just a few of the popular cloud computer applications that live on servers—not a personal computer, hard disk, or USB key—and are accessed through the Internet.

Platform-as-a-service allows users to access a computing platform to develop or host online applications. For example, Google App Engine allows developers to create and run web applications on top of a custom Google platform that uses Google's computing resources.

The third type of cloud, infrastructure-as-a service computing, provides virtualized resources that are scaled to a user's needs and stored remotely. Touted as a cost-saver for businesses, IaaS cloud computing would allow a company to order resources on a metered basis—much like they would purchase electricity, water, or any other utility—while making as little or as much use of the service without having to buy, maintain, or upgrade computer hardware.

But the software-as-a-service trend that's currently on the tongues of techies everywhere brings with it security concerns and legal questions. A recent Information Systems Audit and Control Association survey of more than 1,800 IT professionals in the U.S. found that only 17% said the benefits of cloud computing outweigh the risks. And only one in 10 respondents said they would consider using SaaS for business-critical applications. Still, these concerns have not dampened expectations for the pending cloud computing boom: Several industry watchers have estimated the value of the burgeoning market could grow by more than $100 billion over the next few years.