If the Cloud Is a Game Changer, Who's Playing?

By K. C. Flynn

Part 2 of The Cloud Computing Guide for Non-Techies

The data center is the place where the cloud takes material form. When we envision the cloud computing industry, one of the main things we want to picture are data centers running at full tilt, lots of them.

You’d think that the recent burst of cloud data center construction would be big news. The facilities are huge and they are filled with an outrageous number of computers. Their technologies constitute the engineering marvels of our day. If nothing else, they cost a fortune and look like sci-fi movie sets. Still, they seem to operate under the radar of general awareness. This short story explains why non-techies might want to join private and corporate investors in regarding cloud computing as a key driver of the 21st century economy.

Cloud-enabled data centers, and the companies who design and operate them, have changed the IT game for keeps. Corporate entities investing now and building quickly (instead of later or by degree) are leading the cloud sector. Irrespective of one’s opinion of the situation, these are enterprises to keep tabs on. They are defining a new IT and telecommunications economy in which businesses of all sizes and specialties will partake.

Non-techies are part of the picture, too. Our smartphones, tablets, and laptops are built to reach out. Via the Internet, they link us to sophisticated software programs running in state-of-the-art cloud data centers. Yesterday’s self-contained PC has been swapped out. Its replacement? Remote access to a trillion dollar cloud computing grid.

This ebook brings readers up to date on the technological and marketplace changes driving the cloud revolution. It concludes with a brief summary of current reports about the cloud computing sector’s role in abating green house gas emissions. If the cloud is a game changer, here’s your chance to see who’s playing.

• Language: English
• Publisher: K. C. Flynn
• Release date: Sep 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9780996502825

K. C. Flynn

K. C. Flynn is a short story writer and narrative theorist using narrative to shape everyday knowledge. Find her other non-fiction works online at Tech For Non-Techies (tnont.com).

Book preview

If the Cloud

Is a Game Changer,

Who’s Playing?

Part 2 of

The Cloud Computing Guide

for Non-Techies

K. C. Flynn

Copyright © 2015 by K. C. Flynn

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed Attention: Permissions Coordinator, at the address below.

Lemonglass Studios LLC

1433 12th Avenue, Suite A1

Seattle, WA 98122

http://tnont.com/the-cloud-computing-guide/

If the Cloud Is a Game Changer, Who’s Playing?/ K. C. Flynn. —Smashwords edition.

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1: Cloud Data Centers

Colocation

Inside the Data Center

Chapter 2: Cloud Services Disrupt . . .

Salesforce Leads With SaaS and Paas

Amazon and IaaS

Amazon Web Services

Rhymes With Glass

Virtualization and Other Technical Terms

Chapter 3: We Want What They’re Having

Hybrid Cloud

Private Cloud

Chapter 4: The Buck Stops Here

The Internet of Everything

DIY Hardware

Networking

Economic Drivers

Chapter 5: Current Events: The Cloud’s Energy Mix

3 Policy Points … SMARTer2020 by GeSI

3 Policy Points … the Greenpeace Report Card

Local Efforts

Conclusion

About the Author

Notes

Introduction

Strange as it seems, not too long ago most home computers weren’t linked to the Internet at all. For a typical home setup in 1995, computing capacity was contained within the case that sat underneath a user’s desk. Software, microprocessing components, saved files, and gadgets were all loaded inside the all-purpose machine. Remember when we played music and movies by inserting discs into the computer?

These days, smartphones, tablets, and laptops are built to reach out. Via the Internet, they link us to people, files, calendars, entertainment, information, and much more. Yesterday’s self-contained machine has been swapped out. Its replacement? Internet access to a trillion dollar computing grid.

In 2015, computing is often handled by specialized software running on highly sophisticated computer systems in state-of-the-art data centers. The average person, linked to data centers via the Internet, has access to an unprecedented level of computing capacity. And many people are on their way to unlinking themselves from their desks.

Information technology (IT) has changed at a remarkable rate and consumers have kept up. The business world has experienced an analogous shift. The folksy picture of a 1995 PC setup is useful as a symbolic representation of a traditional business IT system. Until very recently, most businesses set up their IT infrastructure on internal, self-sufficient networks. Standard business procedure was to run IT operations in house, no matter the size of the business.

A medium-sized company might run its