***This is part three of a four-part series on cloud computing for xchangemag.com.***
While cloud computing itself suffers from a lack of definition, clarity as to what actually gets delivered from the cloud is also elusive. Essentially, the cloud can support the delivery of any number of things as a service: software as a service (Salesforce.com, Hosted Exchange), communications as a service (hosted IP PBX), infrastructure as a service (utility computing), data as a service (remote databasing), platform as a service (development platforms available to programmers over a remote connection) ... it’s one big ball of X as a service.
What does that mean for enterprises and the service providers that aim to serve them with cloud services? Fundamentally, it hinges on the idea that all of these cloud offerings can be gathered into one portfolio of business services that can be accessed anywhere, anytime and from any device, and the subscriber has one sign-on and profile to take advantage of those services across networks and endpoints.
“The real technology breakthrough of cloud computing is exactly what the words say: technology and network bandwidth today allow you to put your computer in the cloud, and make it seamlessly and securely usable from any device, on-demand and on-the-fly, anywhere you are,” said Mario Dal Canto, CEO and chairman at SIMtone Corp., a provider of cloud computing platform software. “You should not worry about strange configurations, what network you can use, what device, whether you have to use a browser and with what limitations, which password to use and on what device, nor whether it is safe to use it or not. And most importantly ... it has to be your computer, with all of its well-appreciated functionality always available to you and in your control.”
This configuration is enabled by cloud environments like those provided by Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Google Inc. (GOOG) and Amazon Web Services (AMZN) — these are the environments that allow service providers to provide businesses with a variety of disparate services from various, even rival sources.
“Identity services and access control built into a cloud environment like Microsoft’s allow for a federated identity, which benefits anyone in the services marketplace,” said Joe Hofstader, an architect at Microsoft who focuses on cloud computing and SaaS for the communications sector. “Different environments require different authentications, but we allow end users to have a common identity across planes. So, an SaaS provider can create a mash-up application to allow other service providers to participate in their environment, so those providers can customize offerings for businesses.”
