Architectural Strategies on Cloud Computing

The term cloud computing refers to the delivery of scalable IT resources over the Internet, as opposed to hosting and operating those resources locally, such as on a college or university network. Those resources can include applications and services, as well as the infrastructure on which they operate. By deploying IT infrastructure and services over the network, an organization can purchase these resources on an as-needed basis and avoid the capital costs of software and hardware. With cloud computing, IT capacity can be adjusted quickly and easily to ac¬commodate changes in demand. While remotely hosted, managed services have long been a part of the IT landscape, a heightened interest in cloud computing is being fueled by ubiquitous networks, maturing standards, the rise of hardware and software virtualiza¬tion, and the push to make IT costs variable and transparent.