James T Harmening Computer Bits, Inc.
9.3 CLOUD ACRONYMS
Knowing what you are building and accessing can help you decide what risks you are willing to take and how your data are going to be stored in the event of an issue
with the service provider. As Figure 9.3 shows, there
are a plethora of ways to refer to cloud computing and the different acronyms that go along with the services. Be careful to know what you are buying—take a close look at their acronyms and always ask questions.
9.3.1 IaaS—Infrastructure as a Service
This is the top level of cloud computing all the way to the desktop. All workstations, servers, communica- tions systems, and in some cases the actual cabling are included in IaaS systems. Service providers own all of the equipment which can have some legal issues with respect to your data and intellectual property (IP). In most cases, the service provider does all the system updates and hardware updates where necessary. In addition, usually the client is not able to add any soft- ware to the systems. For example, if you want to use a file sharing program like DropBox, you are not able to install it without the permission of the service provider and the associated charge for the time to test, install, and support that additional program. Some flexibility will be traded for an additional charge, so know what you are able to install as far as hardware and software before you sign the dotted line. Sometimes people will use HaaS—hardware as a service—to denote having an outside organization running and owning all of your hardware, but the software under a HaaS system is the client’s responsibility.
9.3.2 SaaS—Software as a Service
There are many services online that are replacing com- mon applications that used to run on our local personal computers. The cloud offers software that you access
through your web browser that can replace some of the most common applications. Many applications are in the cloud and a few dominate the landscape. Some new-
comers are shown in Figure 9.4, software as a service—
customer relationship management (CRM), financial, and general office software are good examples.
E-mail and word processing probably represent the widest used examples of SaaS. Microsoft has Office 365 while Google has Gmail and Google Docs as SaaS. You can also replace your accounting software. QuickBooks online has a full cloud version with a web interface into the program. All of your data and the programs are kept on remote servers in the cloud. A thin client or web browser is all you need to access these types of applica- tions. For CRM, many companies use Salesforce.com. 9.3.3 PaaS—Platform as a Service
These are usually Internet accessible applications that are customizable by the developers for your use. Have a custom app—send them the requirements and they will create the software that you need and host it in the cloud for you. You may need a powerful local computer to help with the processing in these types of applications. This will usually encompass multiple programs; Google Chromebooks is a good example of the PaaS model. The Chromebook has limited processing power and a lim- ited number of applications written for the platform, but it can access cloud-based systems and is a great front end for Google applications.
9.3.4 MaaS—Monitoring as a Service
Monitoring systems are getting more popular, espe- cially with the plug and play, and replacement parts that can be used while the system is live. The service company will install an application on your server
to send information about the server offsite to their cloud servers. The data coming in will be analyzed to confirm the well-being of your systems and send out alerts or take action if your servers or workstations are degrading, getting overheated, at 100% of their capac- ity, running out of room, or any number of other types of alerts.
9.3.5 CaaS—Communication as a Service
These are various providers of communication via voice over Internet protocol (VOIP) or LYNC (Microsoft’s communication tool that allows voice and video); Skype is a very popular example of CaaS. Also as part of the infrastructure in large disparate companies, these ser- vice providers will provide virtual private networks to companies with many locations. Call centers can also be created very quickly and communication lines can be added or removed quickly if needed for more or less work. Outsourcing the network communications is also a big part of CaaS. If you do not want to worry about choosing from AT&T, Comcast or Sprint, you can out- source those decisions to a third party and they will get the best deal for the amount of data and/or phone ser- vice you need.
9.3.6 XaaS—Anything as a Service
These vendors will put together any of the above ser- vices and help clients select the correct platforms and products for what they need. The X-factor companies are usually very high-end. They are paid for their experi- ence and ability to cut through the red tape of some of the service providers. Think of them almost as insur- ance brokers who check what is available and at what cost for you. They will usually get a percentage of the bill as payment plus a consulting rate per hour for the initial work.
9.3.7 Elastic
This refers to the ability to easily expand or reduce resources that you are paying for in order to give the end user better experiences and quicker response times even when more people are accessing the service. For example, the HR applications will have more activ- ity before a payroll period (e.g., last three days of the month). They may want five times the computing power at the end of the month than they use at the beginning of the month, so the Elastic server setup will give more resources when these are needed.
FIGURE 9.4 Software as a service—customer relationship management, financial and general office software are all in the cloud.
9.3.8 Cloud Bridge
A program that can connect multiple cloud applications and share data between them is a bridge; trying to con-
nect your applications in the cloud is shown in Figure 9.5.
A bridge to connect your cloud applications on differ- ent host computers may require you to have a middle or bridge piece of software that will talk to both servers and relay your data and requests efficiently. If you have mul- tiple applications in the cloud and you want to share data between all of the applications, you need to have a cloud bridge built. Getting multiple vendors to mashup their sys- tems can sometimes be difficult. Some popular mashups are banking systems and QuickBooks. Your monthly rec- onciliation statement can be delivered to your QuickBooks account, thus making your job easier when you need to balance your checkbook. Be careful to ask for a proof of concept and buy in from different cloud vendors before you sign the contract. Mashups may sound easy, but they can be very difficult, especially for legacy cloud applications. 9.3.9 Encryption
Encryption is keeping your data safe through the use of algorithms through the use of passwords. Whole books are written on encryption and algorithms that encode your data in order to render it useless to eavesdrop- pers and thieves. Choose a good password and utilize the encryption available on the servers in order to keep your information safe. Check with the vendor to make sure their backups are encrypted as well. Make sure you do not lose the password! Most data that are encrypted with strong passwords cannot be recovered.