ABSTRACT

As learned from past events, computing in its purest form has changed hands
multiple times. First from near the beginning when mainframes were predicted to be
the future of computing. Indeed mainframes and large scale machines were built and
used, and in some circumstances are used similarly today. The trend, however,
turned from bigger and more expensive, to smaller and more affordable commodity
PCs and server.

The way people use computers is changing. Instead of data and programs being
contained on the device of users, they will be held on servers in a server farm, and
users will access the content via the Internet for a fee. Computer usage will become a
service, with the benefits being reduced consumer costs, safer data, and more up-to-
date programs. This service is known informally as cloud computing.

Most of our data is stored on local networks with servers that may be clustered and
sharing storage. This approach has had time to be developed into stable architecture,
and provide decent redundancy when deployed right. A newer emerging technology,
cloud computing, has shown up demanding attention and quickly is changing the
direction of the technology landscape. Whether it is Google’s unique and scalable
Google File System, or Amazon’s robust Amazon S3 cloud storage model, it is clear
that cloud computing has arrived with much to be gleaned from.

In dealing with the abstract term, “the cloud”, it is easy to misunderstand what makes
up the structure and function. The basic function is what comes from “the cloud”.
This is primarily output, however, not only. Input is what makes the cloud tick.

1
 INTRODUCTION

Cloud computing is Internet-based computing, whereby shared resources, software,

and information are provided to computers and other devices on demand, like the
electricity grid. Cloud Computing represents a computing paradigm shift in which
users store, access, and utilize data remotely using the Internet.

Cloud computing is a paradigm shift following the shift from mainframe to client–
server in the early 1980s. Details are abstracted from the users, who no longer have
need for expertise in, or control over, the technology infrastructure "in the cloud" that
supports them. Cloud computing describes a new supplement, consumption, and
delivery model for IT services based on the Internet, and it typically involves over-
the-Internet provision of dynamically scalable and often virtualized resource

There are several problems with the development of cloud computing. For one, there
is the large problem, as with all programs operating over the Internet, of security.
For companies hoping to enter the software as a service (SAAS) market, this
problem must be solved.

The three major companies entering the market of cloud computing are Google,
Microsoft, and Apple. The various strengths and weaknesses of each, and the
relations of these to the issue of cloud computing, will be explored in this
documentation.

2
Cloud computing is cost-effective. Here, cost is greatly reduced as initial expense
and recurring expenses are much lower than traditional computing. Maintenance cost
is reduced as a third party maintains everything from running the cloud to storing
data. Cloud is characterized by features such as platform, location and device
independency, which make it easily adoptable for all sizes of businesses, in particular
small and mid-sized. However, owing to redundancy of computer system networks
and storage system cloud may not be reliable for data, but it scores well as far as
security is concerned. In cloud computing, security is tremendously improved
because of a superior technology security system, which is now easily available and
affordable. Yet another important characteristic of cloud is scalability, which is
achieved through server virtualization.

It is a byproduct and consequence of the ease-of-access to remote computing sites

provided by the Internet. This frequently takes the form of web-based tools or
applications that users can access and use through a web browser as if it was a
program installed locally on their own computer. NIST(National Institute of
Standards and Technology) provides a somewhat more objective and specific
definition here.

The term "cloud" is used as a metaphor for the Internet, based on the cloud drawing
used in the past to represent the telephone network, and later to depict the Internet in
computer network diagrams as an abstraction of the underlying infrastructure it
represents. Typical cloud computing providers deliver common business applications
online that are accessed from another Web service or software like a Web browser,
while the software and data are stored on servers. A key element of cloud computing
is customization and the creation of a user-defined experience.

Most cloud computing infrastructures consist of services delivered through common

centres and built on servers. Clouds often appear as single points of access for all
consumers' computing needs. Commercial offerings are generally expected to meet
quality of service (QoS) requirements of customers, and typically include service
level agreements (SLAs). The major cloud service providers include Microsoft,
Hewlett Packard, IBM, Salesforce, Amazon and Google.

3
ARCHITECTURE

The systems architecture of the software systems involved in the delivery of cloud
computing, typically involves multiple cloud components communicating with each
other over application programming interfaces, usually web services. This resembles
the Unix philosophy of having multiple programs each doing one thing well and
working together over universal interfaces. Complexity is controlled and the
resulting systems are more manageable than their monolithic counterparts.

The two most significant components of cloud computing architecture are known as
the front end and the back end. The front end is the part seen by the client, i.e. the
computer user. This includes the client’s network (or computer) and the applications
used to access the cloud via a user interface such as a web browser. The back end of
the cloud computing architecture is the ‘cloud’ itself, comprising various computers,
servers and data storage devices.

Fig 1. Cloud architecture

4
LAYERS OF CLOUD COMPUTING

Basically there are 5 layers in cloud computing,

1. Client

2. Application

3. Platform

4. Infrastructure

5. Servers

Fig 2. layers of cloud computing

1. CLIENT:- A cloud client consists of computer hardware and/or computer

software that relies on cloud computing for application delivery, or that is
specifically designed for delivery of cloud services and that, in either case, is

5
 essentially useless without it. Examples include some computers, phones and
other devices, operating systems and browsers.
2. APPLICATION:- Cloud application services or "Software as a Service
(SaaS)" deliver software as a service over the Internet, eliminating the need to
install and run the application on the customer's own computers and
simplifying maintenance and support.
3. PLATFORM:- Cloud platform services or "Platform as a Service (PaaS)"
deliver a computing platform and/or solution stack as a service, often
consuming cloud infrastructure and sustaining cloud applications. It
facilitates deployment of applications without the cost and complexity of
buying and managing the underlying hardware and software layers.
4. INFRASTRUCTURE:- Cloud infrastructure services, also known as
"Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)", delivers computer infrastructure -
typically a platform virtualization environment - as a service. Rather than
purchasing servers, software, data-center space or network equipment, clients
instead buy those resources as a fully outsourced service. Suppliers typically
bill such services on a utility computing basis and amount of resources
consumed (and therefore the cost) will typically reflect the level of activity.
IaaS evolved from virtual private server offerings.
5. SERVER:- The servers layer consists of computer hardware and/or computer
software products that are specifically designed for the delivery of cloud
services, including multi-core processors, cloud-specific operating systems
and combined offerings.

DEPLOYMENT MODELS

1. Private cloud:-The cloud infrastructure is operated solely for an

organization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party and may
exist on premise or off premise. Some vendors have used the terms to
describe offerings that emulate cloud computing on private networks. These
(typically virtualisation automation) products offer the ability to deliver some
benefits of cloud computing whilst mitigating some of the pitfalls. These
offerings capitalise on data security, corporate governance, and reliability

6
 concerns during this time of transition from a product to a functioning service
based industry supported by competitive marketplaces.
2. Community cloud:- A community cloud may be established where several
organizations have similar requirements and seek to share infrastructure so as
to realize some of the benefits of cloud computing. With the costs spread over
fewer users than a public cloud (but more than a single tenant) this option is
more expensive but may offer a higher level of privacy, security and/or policy
compliance. Examples of community cloud include Google's "Gov
Cloud".The cloud infrastructure is shared by several organizations and
supports a specific community that has shared concerns (e.g., mission,
security requirements, policy, and compliance considerations). It may be
managed by the organizations or a third party and may exist on premise or off
premise.
3. Public cloud:-The cloud infrastructure is made available to the general
public or a large industry group and is owned by an organization selling cloud
services. It describes cloud computing in the traditional mainstream sense,
whereby resources are dynamically provisioned on a fine-grained, self-
service basis over the Internet, via web applications/web services, from an
off-site third-party provider who bills on a fine-grained utility computing
basis
4. Hybrid cloud:-The cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or more
clouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities but are
bound together by standardized or proprietary technology that enables data
and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting). A hybrid cloud environment
consisting of multiple internal and/or external providers "will be typical for
most enterprises". By integrating multiple cloud services users may be able to
ease the transition to public cloud services while avoiding issues such as PCI
compliance. It uses a combination of public and private storage clouds.
Hybrid storage clouds are often useful for archiving and backup functions,
allowing local data to be replicated to a public cloud.

7
 DELIVERY MODELS

1. Software as a Service (SaaS):- The capability provided to the consumer is to

use the provider’s applications running on a cloud infrastructure and accessible
from various client devices through a thin client interface such as a Web browser
(e.g., web-based email). The consumer does not manage or control the
underlying cloud infrastructure, network, servers, operating systems, storage, or
even individual application capabilities, with the possible exception of limited
user-specific application configuration settings.

There are many types of software that lend themselves to the SaaS model.
Typically, software that performs a simple task without much need to interact
with other systems makes them ideal candidates for SaaS. Customers who are
not inclined to perform software development but have need of high-powered
applications can also benefit from SaaS. Some of these applications include
• Customer resource management (CRM)
• Video conferencing
• IT service management

8
 • Accounting
• Web analytics
• Web content management
2. Platform as a Service (PaaS):- The capability provided to the consumer is to
deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created applications using
programming languages and tools supported by the provider (e.g., java,
python, .Net). The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud
infrastructure, network, servers, operating systems, or storage, but the consumer
has control over the deployed applications and possibly application hosting
environment configurations.

3. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS):- The capability provided to the consumer is

to provision processing, storage, networks, and other fundamental computing
resources where the consumer is able to deploy and run arbitrary software,
which can include operating systems and applications. The consumer does not
manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure but has control over
operating systems, storage, deployed applications, and possibly select
networking components (e.g., firewalls, load balancers).

EXPLANATION OF TECHNOLOGY

Subscription-based Computing
Cloud computing works on the principle that, for both individuals and corporations,
storing software programs and data in-house is a less-than-ideal solution to their
information technology needs. Rather than users buying and maintaining a program
and the data to be used by that program, they can pay a company to host the data on
servers and access it using a web browser or otherwise Internet-enabled program,
located on the client's computer or computer system.

This situation is preferable because it relieves users of the burden of maintaining

software, and allows them to switch between different providers relatively easily. It
will also relieve the burden on companies' technology departments, because technical

9
support personnel won't have nearly as many program-related errors to fix; only
those errors in accessing the program and/or data on the server via a web browser
will be dealt with.

Providers must be able to easily handle requests from multiple users, each of whom
is accessing a different program written in a different programming language and
being accessed via a different operating system (even customers using the same
operating system to access the cloud may have different patches or service packs
installed). This is accomplished using virtual machines. Therefore, on one physical
server, there may be several different virtual machines, all of which are handling
requests from users independent of the other virtual machines on the server.

There are several ways to turn cloud computing into a business. One method would
have the user (be it an individual or a company) pay a subscription fee based on the
number of times data is accessed on the provider's servers. It would be a very small
amount per transaction of data, and would allow users to only pay for the service
when it is used.

Another method would be to have users pay a regular fee for unlimited access to
their programs and data. The drawback to this approach is that it bears an eerie
resemblance to current software payment methods, where one may pay for more than
he or she needs, thereby defeating the purpose of using cloud computing in the first
place.

10
Differences from grid computing
Some people confuse cloud computing with grid computing. Grid computing, also
known as distributed computing, brings together the processing power of thousands
or even millions of computers to work towards a common goal. The results are
presented to a server, which links the data with that of the millions of other
computers in the system. The end result is that (usually non-profit) organizations
have access to computer resources they never would have had before. The World
Community Grid and the SETI@home projects are examples of non profit
distributed computing projects.

Where in grid computing many personal computers work together to serve one goal,
in cloud computing, the server side works to fulfill the needs of the client. Users can
access their programs and data from anywhere (with a signal) in the world through
the cloud that is the Internet. Because grid computing is used mainly by non-profit
organizations, and in fact has “the many” working toward one goal, it is not very
easily transformed into a business. Cloud computing, on the other hand, focuses on
fulfilling the needs of the customer, and is almost made to be turned into a business.
As a result, more people are looking into cloud computing, and more businesses are
considering it as an alternative to what would be awkward and expensive distributed
computing projects.

APPLICATION AREA

1. Cloud Backup:- Some companies like Mozy are working to move businesses
backup and disaster recovery data to cloud servers. Because of the presence of
security concerns with cloud servers, businesses want to keep a back-up of their
important data to avoid any unexpected turn of unforeseen events. The area of
corporate cloud backup will continue to be sought after by companies for a
number of years to come.
2. Collaboration Applications:-Business firms have already been managing their
email and PIM by managed service providers for some years now. Some of the
most important areas of collaboration applications will be for: Email, File

11
 Sharing, Online Video and Voice Conferencing. The low costs of cloud
computing will make easier for decision makers to consider implementing it.
3. Business Applications:- Cloud based business applications provide tremendous
opportunities to business firms to pay for what they have used. Since companies
don’t have to actually purchase the software, they have access to the latest
solutions. The availability of solutions such as CRM, ERP, HR, and Finance and
Accounting on cloud based servers means a decrease in up-front investment and
other issues of in-house deployment.
4. Web Serving:- The web servers, management tools, analytical and business
software are moving to cloud computing. Cloud based web infrastructure and
software will save you a lot of money. Enterprises corporations are already
benefiting by the low price.
5. Employee Productivity Applications:- Applications used for improving
employees performance and better reporting within the office is another type of
cloud application being widely used at present. This will be looked into by many
new and old businesses wanting increased accountability and efficiency within
the workplace.

DATA SECURITY IN CLOUD

One of the major issues slowing cloud computing growth is security. A major
concern for most enterprises considering cloud computing services is security in the
cloud. Relatively untested and often in their infancy, cloud providers still have to
prove that they can fully protect data in a cloud computing environment.

1. Privileged user access:- Sensitive data processed outside the enterprise brings
with it an inherent level of risk, because outsourced services bypass the "physical,
logical and personnel controls" IT shops exert over in-house programs. Get as much
information as you can about the people who manage your data. "Ask providers to
supply specific information on the hiring and oversight of privileged administrators,
and the controls over their access," Gartner says
.

12
2. Regulatory compliance:- Customers are ultimately responsible for the security
and integrity of their own data, even when it is held by a service provider. Traditional
service providers are subjected to external audits and security certifications. Cloud
computing providers who refuse to undergo this scrutiny are "signaling that
customers can only use them for the most trivial functions," according to Gartner.

3. Data location:- When you use the cloud, you probably won't know exactly where
your data is hosted. In fact, you might not even know what country it will be stored
in. Ask providers if they will commit to storing and processing data in specific
jurisdictions, and whether they will make a contractual commitment to obey local
privacy requirements on behalf of their customers, Gartner advises.

4. Data segregation:- Data in the cloud is typically in a shared environment

alongside data from other customers. Encryption is effective but isn't a cure-all.
"Find out what is done to segregate data at rest," Gartner advises. The cloud provider
should provide evidence that encryption schemes were designed and tested by
experienced specialists. "Encryption accidents can make data totally unusable, and
even normal encryption can complicate availability," Gartner says.
5. Recovery:- Even if you don't know where your data is, a cloud provider should
tell you what will happen to your data and service in case of a disaster. "Any offering
that does not replicate the data and application infrastructure across multiple sites is
vulnerable to a total failure," Gartner says. Ask your provider if it has "the ability to
do a complete restoration, and how long it will take."

6. Investigative support:- Investigating inappropriate or illegal activity may be

impossible in cloud computing, Gartner warns. "Cloud services are especially
difficult to investigate, because logging and data for multiple customers may be co-
located and may also be spread across an ever-changing set of hosts and data centers.
If you cannot get a contractual commitment to support specific forms of
investigation, along with evidence that the vendor has already successfully supported
such activities, then your only safe assumption is that investigation and discovery
requests will be impossible."

13
6. Long-term viability:- Ideally, your cloud computing provider will never go
broke or get acquired and swallowed up by a larger company. But you must be
sure your data will remain available even after such an event. "Ask potential
providers how you would get your data back and if it would be in a format that
you could import into a replacement application," Gartner says.

NEED OF CLOUD COMPUTING

What could we do with 1000 times more data and CPU power?
One simple question. That’s all it took the interviewers to bewilder the confident job
applicants at Google. This is a question of relevance because the amount of data
that an applicationhandles is increasing day by day and so is the CPU power that
one can harness.There are many answers to this question. With this much CPU
power, we could scale our businesses to 1000 times more users. Right now we are
gathering statistics about every user using an application. With such CPU power at
hand, we could monitor every single user click and every user interaction such that
we can gather all the statistics about the user. We could improve the recommendation
systems of users. We could model better price plan choices. With this CPU power we could
simulate the case where we have say 1,00,000 users in the system without any glitches.

There are lots of other things we could

do with so much CPU power and data capabilities. But what is keeping us back. One
of the reasons is the large scale architecture which comes with these are difficult to
manage. There may be many different problems with the architecture we have to
support. The machines may start failing, the hard drives may crash, the network
may go down and many other such hardware problems. The hardware has to be
designed such that the architecture is reliable and scalable. This large scale
architecture has a very expensive upfront and has high maintenance costs. It
requires different resources like machines, power, cooling, etc. The system also
cannot scale as and when needed and so is not easily reconfigurable.

The resources are also constrained by the resources. As the applications become
large, they become I/O bound. The hard drive access speed becomes a limiting
factor. Though the raw CPU power available may not be a factor, the amount of
RAM available clearly becomes a factor. This is also limited in this context. If at all
the hardware problems are managed very well, there arises the software problems.
There may be bugs in the software using this much of data. The workload also
demands two important tasks for two completely different people. The software
has to be such that it is bug free and has good data processing algorithms to
manage all the data.

14
 The cloud computing works on the cloud - so there are large groups of often
low-cost servers with specialized connections to spread the data-processing
chores among them. Since there are a lot of low-cost servers connected together,
there are large pools of resources available. So these offer almost unlimited
computing resources. This makes the availability of resources a lesser issue. The
data of the application can also be stored in the cloud. Storage of data in the
cloud has many distinct advantages over other storages. One thing is that data is
spread evenly through the cloud in such a way that there are multiple copies of
the data and there are ways by which failure can be detected and the data can be
rebalanced on the fly. The I/O operations become simpler in the cloud such that
browsing and searching for something in 25GB or more of data becomes simpler
in the cloud, which is nearly impossible to do on a desktop.

MAJOR PLAYERS
In the field of cloud computing, a few major companies have arisen, making a profit
in the business and leading the evolution of the technology. Companies such as
Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon are expanding the horizons of what cloud
computing can be used for.

Google uses cloud computing to provide users with access to programs with much
the same functionality of Microsoft's Office Suite software—but for free. This
represents cloud computing in the purest sense, because it is possible to save files on
Google's servers, as well.

As Google takes the software route, Apple attempts to corner the hardware market,
and thereby claim a stake in the market by forcing other software developers to “play
by their rules,” so to speak. By making their hardware the main platform for which
applications are made, Apple can establish itself in the cloud computing market by
the simple fact that they control who gets to put their software on the most-used
devices.

Google, Microsoft, and Amazon all provide very different ways for programmers to
create applications for their cloud computing services. Google's development

15
environment, AppEngine, focuses on the well-established application structure of
web applications. To the programmer, this is good in some ways, but bad in others.
A programmer working in this development environment is unable to access the low-
level areas of the system, and is limited by the fact that applications must be written
using Python “handlers,” which reference blocks of real code, rather than a language
of the programmer's choosing. On the other hand, however, is the fact that in this
system, a programmer does not have to worry about scaling a program up or down to
handle high user loads. He is also free of worrying about the majority of low-level
“pesky” tasks that would need to be implemented by the programmer in each new
application written—this kind of work is taken care of automatically.

Microsoft takes a more flexible approach. Their platform, Azure, is designed for
programmers writing software for various endeavors. With Azure, programmers have
their choice of languages, and so have much more freedom in development than with
AppEngine. Developers can assign declarative “roles” to an application, thereby
determining (to an extent) how the application will be treated by the cloud computing
provider's service. However, the programmer has no control over the operating
system or runtime environment, and so is not as free as may first appear. Lastly, the
operating system provides automatic load balancing on the application

16
.

Amazon's Elastic Cloud Compute system is practically the exact opposite of Google.
The platform allows developers to access an astonishing amount of the system, down
almost to the kernel. Programmers can choose whichever language they'd like, and
as such can create a nearly limitless number of applications. However, because of
the lack of any kind of real built-in support (which had to be sacrificed to allow
programmers this freedom), developing applications is time-consuming and difficult.

Each approach has its benefits and disadvantages, and which will rule the industry
remains yet to be seen. In fact, it is feasible that none will rule; each may find its
niche and prosper there.

Amazon Web Services

The ‘Amazon Web Services’ is the set of cloud computing services offered by
Amazon. It involves four different services. They are Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2),

17
Simple Storage Service (S3), Simple Queue Service (SQS) and Simple Database
Service (SDB).

1. Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2)

Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) is a web service that provides
resizable compute capacity in the cloud. It is designed to make web scale computing
easier for developers. It provides on-demand processing power. Amazon EC2's
simple web service interface allows you to obtain and configure capacity with
minimal friction. It provides you with complete control of your computing resources
and lets you run on Amazon's proven computing environment. Amazon EC2 reduces
the time required to obtain and boot new server instances to minutes, allowing you
to quickly scale capacity, both up and down, as your computing requirements
change. Amazon EC2 changes the economics of computing by allowing you to pay
only for capacity that you actually use. Amazon EC2 provides developers the tools
to build failure resilient applications and isolate themselves from common failure
scenarios. Amazon EC2 presents a true virtual computing environment, allowing you
to use web service interfaces to requisition machines for use, load them with your
custom application environment, manage your network's access permissions, and
run your image using as many or few systems as you desire.

Start, terminate and monitor as many instances

of the AMI as needed. Amazon EC2 enables you to increase or decrease capacity
within minutes. You can commission one, hundreds or even thousands of server
instances simultaneously. Thus the applications can automatically scale itself up and
down depending on its needs. You have root access to each one, and you can
interact with them as you would any machine. You have the choice of several
instance types, allowing you to select a configuration of memory, CPU, and instance
storage that is optimal for your application. Amazon EC2 offers a highly reliable
environment where replacement instances can be rapidly and reliably
commissioned. Amazon EC2 provides web service interfaces to configure firewall
settings that control network access to and between groups of instances. You will
be charged at the end of each month for your EC2 resources actually consumed. So
charging will be based on the actual usage of the resources.

2. Simple Storage Service (S3)

S3 or Simple Storage Service offers cloud computing storage service. It offers

services for storage of data in the cloud. It provides a high-availability large-store
database. It provides a simple SQL-like language. It has been designed for

18
interactive online use. S3 is storage for the Internet. It is design to make web-scale
computing easier for developers. S3 provides a simple web services interface that
can be used to store and retrieve any amount of data, at any time, from anywhere
on the web. It gives any developer access to the same highly scalable, reliable, fast,
inexpensive data storage infrastructure that Amazon uses to run its own global
network of web sites. Amazon S3 allows write, read and delete of objects containing
from 1 byte to 5 gigabytes of data each. The number of objects that you can store is
unlimited. Each object is stored in a bucket and retrieved via a unique developer-
assigned key. A bucket can be located anywhere in Europe or the Americas but can
be accessed from anywhere. Authentication mechanisms are provided to ensure
that the data is kept secure from unauthorized access. Objects can be made private
or public, and rights can be granted to specific users for particular objects. Also the
S3 service also works with a pay only for what you use method of payment.

3. Simple Queue Service (SQS)

Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS) offers a reliable, highly scalable, hosted queue
for storing messages as they travel between computers. By using SQS, developers
can simply move data between distributed components of their applications that
perform different tasks, without losing

messages or requiring each component to be always available. With SQS,

developers can create an unlimited number of SQS queues, each of which can send
and receive an unlimited number of messages. Messages can be retained in a queue
for up to 4 days. It is simple, reliable secure and scalable.

4. Simple Database Service (SDB)

Amazon Simple DB is a web service for running queries on structured data in real
time. This service works in close conjunction with the Amazon S3 and EC2,
collectively providing the ability to store, process and query data sets in the cloud.
These services are designed to make web-scale computing easier and more cost-
effective to developers. Traditionally, this type of functionality is accomplished with
a clustered relational database, which requires a sizable upfront investment and
often requires a DBA to maintain and administer them. Amazon SDB provides all
these without the operational complexity. It requires no schema, automatically
indexes your data and provides a simple API for storage and access. Developers gain

19
access to the different functionalities from within the Amazon’s proven computing
environment and are able to scale instantly and need to pay only for what they use

FUTURE SCOPE

The field of cloud computing is only in its infancy, and the possibilities ahead are
vast. Cloud computing provides the opportunity to revolutionize the way people and
companies use computers and conduct business. One of the major benefits is the fact
that users will no longer be forced to find and install updates for their software. All
users on a provider's servers will use the same program, and it would be feasible that
providers could learn from the usage statistics of these users. With these statistics,
companies could provide better service to their customers, and a better experience for
all.

Another aspect of cloud computing that will help build it into the multi-billion-dollar
industry analysts expect it to be is that of brokers. Once cloud computing services
are more or less ubiquitous, brokers will emerge. These independent agencies will
secure large contracts for time and resources with an SAAS provider, then turn
around and offer portions of the contract to customers. The reason brokers will
likely be successful is that they provide a way for users to quickly gain access to the
computing power they need, without having to sign a contract or deal with the
provider itself. Also, because brokers will sign contracts with multiple providers,
customers will have relatively cheap access to multiple platforms and far more
software, without having to sign contracts with multiple providers. An example of
brokers selling cloud computing resources is shown below.

In the situation presented in Figure , the consumer (represented on the left) requests a
service agreement from each broker. In this agreement, the consumer specifies what
he or she needs to have done by the services on the provider's end. Each broker in
the list attempts to fulfill the consumer's needs for as little cost to the consumer and
as much profit to the broker as possible. The broker who can fulfill the user's needs
the cheapest will win that consumer. The user then utilizes a portion of the broker's
share of computing power from the service provider to complete his goal.

20
Figure 3: Example of future scope:- A broker acts as an interface between user and
provider.

These brokers will provide for service providers a gauge of usage requirements.
Companies will use this information to decide how heavily to invest in expansion,
and to determine what programs are being used the most. Ideally, this information
could also be used to decide where bottlenecks in the system are located, by
analyzing when slowdowns occur and what programs are running at the time.

21
There will also be much less overhead for businesses and individuals. No longer will
businesses need to own large datacenters or expensive software to allow customers to
purchase items online, for example. This fact will afford small businesses all the
benefits enjoyed by their larger counterparts. With more companies using
computers, business will be conducted faster, and the economy as a whole will
prosper.

Finally, cloud computing can make the power of computers truly portable. Between
notebooks, tablet PCs, smartphones, and more, cloud computing will allow users to
access everything they would via a PC or laptop wherever they are, whenever they
need. The impact of this upon business is immense, and is likely to be felt in the
near future.

There are many questions to be answered about cloud computing, including those of
usability, security, and which market giant will lead the way. These questions will
probably not be answered before the technology is in place, but still: given the
ingenuity displayed by programmers in the past, cloud computing stands on the
precipice of something great.

Conclusion

Cloud computing is a powerful and emerging new abstraction for large scale data
processing Systems which is scalable, reliable and available. In cloud computing,
there are large Self-managed server pools available which reduces the overhead and
eliminates Management headache. Cloud computing services can also grow and
shrink according to need. Cloud computing is particularly valuable to small and
medium businesses, where effective and affordable IT tools are critical to helping
them become more productive without spending lots of money on in-house resources
and technical equipment. Also it is a new emerging architecture needed to expand the
Internet to become the computing platform of the future.

22
 REFERENCES

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_computing
2. www.scribd.com/doc/9426801/Cloud-Computing

3. http://www.seminarprojects.com/cloud-computig-seminar-report
4. http://netseminar.stanford.edu/seminars/Cloud.pdf
5. http://osun.org/cloud-computing.doc
6. http://www.salesforce.com/cloudcomputing

23