Cloud computing, envisioned as the next-generation architecture of IT
Enterprise, is a new area of research that carries certain ambiguities
pertaining to its potential use in the modern era where everyone is much
concerned about privacy and security of digital data. Cloud computing
utilizes dynamic, scalable and often visualized resources to provide
computation and data management services over the Internet. The cloud
users generally use HTTP as a medium to avail these services. In cloud
computing, the knowledge, expertise or control over the technology
infrastructure is ordinarily not needed by the user. The term “cloud
computing” is used with relevance of diagrammatical representation of
the cloud symbol which is often used to depict the Internet inflow
charts. Thus, cloud is an abstraction symbol to represent the underlying
complex infrastructure. In cloud computing, the provider builds
solution (i.e., software, infrastructure or platform) over the Internet
and these services are made available to the users on demand via
subscription (Bhaskardeep, 2010).
Theoretically, there are three types of cloud. Private clouds are
limited within an organization or a business having its own internal
data-center. Therefore, private clouds are not considered a part of
cloud computing. The Internet services used by the general public
worldwide is known as public cloud. Hybrid cloud is a mix of public
cloud environment and isolated resources on private and controlled
premises. In this type of cloud, certain aspects of IT infrastructure
consisting of storage and computation devices etc. usually run on public
cloud, while rest of classified IT infrastructure resides on secure and
private premises. A few technologists believe in promoting the transfer
of gigabytes of operational data on cloud to fully exploit business
intelligence, but a large number of IT professional find the hybrid
approach more practicable.
