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 The Re-Emergence of Alternative Computing Infrastructures
12-30-2009
The Re-Emergence of Alternative Computing Infrastructures
As a new decade
rings in, it is clear technology has become the cornerstone of our
economy and our lives. But, despite all the advances in technology, it
is also interesting to note some of the technology innovations of this
century’s first decade that did not come to pass.
Among
the many, there was the Mac Cube, Windows Vista, an array of
multi-tasking phones that fell short, Netscape, the “paperless” office
- which we’re still trying to achieve, and the “push” functionality
built into Microsoft Explorer.
The
list goes on, but there was one innovation that slowly, and quietly,
gained steam throughout the decade: “cloud computing”, otherwise know
as “webtops.”
The
concept of cloud computing has been in existence for many years, and
numerous companies have tried to bring it to life for the masses. Most
have come up short, for a variety of reasons, thus the widespread
acceptance of cloud computing has taken longer to become reality.
With
the downturn of the economy, the heightened necessity for corporate
efficiency, and an increasingly mobile workforce demanding cleaner,
simpler remote access to critical business information, cloud computing
has once again become a topic of major interest.
So what is cloud computing?
In
general, cloud computing customers do not own the physical
infrastructure - the servers, the computers, and the hardware and
software. Instead it is an Internet service provider (ISP) who
maintains and updates the hardware and software, and the user only pays
for what they use. This paradigm allows the user to avoid excessive IT
capital expenditures by renting usage from the third-party provider.
Many cloud-computing offerings employ the utility computing model,
which is similar to how traditional utility services (such as
electricity) are consumed, while some providers bill on a flat-fee
subscription basis.
Why is cloud computing important?
Cloud
computing allows companies to keep their costs down, and in most cases,
to fix their costs so that they can actually know what their IT
expenses are from month-to-month. For the user, there is easy access to
their important data, and the flexibility to be able to work remotely,
and more efficiently. For all, there is better security of critical
data, and the knowledge that when the latest software or hardware
upgrades are needed, they will be done at no extra cost.
Locally,
there is one company that is leading the innovation wave, and offering
customers this cloud computing alternative – Spiderhost. With their
Spiderhost WebTops, you can generate the efficiency you need, the
flexibility workers require, and the cost savings that businesses must
have to remain competitive.
The
next decade will undoubtedly bring new innovations and, like decades
past, there will be many that fall short. As we close this first decade
of the 2000s, one thing we do know is that WebTops are finally here to
stay.
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