Your business no doubt relies on Internet-based services such as email and the Web. You probably have several local- and wide-area networks. If you're like two-thirds of organizations, you'll already be using virtualization to improve data-center utilization. None of these are new. And from a technology point of view, cloud computing isn't new either.
But from a business perspective, cloud computing introduces a whole new way of thinking.
Consider the analogy with electricity: your home is plugged into a national grid; when your electricity requirements change, do you:
Expect a bill for capital investment to meet your new demand?
No. You expect the capacity to be available in the system, ready for you to draw on at a reasonable, predictable cost. Cloud computing makes the same possible for IT services.
Anticipate a delay of days or weeks?
No. You expect it to be available immediately, at the flick of a switch. No waiting for new equipment to arrive, no time wasted configuring things, ideally no involvement from your supplier at all - self-service, essentially. Cloud computing makes the same possible for IT services.
Wonder where in the country it's going to come from?
No. It makes no difference. All you need to know is that it will be there when you need it and do what it's supposed to do, in the way you are used to. Cloud computing makes the same possible for IT services.
