Cloud computing is not an entirely new concept. It is a basic extension of a prior concept called grid computing. Grid computing is essentially the use of multiple computers at the same time to solve a single problem, or to perform a single process. Rather than one single supercomputer providing the processing power, multiple computers combine their processing power to handle the same task. Grid computing has been used successfully for years to tackle major problems such as earthquake simulations, climate modeling, protein folding and other massive scientific tasks. It has also been used by popular programs such as the SETI@Home program. Millions of individual computers have provided their power to SETI in an attempt to locate intelligent life outside of Earth. Grid computing systems generally use a centralized infrastructure with external computers providing the processing power.
So how is cloud computing different? One of the main differences is that cloud computing has little or no centralized infrastructure. They also usually have no billing systems in place, where computing power is sold similar to that of electricity or other utilities. Cloud computing is instead a loose connection between users where computing resources are shared among the users. Some current examples of cloud computing include BitTorrent, where users connect to the cloud and their computers are then used as part of the processing power of the entire cloud.
There are many arguments on where cloud computing will take us in the future. Some see cloud computing changing the electronic landscape the same way that the electricity grid changed the power landscape in the early 1900s as it replaced localized electricity generators. In this metaphor, the old electricity generators are the personal computers individuals currently use, while the new electricity grid is cloud computing. So in the future, will users simply have a user interface (monitor and keyboard, virtual reality with voice control, etc) and simply plug into the cloud for their computing needs? If so, this would dramatically change the IT landscape. In this vision, personal computers would disappear and individualized software would be gone forever. Users would likely pay for their usage, whether by time, processing power required, or maybe bandwidth usage. There would likely also be costs for use of certain "programs", as software companies would likely provide licenses or sell users access to the programs by time. In addition, users would need space to save their personal data.
This would also bring about major privacy issues, as individuals data would suddenly be located outside of their home computer. Governments would suddenly have even greater ability to see what individuals are doing. Data privacy would suddenly become extremely valuable...
The next decade will likely determine if the cloud computing model will take over the current structure, or if it will stay on the sidelines and continue to serve a niche purpose.
The following resources were used in writing this article:
Cloud Computing: A New Horizon
Cloud Computing on Wikipedia
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