Cloud computing is considered by many to be the next great wave in the IT industry and is currently one of its major buzzwords. See SaaS, rich client, Azure, thin client, cloud and Web application.
(2) Performing enormous numbers of scientific calculations in hundreds or thousands of idle machines within an enterprise or in the Internet. See grid computing. See also utility computing.
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Additional Resources
- Helllo, I'm a Cloud... and I'm Enterprise Software
- Cloud Dudette perhapsCloud Dude, why I am envisioning Jeff Spicoli transplanted into a Cheech and Chong movie!? If you want an association with Cloud Computing, how about a trim 'Cloud Dudette' .. think Amazon, both the female warrior and the EC2 provider. She should be traveling with her...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-25
- Does virtualization equal cloud computing?
- I would say yesThere is no need to buy 'stand alone' servers any longer in functionality when you can put it in a Blade 'name your flavor' chassis.Virtualization with VMware/RHEL or some vendor is the best way to get it off bare-metal...Doing baremetal rebuilds is time consuming and it takes...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-25
- Does virtualization equal cloud computing?
- Discussion - does virtualization equal cloud computing? I think not. by Dan Kusnetzky
- Blog posts 2009-11-25
- SaaS and cloud computing: A look at the due diligence
- CIO Scott Lowe walks through the buy vs. build analysis for software as a service and cloud computing. by Larry Dignan
- Blog posts 2009-11-25
- The cloud computing battleground takes shape. Will it be winner-take-all?
- You can't be a good consultant if you can't even mention MSIf you really think MS is irrelevant in cloud computing then you have some serious bias issues to work out.The fact that throughout your entire blog you can't even get yourself to mention MS or Azure even once is...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-24
- The cloud computing battleground takes shape. Will it be winner-take-all?
- This year has been one of relatively grand alliances between emerging cloud computing vendors as they fill holes in their capabilities and try to create appealing one-stop enterprise cloud services. We’ve seen major announcements so far from IBM and Juniper, Cisco/EMC/VMware, and most recently BMC and Salesforce....
- Blog posts 2009-11-24
- Larry Augustin's practical revolution at SugarCRM
- Dana, what is the trend in the Open Source community?OS started as a software development and delivery model "for the people by the people", i.e. free use enabled by free contributions. Now free contributions are likely drying out. Companies with paid employees are contributing the most significant part of code....
- Discussion threads 2009-11-24
- Chrome OS will rise or fall on the safety dance
- Scare tactics against Chrome OSI can see Microsoft really did the 'safety dance' with Windows it has been so successful...Chrome_OS is an entirely different modular approach plus they are using Open_Source with NO limitation of how high they can reach. I find it amazing anyone with a straight face say...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-24
- PeerTranet Business 2010 Free Edition 4.0 (Windows)
- If you are starting up a small business or already have a business and want to achieve greater efficiencies, then peerTranet Business inventory solution may be able to help you save time, money and gain a competitive advantage. PeerTranet Business 2010 is a free program that can manage your inventory,...
- Software downloads 2009-11-24
- Google goes all-in with an open source cloud
- RE: Google goes all-in with an open source cloudGoogle is redifing the marketplace each day with calculated innovation to set the table for their advancement and domination in the future. I can't for the fight that is coming with MS Office next year and Google docs.another nail in M$...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-23
- Is Wikipedia maxed out?
- Interesting....I don't see a reason Wikipedia would max out considering that every day new younger participants are entering the field. It's timeless relevance could diminish as new and younger editors focus on more up-to-date matters as Twitter, Sexting and Cloud computing, and less on the Roman Empire, the Great Depression...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-23
- Chatting (Not Chattering) About Salesforce - Part I
- (NOTE BEFORE I START: This is one really long post. So rather than post it in all its glory in a single file or post it here over two days, I'm trying something new. I'm posting the first half here. And the second half on PGreenblog. Â Let's see how that...
- Blog posts 2009-11-23
- Beware business cloud dangers, says EU agency
- Spoken like someone without a clueBut then again, what can be expected from trolls anymore?Originality?Security & AccessGrant the LEAST amount of access for the end user.DENY then ALLOW, why would you open up Port 80 to the world if you only do business in the United States or local area...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-23
- Who's afraid of the big bad cloud?
- Not even hybrid apps?Right, got it. You hate everybody who doesn't buy your religion, which doesn't even allow for hybrid applications."I ask why I?d entrust sensitive data to a user with a laptop."You're right, companies can't even trust their own employees. Heck, let's send everybody home and dissolve the whole...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-20
- Panel: do cloud computing economic advantages break down in enterprises?
- Cost of computingCompanies will utilize this to get rid of expensive license models of Microsoft flavors.Hardware costs are...not the biggest problem. Bandwidth is what is ridiculously high. To get into anything with high enough upload speeds will set you back plenty. Some cable companies are offering decent speeds in the...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-20
- Panel: do cloud computing economic advantages break down in enterprises?
- A public cloud provider, private cloud operator, consultant, network provider, and venture capitalist were all put in the same room. Here's what they had to say about cloud's business value. by Joe McKendrick
- Blog posts 2009-11-20
- Will Microsoft's Silverlight dampen the appeal of Google's Chrome OS?
- MS is the past Google is the future so NopeGoogle is the old MS, MS is the old IBM. PC_DOS never made it, MS_DOS did. The driving factor was openness and innovation.Today and in the near future, Google has bothToday MS sees profit only and based on thatdrives...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-20
- Chrome OS - The good, the bad and the ugly, and how it fits in with Windows, Mac and Linux
- Chrome OS - The good, the bad and the ugly, and how it fits in with WindowsI gave it some thought too and realized that Chrome OS only has the bad and the ugly. There is nothing good about it. All data stored in the cloud, and on Google's...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-20
- How to add value, not just more tech, with Web 2.0
- Great PresentationI don't know how you find the time to do all the stuff you do and have small new children.We have the Live product here for student e-mailIt's hard to keep up.If building your house on the sand is a bad idea. What about a cloud? Thank goodness the...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-19
- Inside the Google Chrome OS security model
- The proof will be in implementationAll of these lofty goals are one thing. Making it happen in code is quite another. It sounds like they are just giving a laundry list of what people want them to say. I'm in the "believe it when I see it" camp. Good intentions...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-19
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