Written by: Karen Scott (DSN Content Contributor)

Contrary to popular belief, keeping your head in the cloud is especially prudent if you are a technologist.  While the cloud has been quite the buzz over the last couple of years in IT, use of the cloud solutions is still very much a market positioned to grow.

What is cloud computing?  Simply stated cloud computing services can be private, public or hybrid. Private cloud services are delivered from a business’ data center to internal users. This model offers convenience, while preserving management, control and security.

The public cloud model, is when a third-party provider delivers the cloud service over the Internet. Public cloud services are sold on-demand. Customers only pay for what they consume.

Hybrid cloud is a combination of public cloud services and on-premises private cloud Companies can run mission-critical workloads or sensitive applications on the private cloud while using the public cloud other applications for easy scalability.

The three broad models of cloud computing include:

Software as a Service (SAAS) – delivers a single application to customers through a web browser to customers.  Provides a lower cost model since the business does not have to provide software or hardware costs, just licensing and implementation.

Platform as a Service (PAAS) – This form of cloud computing delivers development environments as a service. You build your own applications that run on the provider’s infrastructure and are delivered to your users via the Internet from the provider’s servers.

Infrastructure as a Service (IAAS) – IaaS providers such as Amazon Web Service(AWS) or Microsoft Azure supply a virtual server instance and storage, as well as application program interfaces (APIs) that let users migrate workloads to a virtual machine (VM).

Many organizations have not adopted the cloud, waiting for others to take the lead.  Many companies have decided to implement a hybrid solution retaining some of their hardware and solutions onsite while venturing into the cloud.  One of the main concerns heard frequently is the security of sensitive and confidential data.  If the data is stored in a cloud solution will it be more susceptible to data and security breaches.

Staying abreast of the latest developments in cloud computing and solutions to issues (real or perceived) is one way to retain your marketability in the ever-changing fast-paced technology arena.  Keep your head in the cloud!!!