The line between cloud computing and information technology is a hazy one. Many professionals may have be confused by these two business elements, yet the specific differences are clear.
Cloud computing means:
1. Outsourced resources – this includes both hardware and software. Just as an on-site files erver can provide a central source for file handling, data storage, and information backup ,so too can cloud computing. However, in cloud computing, the vendor foots the costs of these computer resources.
2. Pay-as-you-go – although much lower than the cost of installing on-site file management equipment,
cloud computing will typically require a basic start up fee followed by a monthly usage charge. Cloud time consumption (hours used), operating space (bandwidth and data storage), and additional software features (email, word processing, and others) may be purchased in various sized chunks.
3. On-demand – refers to pricing on a per use basis. As cloud computing seeks to satisfy most every known business computer need, not all features are used by every purchaser. Though some businesses may do accounting via the cloud, not all are so flexible. In cloud computing, you only pay for what you use. Somewhere in the Internet – hence the term “cloud”. Part of the cloud provider’s function is to keep up with where, when, and how the customer’s data is stored and protected. Thus the purchaser is freed to pursue more profit-oriented activities.
4. Most Internet users have touched upon some form of cloud computing application such as email, search engines, dictionaries, or on-line banking. Developers daily write code to hook into the open platform specifications that have been uploaded into the cloud. The service sold is the on-demand engine that funnels the code into an anytime application.
Information technology is managed and delivered information by means of audio, data, and video. This is accomplished through hardware, software, services, and support, and there are interconnected systems, either by human interface or by network interface. The support staff is made up of those who develop services, applications, and administration tools for the company. The majority of money is spent on vendor expenses which are necessary operational costs associated with developing, purchasing, and licensing for software maintenance. Additional expenditures in an IT department include the following options: various removable peripheral, data entry personnel, tutors, and other technology.
Telephone and radio equipment switches are basic examples of information technology in action. Traditional computer applications, data storage, word processors and spreadsheets, and the associated management and training thereof are all essential components of information technology at work. This also include, of course, file server hardware and software, printer services, Web servers, and a mixture of other communication equipment and devices. Peripherals, voice response systems, monitoring systems, and all related operating costs are a part of Information Technology. Yet each of these, in order to be accurately included as an information technology component, should in some manner be integrated into the total network of computer system services.
A stand-alone computer (that is a system that is completely isolated from any form of network activity) is not defined as a component of Information Technology. An automotive engine diagnostic computer is a good example of a closed computer environment. Independent copy machines and faxes, cameras, and televisions also fall into this stand-alone category. Neither are any of these considered a part of cloud computing.
Thus it appears that cloud computing and information technology share the same fundamental functions. Each fills the consumer need for manipulating, storing, and retrieving various forms of information. Each has the need for technical expertise and administration. And though some of the current applications and tools are beginning to reveal specific differences, both methods require file servers, bandwidth, routers, and all manner of other hardware/software combinations. Each also carries an expensive start up and operating cost.
So cost driven outsourcing becomes the major distinction between the two. Cloud computing provides an inexpensive and expandable solution to the ongoing cost of an ever-changing information driven world.
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