The business news is awash with buzz about The Cloud. What exactly is The Cloud? The Cloud is really a server or a cluster of servers in a data center connected to the Internet. It has been called many things like Managed Hosted Server, Mainframe, and Hosted Applications.
Probably one of the most familiar ways to think about The Cloud is to think about email. Email is the first hosted application that you have probably experienced. The email software exists on a computer in a data center to provide you access to your email wherever you login: your home computer, your workstation or your cell phone. Hence, your email is in The Cloud.
Saying The Cloud gives the impression that your application or data will be available whenever you need it and from wherever you want to access it (like your home computer, cell phone or workstation). As long as the device has Internet access it is connected to the Cloud.
Having your applications sitting in The Cloud means that they are hosted by a company that is running computer infrastructure connected to the Internet creating an environment of high availability to your data and applications. The Cloud also means that someone else is managing that infrastructure for you. This kind of leverage means that you don't have to have skilled technicians to keep the gear running and the applications patched and available.
Software-as-a-Service (SAAS) is a cloud application. Hotmail, Gmail and Yahoo Mail are all SAAS examples. Salesforce.com is another example. Electronic medical records is a new example of SAAS.
Another way to look at the Cloud is like the power grid. The electricity that you access from any outlet is delivered via a system of wires, plants, transformers and other gear so that you can have high availability of electricity at any outlet you choose. The Cloud works in a similar fashion.
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