Introduction
This paper addresses the issue of cloud computing including the different forms of this product, emerging trends, and its advantages and disadvantages. According to this article, there are two main forms of cloud computing. The first category provides computing instances on demand and the other type supplies computing capacity on demand. The emerging trends in cloud computing include the need for scalable infrastructure, simplicity in operations, and viable pricing options. These new trends also include the options available to companies including the choice of private versus hosted clouds. The issues of elasticity and the need to accommodate usage-based pricing have also become relevant to modern cloud computing. Cloud computing also provides a host of advantages and disadvantages to users. For instance, while cloud computing is economical for users, it is also subject to the problems of remote-based services such as bandwidth and latency-related issues.
Contributions
This paper contributes to a topic that remains out of focus for various people around the world. For instance, on most occasions, only information technology experts are privy to the machinations of cloud computing. Therefore, even decision-makers in various organizations have very limited knowledge of cloud computing. This paper ensures that even ordinary readers can get an idea of what cloud computing entails. The article provides a satisfactory overview of the concept of cloud computing. Consequently, anyone who reads this paper can make informed choices on cloud computing. Cloud computing is a relevant concept in the modern world of large-scale computation. Initially, the concept of cloud computing was only relevant to mega organizations. However, small and medium enterprises have started to utilize cloud computing on either a regular or a seasonal basis. This article provides new information that would be relevant to the organizations that might be contemplating using cloud computing. For example, the author points out that newly available computing services can be both competitively priced and scalable for small-scale users. According to the article, “it’s relatively easy for a project to perform a computation on over 10 Tbytes of data using 1,000 nodes…(but) until recently, this would have been out of reach for most projects (Grossman 24). This fact underlines the usefulness of this article to a host of new potential users of cloud computing services.
Cloud computing is still an important solution to modern business operations. Furthermore, cloud computing is highly relevant to the modern era of digitalization whereby even small day-to-day tasks require data processing. For example, the rise of the smartphone and its accompanying host of applications means that small data has been transformed into big data within the last decade. The article offers a new solution for any parties that might be contemplating utilizing cloud computing. For example, according to the author, solution providers are not expected to operate server farms as they did in the past. The new trend is to utilize cloud computing services thereby reducing other related costs and constraints. It is also likely that cloud computing has played a significant role in the rise of the modern start-up concept because they ensure that upcoming companies do not have to incur up-front infrastructure expenses.
Since the article was published, cloud computing has grown in leaps and bounds. First, the costs of these services have dropped considerably and become readily available to most users. In the subsequent years since 2009, cloud computing has become a highly sought-after product because it comes with good computing power, reduced cost of services, scalability, high performance, and it is also readily available. Vendors of cloud computing services have experienced continuous growth in the last five years. However, it is important to note that some of the challenges of cloud computing that are addressed in this article are yet to be solved. For instance, the issues of security and the ease of usage still feature within the current cloud computing services that are on offer.
The future of cloud computing can only be assessed using the current situation of this product. Currently, cloud computing is as much a research field as it is a commercial product. Consequently, engineers around the world are constantly looking for new methods of improving the concept of cloud computing through research and innovation. It is prudent to conclude that just as the article suggests, this product is still in its research phase whereby companies continue to spend significant amounts of resources towards research and development. The future of cloud computing mainly depends on the results of the current research efforts. Some of the areas that are expected to have a significant impact on cloud computing in the future include standards, interoperability, and benchmarks. According to the article, Amazon’s APIs are the current benchmark industry standards. Consequently, the future of cloud computing depends on how various standards can accommodate interoperability. Some of the few improvements that have taken place since this article was published include the enhancement of cloud computing features and the modes of deployment for different services. The article only covers privately and publicly hosted clouds. However, since then there have been other forms of deployment including the hybrid (combination of two forms of clouds such as public and private), community (shared between organizations/communities), and distributed clouds. All these new additions to cloud computing provide extra solutions to consumers and also solve some of the pricing issues of the past services.
Analysis
This paper can be assigned the rating of (3) for its modest contribution to the topic of cloud computing. The author of this article focuses on the two types of clouds that are available to customers and how they apply to different situations. Although this is useful information, it does not offer any new dimensions to this topic and it only adds a little input to existing research. For example, the author references the products that are already available in the market as examples of his research. Therefore, the article only contributes moderately to the topic of cloud computing.
The methodology that is utilized in this article is convincing mostly because it is all expertly utilized. The author of this article is a professor of mathematics and computer science at a reputable university. In addition, the writer is a managing partner in a company that mostly handles big data. All these credentials mean that the author is convincing up to a certain degree. The methodology that is utilized in the article involves giving what the author refers to as ‘a quick introduction to cloud computing’ (Grossman 23). The paper then lays out the research surrounding the topic while utilizing various approaches including citing outside research, giving examples of calculations, and employing the author’s expert opinion on the subject.
The paper’s claims and conclusion are convincing mostly because the author uses easily verifiable information. Some of the data that is used in the article comes from proprietary products such as Google’s MapReduce and Amazon’s EC2. Most of the data from proprietors are available in the public domain and this makes it easy for readers of this article to verify it. Nevertheless, the claims and conclusions that are used in the article are suspicious for readers who might require unbiased research. For example, the only data that is used in the article comes from the major information technology companies. Therefore, useful and insightful data from small industry players are neglected. This bias creates doubt when it comes to the results of the paper’s analysis. The claims of the article might be more convincing if the author used data from diverse sources. One aspect that makes the methodology in this article convincing is its use of vivid demonstrations some of which include cost comparisons. However, the paper would be more convincing if the methodology of the article were not so broad. As it is, the paper does not delve into any specific issue but the research points to several directions.
One limitation of this article is that it does not use any of the available scientific methods. Therefore, the final product tends to resemble an opinion piece instead of a research article. The current structure of the paper undermines the fact that the author uses credible sources and it also limits the overall research of the article. Proprietary elements in the research also diminish the quality of this research paper. For instance, readers are seeking a balanced representation of the computing cloud industry.
Lessons and Open Questions
The author of this article does a great job of introducing cloud computing to the readers. However, the article fails to satisfy the research expectations of most readers. Lay readers would benefit from the article’s thorough coverage of the basics of cloud computing. For example, the article is a good consultancy piece on options that are available to potential cloud computing consumers. Furthermore, the author’s credentials are enough testimony that the contents of the paper are solid. After reading this article, lay readers can draw various lessons from it including familiarizing themselves with all the cloud options that are available to them. The paper can also act as a starting point for anyone who might be in the market for cloud services. Amazon and Google are the two pioneer companies when it comes to cloud services. Consequently, the services of these two companies have continued to be the industry benchmark.
Researchers who read this article have a lot to take away from it. First, the article presents a good balance between information about the consumer and the developer. Most researchers tend to fall into either the developer or the market category. This article provides both of these dimensions in a balanced manner making it useful to all researchers. The emerging trend in this article is that cloud computing is missing the important links of benchmarking and interoperability. Consequently, it is only natural for future research to concentrate on these two aspects of cloud computing. Interoperability issues for other information technology products have been addressed in detail. However, there is limited research when it comes to interoperability and benchmarking issues that apply to cloud computing.
Works Cited
Grossman, Robert. “The Case for Cloud Computing.” IT Professional, vol. 11, no. 2, 2009, pp. 23-27.