Cloud Computing: What Is It?

One of the hot topics for IT students today is referred to as cloud computing. You might think of it in terms of how electricity is shared over a grid. Some say the entire Internet is a shared cloud. But such terminology is vague.

You can start with what Wikipedia believes to be cloud computing. Read for yourself. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_computing). But then, do you always trust Wikipedia?

It’s always best to explore further.

Penn State’s Learning Design Community Hub has its own take on cloud computing. They say it’s “the use of a Web services such as Flickr, Google Docs, Jing (video screencapture service) to perform the functions that were traditionally done with software installed on an individual computer.”

That’s a good but limited explanation.

What you really need to develop your expertise is to follow a wide range of in-depth resources. One of the best places to go on the Web for the latest discussions on cloud computing is Guy Kawasaki’s Alltop site. He has an entire section dedicated to researchers of cloud computing (http://cloud-computing.alltop.com/).

According to Stanbridge College Dean of Instruction and Chair of Information Technology Programs, Tim Powers, most of the material students can discover on cloud computing will be found by researching the Internet. He also said “there is a huge variety of what can be offered via a cloud (simple storage, software as a service (SAAS), complex database support, etc.)”

Stanbridge College Information Technology students can expect a brief exposure to cloud computing and what the concept means to them as a student and technology expert.