Week 7 Muddy (Kind of) Application Software 2

                      SaaS, PaaS, DaaS, VDI, OLPC, SQL, SLA, IaaS...........................OMG!!!!!

http://trinities.org/blog/archives/category/housekeeping

Oh how things change from week to week! Riding the high from week 6 lasted as long as it took to begin this weeks lesson. Which, since I am trying to get ahead to concentrate on the presentation project, was all of a hot second.

This week's topic covered a lot of interesting material. Open Source Software was one topic I enjoyed. While I have heard of the term before, I was unaware how widespread it's usage has become. It is free software available to anyone that can download it. This is just about all I knew on the subject. That companies download it for use was a surprise to me. Yet, now that I understand that they modify it for their use makes a lot of cents. When you're competing with big companies, saving money anyway you can is key. It also allows for a firm to get their product to market considerably quicker. Below is a short video on Open Source Software to help give anyone not in this class an overview.



Another topic of interest to me was the subject of cloud computing. Again, I was familiar with the term but didn't really have a firm grasp on what it actually was. I felt a lot better while reading the textbook when Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison was asked to define cloud computing. He said, "Maybe I'm an idiot, but I have no idea what anyone is talking about." In a nut shell, cloud computing is replacing computing hardware or software resources with services provided over the Internet.

http://cloudcomputingcompaniesnow.com/

Cloud computing is the trend toward the future. However, there are two key issues of concern for programmers to consider. They are security and access and they both go hand in hand. No other time in business history has a firm considered putting their vital information on a server that also houses it's competitors vital information. Who can access that information and how are two important questions. What security measures are needed to prevent a competitor's or hackers access is also vital to address. Take a look at this video to understand a little better what cloud computing actually is.



As you can probably tell, it is the future wave to explore for business information specialists. Computer geeks are very excited about this technology and rightly so. If it is what it portends to be, business computing will forever be changed from how we currently view and use it today.

I will close this week with a quote about cloud computing from Vivek Kundra, Federal CIO of the United States Government. She said, " There was a time when every household, town, farm or village had its own water well. Today, shared public utilities give us access to clean water by simply turning on the tap; cloud computing works in a similar fashion. Just like water from the tap in your kitchen, cloud computing services can be turned on or off quickly as needed. Like at the water company, there is a team of dedicated professionals making sure the service provided is safe, secure and available on a 24/7 basis. When the tap isn't on, not only are you saving water, but you aren't paying for resources you don't currently need." 

I don't think it can be put any simpler!