Since desktop computing breezed into our homes in the early 1980’s, each machine used to create data files required the owner to install and run copies of software programs on every machine they owned and used. Each file created by those software applications, was stored locally on the machine that created them. If a local machine was connected to a network, the other computers on that network could share those files, yet the computers beyond the network had no access to the data.

Computing has seen many revolutionary ideas, providing users with more and more power and functionality year on year. The most recent technological advancement however, considered by many commentators as the next epochal milestone in IT, is shifting the way that businesses and end-users access and use applications, and the way they store and retrieve their most precious commodity, data. Cloud computing has arrived, yet cloud experts agree that the definitions of cloud computing, almost outnumber the many vendors vying for the potentially lucrative market share that exists. The cloud has removed the user necessity to chase the latest software applications and install each one on their local machine. The cloud provides state-of-the-art applications and resources and will continue to maintain freshness of product to ensure that each vendor contesting for that lucrative market share remains viable, whilst providing the most up to date technology and infrastructure available.

By definition therefore, the cloud in the first instance could be considered to be the harnessing of processing power, resources, and technology by means of a maze of inter-connected servers and computers, while concealing the structure behind it. Other commentators believe the cloud could be defined simply as, “anything consumed outside the firewall”. This is where uncertainty reigns, though what experts do agree on, is the IT industry needs to collaborate and concur on a suitable definition for the many flavours of the cloud available and what is being offered and subsequently utilised by the end-user.

Three types of cloud user have been identified and these are described according to how the user will interact with the cloud. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) consists of vendors who host applications in the cloud that many users access through an Internet enabled device. The service can be sold or offered as a complete end-user application. Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), offers developers a platform from which they can design, build, and test applications on the infrastructure provided by the cloud vendor and then offer those applications from the cloud servers to the end-users highlighted above. The final form is Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS). This service will ultimately be utilised by system administrators interested in obtaining processing power, storage capacity, and other resources (including applications) and only paying for what they use.