Transcript Slide 1
Lost in the Fog: Is Cloud computing the Future for Digital Information? Clifton Chan 21 July 2015 What is cloud computing? Undefinition “The network is the computer” -- John Gage, Sun Microsystems, 1982 “... computing may someday be organized as a public utility ...” -- John McCarthy, 1961 Definition “a computing capability that provides an abstraction between the computing resource and its underlying technical architecture (e.g., servers, storage, networks), enabling convenient, ondemand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.” -- NIST Characteristics On-demand self-service Broad network access Resource pooling Rapid elasticity Measured service -- NIST Services Software as a Service Platform as a Service Infrastructure as a Service “Stack” of services Types Public clouds Community clouds Private clouds Hybrid clouds Fad or Trend ? Peak of the Gartner Hype Cycle i.e. immature And yet ... flicker twitter TradeMe Google App Eng Amazon EC2 Rapid elasticity ? Measured service Free Ondemand self-service Broad network access Resource pooling Trend Becoming part of the landscape Landscape Mainframes Mid-range computers PC’s Internet Cloud Implications Implications for government On-demand self-service Easy to buy • T&Cs and costs upfront • rapid deployment Easy to sign up and sign off • Low (un)deployment costs Anyone can sign up • Proliferation - new access database Broad network access Internet / IP network for access • Geographic agility • Wider range of access devices Internet / Network usage increases • 24 x 7 access • Network security • Network costs will increase Resource pooling Multi-tenant: 102s, 103s, 106s • Potentially more attackers - security Economies of scale - buying power • Sustainable professional expertise • Value for money Standardised offerings • Drive standardisation and lower cost • Less uniqueness • Who’s standards? Rapid elasticity Provider manages capacity • Focus on adding value to business Acquire and use what you need • No underutilised resources Measured service Pay for what you use • No capital expenditure • No money sitting around • Low cost of entry Cost visibility • Clear link between use and costs Paradigm It is a form of outsourcing. Why the fuss? We outsource all sorts of things, e.g.: • Mainframe: timeshare bureaus • Payroll bureaus • Watering plants • Office cleaning • Helpdesks Large body of knowledge on how to make outsourcing work Fuss: Biggest providers multi-nationals • Compatible records and archiving practises • Records and data in the ‘cloud’ Data is likely to be overseas • Outside NZ jurisdiction • Data persistence Summary Utility computing on the network Becoming part of the landscape Form of outsourcing Futures Cloud computing strategic issues [email protected]