A Cloud in the Data Center and Services from the Cloud

by Brian J. Dooley

Although still a somewhat ambiguous term, "cloud computing" represents a watershed in both the evolution of outsourced service provision and in data center infrastructure. Public clouds provide outsourced services in a manner that incorporates efficiency, flexibility, scalability, and improvements in charging under a pay-as-you-go utility model. The private cloud in the data center is part of the "smart infrastructure" model, which represents an evolution based on the convergence of several trends in hardware, software, and service provision. The private cloud also provides flexible and efficient operation backed by a range of management and security functions needed to integrate this type of service into the enterprise environment. This Executive Report by Brian J. Dooley explores the importance, services, and future of cloud computing.