by Mark Ollig

Created on: December 02, 2009

Is the future of computing in the clouds?

What is one of the hot topics being chatted about out there in the Internet blogoshere?

Cloud computing.

No, this isn't a newly discovered nano-molecule-vaper-electro-ionization processing technique to convert the clouds in the sky into computing devices.

The expression cloud in this instance is used as a metaphor for the Internet.

From what I have learned, cloud computing essentially enables computer users to easily access the applications they normally use directly over the Internet, instead of having them stored on their local hard drives or business computer servers.

As an alternative to having your software data and applications reside in your computer's hard drive, they would be accessible from a remote central server, which would distribute them like any other application resource to you via the Internet.

Saving money is one of the advantages given for using cloud computing.

My analogy for this cloud network would make it similar to how electricity or the power application resource is distributed into our microwave from the outlet which is connected to the cloud or transmission grid which connects to the power company.

Remember, I am your humble and at times simpleton columnist; my analogies are sometimes only fully understood by me.

Large corporations like Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard (HP), IBM, and Sun Microsystems are players in this cloud computing game, too.

The rumor is, IBM may be close to a deal with Sun Microsystems. By combing their technological expertise, they would be a significant force for Microsoft to contend with.

According to S&P Equity Research, an IBM-Sun combination would give them more than 40 percent of the current computing server market.

Hewlett-Packard currently has a 29 percent market share, followed by Dell with less than 11 percent.

HP, Intel, and Yahoo! are also working together on a Cloud Computing Test Bed research program.

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), is where users can gain access to software or service applications and large amounts of virtual machine computing power without having to purchase it. The application is hosted off-site by another company and licensed to the users or the companies utilizing it. This dramatically reduces any maintenance and setup issues for the end users.

For you and me, an example of SaaS would be when we are using, our Google Mail or Gmail. When we access our Gmail account we are essentially accessing an application, via SaaS. Google,

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