Refreshing Cloud Computing Definition and Security Presentation
Alex Stamos of iSEC Partners recently posted a presentation that he made titled Cloud Computing Security. In the presentation, while focusing on cloud computing security, he provides a good base definition of what cloud computing is, and what it isn’t.
I recommend watching the embedded slide deck at the end of this post, however, for brevity, here are some paraphrased key points, with my additional comments in italics:
Cloud computing defined
- What it is not
- Virtualization (although it often comprises as a part of the underlying infrastructure, whether logical or physical)
- Remote backup
- What it is
- Central management
- Distributed data storage
- Ability to move applications from system to system
- (On slide 7) Marketers and sales pitch products/services by leveraging Cloud Computing term. (While I agree, the term “cloud” has become a user friendly term for defining an otherwise abstract idea. I can see the potential danger of overuse, but also can see the benefit of a key phrase/word for familiarity)
Typical services associated with the cloud
- Software as a Service (SaaS)
- Platform as a Service (PaaS)
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
