Cloud Computing: Introduction, History, Architecture, Delivery Models, Deployment Strategies, and Top Players

Cloud computing is a concept that deals with the storage of data in a remote server called a cloud and the data can be accessed and managed from the cloud using good internet connections. This article covers the introduction, history, architecture, delivery models, deployment strategies, and top players in the industry. It is a comprehensive guide to cloud computing for students and professionals.

Running head: CLOUD COMPUTING
Cloud computing
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Cloud computing introduction and history
Cloud computing is a concept that has been adopted into the world with ease. There is a
high need for data storage space due to the excess production of data every day. This has resulted
in the need for more storage space and the best idea that has been so far established to solve the
problem is cloud computing. Cloud computing deals with the storage of data in a remote server
called a cloud and the data can be accessed and managed from the cloud using good internet
connections (Nurm et al., 2009). Most researchers are optimistic that cloud computing might
change the nature of computing with more storage space at hand. Various organizations have
been set up that provide the cloud computing services to other organizations and individuals. The
technology is spreading so fast that most of the organizations are being forced to get into terms
with this kind of technology as well as incorporate them in their businesses.
The technology can be dated back to the 1960s and has developed in phases through the
years. It has come through various stages and has recently become a major invention in the
market and has become the way of storing data in the firms. The production of more and more
data has led to the huge need of the cloud computing services and has become a major party of
the computing norm. The technology was however not utilized until the late 2002 when amazon
launched their first cloud computing service which was called the amazon web service. Since
then, many organizations have come into place and have become major players and have
developed various cloud computing technologies including the infrastructure as a service,
platform as a service and software as a service all of which have had great impact on the current
technologies in the information management fields.
With time the idea of cloud computing has evolved changing the way data is stored in the
cloud spaces and the types of service that can be offered in a cloud. The major entrance by

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organizations such as oracle, Microsoft and others like Google has caused a great impact on
information management actions. Now the data is being handled different and people can even
do more than just store data in the cloud computers. They can develop applications and host them
in the cloud services while other provide resources and the users can manage the resources. More
is anticipated with the soon expected rise of the internet of things that will wholly depend on
cloud computing to operate. Most of the devices will be connected to the cloud and hey will store
process and retrieve data from the cloud during their operations.
The idea was introduced to help most organizations to focus on their core business
process rather than focus on their data storage and they could get the storage services from other
vendors. It is this idea that has resulted to the growth of the industry since it allows most
organizations to focus on their primary goal of operation while the secondary services such as
data storage are dealt with by other organizations (Carlin, & Curran, 2013). The idea has become
popular to help with the economies of scale. The idea has helped most of the companies to save
on the cost of expanding their IT infrastructure which may be expensive with the expanding size
of data that is being used as well as produced in the day to day operations of the organization.
With the specialization that cloud computing brings to data handling and data man agent,
there is the rapid growth of cloud computing technology since most of the organizations can
focus their attention on the development of better cloud services that will attract other
organizations. With many data servers at a single location, the cost of maintenance is greatly
reduced and hence the method becomes cheaper compared to the previous methods that had been
used. It is the rapid growth of data that has resulted in the fast expansion of the cloud computing
technology. It is being driven by the more need for data storage and yet most of the organizations
don't want to spend much of their resources on the infrastructure.

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Service Oriented Architecture/ Thin Clients
The most common architecture model that is being used by most of the cloud service
providers is that they offer cloud services as a service. The major reason is that the cloud service
does not use the user-end machines but rather use the hardware in the data centers which act as
the cloud computers (Dikaiakos et al., 2013). The cloud computers can only access the hardware
which is on the data center easily rather than the computer that is being used by the client. This is
why most of the organizations have decided to use the service platform to serve their customers.
The customers are considered as thin clients because they are a major reason they are customers
is not that of the cloud services but as the customers of the other service that is provided by the
specific organization.
When a client is accessing their mail account using the web-browser, they don’t have to
store anything in their local servers and do not need mail servers locally but use all the resources
of the service provider (Buyya, Yeo, & Venugopal, 2008). This is because the service provider
provides both the service and the infrastructure that is needed for storage and hence in the
process offers cloud computing services. Their clients are thin cloud clients but majorly the

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clients of the service that is being offered by the company. A good example of such a model is
Google mail which offers their clients with storage space for the emails that are both sent and
received. The model is very effective since the clients can be provided with more than the basic
need that took them to the organizations. Such models have been employed where the clients are
given a free storage space and others that require huge space can purchase the service at a fee.
The models view the tools needed such a software, storage and the computer as an
incremental product that the client can purchase with the need they have (Armbrust et al., 2009).
This is different from the earlier model where the client would purchase the software and the
computer before the service is provided. In this model of cloud computing, the end users can
easily configure their environments easily compared to the earlier versions of the distributed
computing environment where the end users needed knowledge of the deployment details. The
model simplifies the work for both the end users and the organization that is offering the service.
When the functions of the single computer owned by the end user are handed over to the
data centers which are used by the service provider, the functionality is greatly eased. The end
users are therefore only left with very less cost to incur for the connectivity to the cloud
computers and hence the name thin clients. They only need a network that can help them connect
to the data centers which are remotely located. The client, therefore, enjoys various benefits that
have been provided by the service provider.
Virtualization
Virtualization can either use hypervisors or they can use the containers for virtualization.
Virtualization is a concept of cloud computing although it has been there since the 1960s. They
allow a person to host virtual machines on a single piece of hardware. Hypervisors are able to

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take control of the resources or the infrastructure that belongs to a single machine and then uses
them to run the various processes which are needed. They sometimes act as the operating system
in the case and help take control of various processes on a single piece of hardware.
There are two types of hypervisors:
1. Bare metal or native hypervisors.
2. Embedded or hosted hypervisors, and
Bare metal, native or type I hypervisors
The native hypervisor is used to take control of both the hardware and the virtual
machine. They are good since they centralize all the processes in one place and this makes the
organization and programming work easy. They, however, risk the loss of all processes if one
hypervisor fails. The problem is always experienced with the centralization of resources and
processes.
Embedded, hosted or type II hypervisors
They are mostly found in most of the computers and can run on the operating system. A
good example is a virtual Box which can run on the kernel of the operating system. They only
control the process and cannot take control of the hardware (Jamil, & Zaki, 2011). They are,
however, slow compared to the native type of hypervisors. They are slow because they are
hosted on the computers operating systems. The only advantage they have over the native type of
hypervisors is that they are easy to use and operate. They are also compatible with most of the
available hardware.
Container-based virtualization
They function basically like the hypervisors but they do not control the hardware. They
are also able to host more than one process and hence they are an improvement of the

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hypervisors. They are a type of cloud services which are common today although they were first
used in the Linux operating system in the 1960s.
C. Delivery Models for Cloud Computing
The service delivery model of a clod computer differs depending on the type of cloud that
is being used. These differ according to the type of cloud service that has been deployed. The
various models include.
 Software as a Service (SaaS). The type of architecture works basically like the thin clients
where they provide services and the client can access the services using the thin client.
The mode of access may not be necessarily a web browser. A good example is Gmail
which offers their clients with the mail services and in addition offer cloud services
which are very effective. The end user has no play in determining the deployment models
and the design of the service. They receive a service that has already been fully
developed and they only have to configure their environment and use the service is
provided to them.
 Platform as a Service (PaaS) the product as a service model of cloud computers is more
complex compared to the software as a service since they require some knowledge which
is needed in configuring the environment (Dinh et al., 2013). They offer they provide
their customers with software development tools and programming languages that can be
used by the developers to develop their own software. The developers can, therefore, use
the available space to host their applications and the data that is used by the application.
They mostly act as web servers. Good examples include Microsoft Azure. The users are
given more control and freedom compared to the software as a service but the physical
infrastructure is left in control of the owners.

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 Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) with this type of cloud servers, the users are given more
control compared to the others since they have freedom over the infrastructure and can be
able to control their resources. The idea with the IaaS is that the clients can be provided
with the hardware resources which they are allowed to utilize for the services they require
to do. IBM computing is a good example that can be placed in this category.
Cloud service models
D. Deployment Strategies
There are various strategies that are used in the deployment of the cloud services
depending on which purpose they have been designed. The various cloud models include public
clouds, private cloud, and hybrid clouds.
Public cloud:
They are the type of cloud that is available for the general public and are the free-form
most to use. A good example if the Google server which is open to all to use and they may

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customize it the way they want. They are not very secure compared to the other types of cloud
services and hence not preferred by most people.
Community cloud:
They are more private compared to the public types of cloud. They are used by a group of
organization that comes together and gave the same functions and saves on the cost of having
their own cloud. The method saves on cost and is more secure compared to the public clouds and
hence they are a good choice for most organizations.
Hybrid cloud:
Hybrid means a combination of more than two clouds and mostly it is usually a
combination of the public and the private clouds. The combination aims at picking the strengths
of the two types of clouds and utilize them in one type of cloud. They have become the most
common types of cloud server model deployment that are being used.
Private cloud:
They are cloud architectures which are more specific to the design of the client which
corresponds to the function of the cloud. They are customized to suit the needs of the client.
They are more secure compared to the other types of clouds. They are more suited for the
organization that has specific needs with their data. They can be modeled to host external or
internal data depending on which it is the organization wants.
Top players in cloud computing industry
Several organizations have been involved in the cloud computing industry. Most of them have
seen the need that is within most organizations for data storage and they have come up with
various types of cloud services that will offer the required services. The need for data storage is
growing immensely and this has [promoted the organizations that have undertaken the project to

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provide cloud computing services to the clients. It is easier and cheaper for most of the
organizations to buy storage and computing services that have them in their premises.
Computing infrastructure is expensive to purchase and requires much attention to be paid to them
and this makes most organizations opt for easier means like cloud computing. Some organization
also own their data centers which are outside the working premises for security reasons as well
as affectivity of the work being done in the companies.
Microsoft
Microsoft is currently the largest cloud computing company in the globe. They have not been in
the market for long but their commitment has seen them grow to become the greatest
organization with various products in the market. They have various cloud computing services
from the platform as a service to the software as a service. They have seen a big increase in the
number of customers and have become the global leaders. They offer services such as Microsoft
azure, Microsoft server and SQL server that act as the platform as a service products from
Microsoft. They also have other services like Bing, Xbox and windows client as a software a
service type of cloud computing services.
Amazon web service
They were the earliest in the cloud industry with the amazon web service being more than ten
years old since it was launched and has offered cloud computing services to most of the small,
medium and big organizations in the world. They were able to attract most of the organizations
before there was much competition as there is now in the current market. They have been
offering cloud computing and have evolved with time as the technology has been changing. They
have been facing huge competition from Microsoft and Google who have been able to come up
with more developed cloud services.

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Salesforce .com
They were the first organization to develop a software as a service type of clod computing and
has since then achieved great numbers of customers. The company is American and has
maintained most of their customers as with time they have developed various product which are
needed by the customers. The organization has been named as one of the fastest growing
software organizations in the world and have been exemplary after they teamed together with
Google to offer the services.
IBM
IBM has been one of the earliest technology organizations that has entered the cloud computing
industry later than pother and has keen interest in cloud computing Ares that deal with internet of
things, cognitive computing as well as block chain computing. Their unique fields have set them
apart in the industry and has become a major driver towards future innovations that related to
their area of focus. As we know, the internet of things is taking the world by surprises and will
majorly deal with cloud computing which IBM, are ready for. The organization has played a
major role in ensuring the reality of internet of things which is the next hit in the industry and ill
heavily rely on cloud computing for data storage.
Google
The organization is a late comer to the cloud industry although it was itself created as cloud and
store information. With time, they have developed several products and have seen them rise in
the market share. They are however behind the bigger giants like Microsoft and IBM but have
made effort in the types of products that they can boast of. The tech giant organization has joined
hands with other organizations like Salesforce.com and have improved their chances of rising
higher in the market share.

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SAP
The German based organization is a leading provider of the cloud services and offer real time
data processing services as well as cloud computing services. They provide a software as a
service and has grown as one of the leading giants in the cloud computing industry. They boast
of a great number of customers. They have been in the business for a while and they have been
able to get a huge share of the market and rank 6th in the world in terms of market share.
Oracle
Their major business is database vending and ha lately joined the teams that are offering cloud
computing services. Having data s their focus, they had to adapt to the new technologies since
most organizations are leaving the old way of storing data and many are adapting the idea of
cloud computing and hence the organization had to change. They offer various services ranging
from cloud services, cloud integration, Infrastructure as a service, cloud applications to other
cloud based services. Their late entrance to the market may have denied them a large market
share but they are getting on well and will in a few years be among the giants in the industry.
Impact of cloud computing
There is much impact that has been caused by cloud computing in the world today. Many
of the organization have been changed in the way they do things with the rise of cloud computing
and taking its place as it is today in the market. Various people have benefited from the changes
that are taking place in the industry with organizations being the big gainers. The growth of
cloud computing has affected almost how we do everything relating to the computing
environment.

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The growth of cloud computing
The development of the technology will have more impact on various industries and will keep
changing the way we do things.
Benefits of cloud computing
 Data Integration. Most of these types of architectures allow data integration in them
which means that the data is integrated into the cloud. This brings more security rather
than having data on a different location as the cloud (Carlin, & Curran, 2013). This
means that the data of the organization can just be integrated into the cloud without
making any changes.
 Integrated Networking. One can network the cloud with the currently existing network in
the organization which means that there is no need for extra changes with the network
settings. This will help reduce cost in migration since there are no changes made to the
network of the organization.
 Integrated Identity and Access. There is also integrated identify and access. This means
that the data aces rights remain to the various people it had been allocated to. This
prevents having to make changes to the data permissions and clearances to the various
levels.

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 Integrated Resource and Deployment Management. There will be the integrated
deployment of the management of data as well as the deployment of the resources. The
existing process will remain without changes since they are integrated into the hybrid
clouds which the organization wants to shift to. This will greatly reduce the cost of the
migration as well as time taken to migrate.
 Integrated Devices and Edge Systems. Everything in the former type of environment can
be transferred to the new system without major changes. This is an advantage to the
organization since it will allow a smooth transition and make change management easier
for the organization to handle.
A. Industry Structure
Industrial structure especially relating to computing has been revolutionized and will keep
changing due to the cloud computing effect. New technologies will come up as a result of the
cloud services architectures and others will fall.
1. Data Centers
Already there are various data centers that have been established and most of them are already
filling up with customers since most organizations are opting to choose data centers over the
huge expenses of the increasing demand for data storage devices. Cloud computing has therefore
led to the development of data centers where information is stored and the premises are only kept
for such work. This has already begun and will continue to increase with the increase of data.
2. Server-Related Technologies
Server technologies ill change drastically. There are already various technologies such as
the virtualization containers and hypervisors and more will need to be developed. Their growth is

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as a result of the growing cloud computing industry. Various technologies have already been
implemented such as the use of containers instead of using virtual machines in the virtualization
process. These are as a result of the growing need for cloud computing services. More emphasis
will be laid on the server operating systems rather than the desktop operating systems. More
server-based operating systems will be used because of the growing need for cloud computing.
3. Router-Based Technologies
Technologies related to router connectivity will also be highly affected by the cloud
computing rush and have already been changed. There are more and better connectivity
technologies from the oncoming 5G technology to IPV6 connectivity.
B. Regulation
With the fast development of technologies, there is always a challenge with the laws that
regulate the operation of the technology. Cloud computing has been one of the fast developing
technologies that has passed the laws and some of the laws that have been passed are laws that
were set earlier long and therefore they have become outdated. The problem, therefore,
experiences with such technologies is the ambiguity that is faced with most of the laws. Most of
the customers might be on the losing end in the ambiguity of the law since they may lack the
necessary knowledge that protects their data once they have entrusted it to the cloud computing
dealers. On the other hands, such confusion works for the benefits of the giant organizations that
have dominated the cloud computing business. These organizations have the dominance that is
required and may take advantage of the end users without their knowledge. Privacy and security
are other issues that the laws should make clear when it comes to cloud computing.

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Legal issues affecting cloud computing
Conclusion
The idea of cloud computing was introduced to help most organizations to focus on their
core business process rather than focus on their data storage and they could get the storage
services from other vendors. It is this idea that has resulted to the growth of the industry since it
allows most organizations to focus on their primary goal of operation while the secondary
services such as data storage are dealt with by other organizations. The idea has become popular
to help with the economies of scale. The idea has helped most of the companies to save on the
cost of expanding their IT infrastructure which may be expensive with the expanding size of data
that is being used as well as produced in the day to day operations of the organization.
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