Computing in the Cloud

Cloud computing has become a very hot term in the last few years, but a clear description of what it is, what it can do, and why companies might use it is often difficult to find. The concept and a number of predecessor technologies have been around for decades. Gartner, Forrester, and major computer companies offer their own definitions of the term. In essence it is a means of renting computers, storage, and network capacity on an hourly basis from some company that already has these resources in their own data center and can make them available to customers via the Internet.