Page 39 - GS190701

Education

Compute Engine or
Amazon Web Servic-
es. When your data is in the cloud, instead of being
Also take into con- stored on your own device, it is stored on offsite
sideration the cost of servers that can be accessed easily through web
buying servers for
each location. It can browsers. What are the pros and cons?
quickly reach millions
of dollars, depending
on the infrastructure
the business wants to One con of cloud computing is that for some companies, replacing physical servers
achieve. Plus, if a com- with virtual ones can cause negative performance changes because of the lack of
pany is sever based in understanding of how cloud computing actually works.
multiple data centers,
are you really "hot It all depends on the type of data and application. For example, running a report of 1
swap" capable? More million records stored on a physical server can take 10 to 15 minutes. Running the report
than likely not. (A hot via a 100 percent cloud-based system can be done in 2 to 3 seconds. The key, here, is that
swap, as defined by it be fully cloud based.
technology content
provider TechTarget, It's difficult to have partial hosting that involves physical servers and cloud-based servers.
is the replacement of a To fully appreciate the cloud-based performance pickup, it is strongly recommended
hard drive, CD-ROM that your whole system be cloud based. It is hard to piecemeal this.
drive, power supply
or other device with I am seeing more companies than ever begin to migrate over to the cloud, and I don't
a similar device while see it slowing down anytime soon. Those who choose to not adapt may not survive due
the computer system to an inability to compete at as high a level as competitors who do embrace the cloud.
using it remains in op- As Charles Darwin said, "It is not the strongest or most intelligent who will survive but
eration. The replace- those who can best manage change."
ment can be because
of a device failure or,
for storage devices, to Nicholas Cucci is the co-founder/COO of Fluid Pay LLC and former director of marketing for NMI. Cucci is
substitute other data.) also a graduate of Benedictine University and a member of the Advisory Board and Anti-Fraud Technology
Committee for the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. Fluid Pay is a 100 percent cloud-based Level 1
• Multiple products: PCI payment gateway processing transactions anywhere in the world. Contact Nick at nick@fluidpay.com.
In addition to every-
thing else offered by
cloud services, further
benefits to becoming
cloud based include
products like static
storage, automated
backups and manage-
ment services.

• Scaling: Resource
scaling is a major
advantage to using
cloud-based systems.
You no longer have
to worry about the
size of physical serv-
ers and their perfor-
mance limitations;
you can now simply
scale your virtual ma-
chines to provide the
desired performance
and scale systems on
the fly.
39