1. Cloud Computing: Useful tool, or
water vapor?
August 4, 2010
National Association of Bar Executives
Michelle Murrain
Director of Engineering, OpenIssue, LLC
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5. Definitions
â˘âCloudâ computing is the situation
where resources (storage,
processing, display) are contained
offsite and accessed through the
internet
â˘âCloudâ computing is a buzzword
â˘âCloudâ computing could be called
just as easily âInternetâ computing
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6. How did we get here?
â˘Cloud computing depends on the
following components:
⢠Cheap hardware
⢠Open Source operating systems and services
(web servers, etc.)
⢠Open Standards allowing easy data flow
⢠In earlier days, we had the mainframe - but
it was a silo
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7. Examples
â˘There are many different cloud
companies - and many large companies
have cloud computing efforts
â˘Cloud computing is the hallmark of
Web 2.0
â˘Both public and enterprise examples
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8. Examples, cont.
â˘There are 3 basic âcloudâ flavors:
⢠Cloud Services
⢠Cloud Servers
⢠Cloud Software
â˘Some Cloud providers (especially
Google) provide a mix
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10. Google
â˘Google pretty much only exists in the
cloud
â˘Google Apps (Services and Software):
â˘Cloud Mail, Calendaring,
Collaboration Tools, Productivity
tools
â˘Versions for public as well as
enterprise
â˘Very popular among organizations
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15. Amazon
â˘Different kind of cloud provider
â˘Provides server resources
â˘Provides Unix and Windows servers
â˘You install and configure for your
own needs
â˘Provides easy scalability
â˘Inexpensive storage
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18. Salesforce.com
â˘Salesforce.com is Software as a
Service
â˘Originally a Salesforce Automation
and Customer Service tool - has now
become much more broad
â˘Different versions with different
capabilities
â˘Increasingly popular in nonprofits
â˘Development platform for web-
enabled databases
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21. Advantages of âThe Cloudâ
â˘Servers and Services:
⢠No hardware to service
⢠No hardware to buy
⢠No hardware to break
⢠Lower electricity bills
⢠No need for WAN
⢠Ease of integration with other cloud tools
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22. Advantages of âThe Cloudâ
â˘Software
⢠No custom software to maintain
⢠For Commercial Software: Costs are
comparable (or lower), but without hardware
and hardware maintenance costs
⢠Integration with other cloud tools is easier
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23. Disadvantages of âThe Cloudâ
â˘Internet access required (cut off
from mission-critical
data/functionality if there is no
internet access)
â˘Doesnât integrate with on-premise
tools well
â˘Security compliance must be
investigated
â˘Data is not in-house
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24. Other issues
â˘Security of data kept in the cloud can
be both less secure, and more secure
than data kept on-premises.
â˘Weigh software license fees with
monthly Software-as-a-Service fees
â˘Weigh hardware maintenance costs
against monthly server CPU/Storage
costs
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25. Whatâs next?
â˘Implementing Cloud servers, services,
or software is very much like
implementing any technology change
in your organization:
⢠What are the points of pain?
⢠What are the needs of users?
⢠What is the budget?
⢠Will the proposed solution get the job done?
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26. Overall Comments
â˘âThe Cloudâ is just water vapor -
donât buy the hype - donât just move
to the cloud because itâs the next big
thing.
â˘That said, Cloud servers, services,
and/or software might be a good
solution to particular points of pain.
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27. Overall Comments
â˘If you are looking for a specific
technology change (like a new
CRM/Donor database, or a new email
service, new data storage needs)
donât forget to look carefully at the
Cloud options
â˘At this point, there are cloud options
for every mission-critical technology
function that an organization needs.
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