Is Cloud Computing an OEM Solution?

2011/05/02Japan、Africa、Asia、Europe、Middle East、North America、Oceania、Latin America

Welcome back to Under the Hood: Tips, Trends and Resources for OEMS. Good Monday Morning! Today looks like it will be a beautiful day; bright, sunny and 100% chance of CLOUDS! 100% chance of CLOUDS because the "Cloud" is here!

We've all seen the commercials: the couple stranded in the airport who utter "to the Cloud" for downloaded movies to get them through their layover; the frustrated mother whose family looks like their are desperately in need of regular doses of Ritalin if she is ever going to get a family photo! Even if you are not a regular TV viewer, or you use your DVR as a defense against commercials, you have no doubt been bombarded by emails about the "Cloud".

If you are like the UnØMktr, and you always put 6 to 9 months between yourself and new technology (just to avoid the newbie bugs), you may not have been paying attention yet or even understand what Cloud Computing is. With any new technology, there are those who immediately jump on the band wagon just to have "IT"; what ever the "it" is; frequently without any understanding of if the "it" is what they need or if it is just a passing fad. But is now apparent, that the "Cloud" deserves a good look, at very least.

So what is the "Cloud". The magic Wiki defines it as: "Cloud computing involves pooling the processing power of multiple remote computers in "the cloud" to achieve a task, such as data warehousing of hundreds of terabytes, managing and synchronizing multiple documents online, or computationally intensive work. These tasks would normally be difficult, time consuming, or expensive for a single computer to accomplish. The result of this processing is then served using the Internet to one or more clients working on their local computer. In essence, the heavy lifting of a task is outsourced to an external entity with more resources and expertise. The services - such as data storage and processing - and software are provided by the company hosting the remote computers. The clients are only responsible for having a simple computer with a connection to the Internet in order to make requests to and receive data from the cloud. Computation and storage is divided among the remote computers in order to handle large volumes of both, thus the client need not purchase expensive hardware to handle the task."

Even better....a picture is worth 1,000 words...

(Image Author: Sam Johnston; Source Wikipedia.org)

The next step beyond the basic understanding of 'what' Cloud Computing is, naturally, the old stand by: Pros and Cons.

Reduced Cost & Capital Expenditure (example: limit internal hardware purchases)
Reduced IT Staffing
Increased Flexibility with Scalability
Ease of Start Up Access to Applications and Infrastructure
Increased Time Efficiency (because applications do not have to be installed, just accessed through the Cloud)
Logistics Flexibility (change bandwidth, users, applications with ease)

CONs of Cloud Computing

Understanding the Full Scope of your SLA Agreement with your Service Provide (hidden costs and overage fees can present a problem)
Performance (is your provider capable of providing the performance you need?)
Security Issues (while ideal in concept, Cloud Computing presents many security issues)
Finding a Quality Service Provider – everybody says they are an ‘expert’; searching & finding a provider that is what they promise is time consuming.
Controlling ‘ownership’ of data stored on remote locations
Server Downtime – how will you be compensated if your provider’s service goes down and affects your business?
Data Protection – what are your rights to protect your data if your service provider’s systems are accessed by local, state or government authorities?

The UnØMktr could go one - but this is definitely a multi-posting topic. But one that also invites questions. So we would like to know: Have you considered Cloud Computing? If you are already there, what advantages or disadvantages have you had?

As always, I leave you with this gem:

(source: webserver.computeredge.com)

Contec is a Systems Integrator focused on delivering cost effective and high reliability computing and displays solutions for OEMS in the Medical, Industrial, and Military, Aerospace & Government industries who require a customized, long life solution. Contec offers an expansive product line including: embedded computers & customized computing solutions; control, DAQ & monitoring systems, advanced touchscreen displays (medical, industrial & commercial grade); All-in-One (AIO) panel PCs; and a wide variety of handheld tablets and laptops. But Contec offers more than just products. For over 20 years we have developed long-term partnerships with our customers. In our total solutions approach we provide Solution Engineering, Project Management, Global Logistics & Supply Chain, Lean Manufacturing, Product Life Cycle Management (PLM), and Post Production Support services.

See you next time,

UnØMktr