Converged Infrastructure:A Brief History
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Email has been around for what seems like forever. However, when people use email, they usually do not think about the fact that they are participating in cloud computing in one of its simplest forms. Email exhibits all the characteristics. For example, it is not saved on the users computer, but on the servers of Yahoo or Google or so forth. However, it can be immediately accessed by the user from their computer or smart phone or tablet, etc. As we can see cloud computing has been around for a long time. However, recently there has been an explosion in talk of cloud computing and more complicated cloud computing programs. One such example is the icloud from Apple where an Apple user can save their information and programs on the icloud instead of their computer.
The reason for this phenomenon known as the cloud is the many devices, such as a laptop, smart phone, and tablet, a person uses on any given day. However, these devices do not share the information generated on one device with another. This can be frustrating if a person has something important they need on their computer, but forgot it at home and are using their tablet. The cloud negates this by saving all this information on a secure server somewhere and streaming it back to which ever device the person is using at that moment.
These same people who use the cloud in their personal lives also work in companies across the country and the world. They use their laptops, ipads, smart phones, etc. for work as well. However, many have become frustrated with the fact that they cannot access all those fun IS programs like ERP and EIS and such from their ipads, and smart phones like they can access their personal information from the cloud. This demand from employees has pushed companies into creating cloud computing capabilities (Greengard, 2011). Recently, companies have begun to be involved in cloud computing.
Now, their are many companies that offer business the ability to create a public cloud just like a regular consumer can. The public cloud is relatively cheap and some businesses have done so. However, the public cloud, since it is public, is not especially secure, it is subject to overloading, and it cannot be tailored very easily. Thus many companies have opted out of the public cloud. However, these companies are still incredibly interested in having cloud computing capabilities. This is where converged infrastructure comes into play.
Converged infrastructure was created primarily as an alternative to the public cloud. Converged infrastructure applies the benefits of the public cloud such as accessing multiple programs across a multitude of devices while providing the security and flexibility that businesses require. However, it is important to not that converged infrastructure is not cloud computing in and of itself. Additional steps are required to make converged infrastructure cloud computing capable. However, converged infrastructure is the backbone of cloud computing or private cloud computing as this combination of cloud computing is called in business.
The reason for this phenomenon known as the cloud is the many devices, such as a laptop, smart phone, and tablet, a person uses on any given day. However, these devices do not share the information generated on one device with another. This can be frustrating if a person has something important they need on their computer, but forgot it at home and are using their tablet. The cloud negates this by saving all this information on a secure server somewhere and streaming it back to which ever device the person is using at that moment.
These same people who use the cloud in their personal lives also work in companies across the country and the world. They use their laptops, ipads, smart phones, etc. for work as well. However, many have become frustrated with the fact that they cannot access all those fun IS programs like ERP and EIS and such from their ipads, and smart phones like they can access their personal information from the cloud. This demand from employees has pushed companies into creating cloud computing capabilities (Greengard, 2011). Recently, companies have begun to be involved in cloud computing.
Now, their are many companies that offer business the ability to create a public cloud just like a regular consumer can. The public cloud is relatively cheap and some businesses have done so. However, the public cloud, since it is public, is not especially secure, it is subject to overloading, and it cannot be tailored very easily. Thus many companies have opted out of the public cloud. However, these companies are still incredibly interested in having cloud computing capabilities. This is where converged infrastructure comes into play.
Converged infrastructure was created primarily as an alternative to the public cloud. Converged infrastructure applies the benefits of the public cloud such as accessing multiple programs across a multitude of devices while providing the security and flexibility that businesses require. However, it is important to not that converged infrastructure is not cloud computing in and of itself. Additional steps are required to make converged infrastructure cloud computing capable. However, converged infrastructure is the backbone of cloud computing or private cloud computing as this combination of cloud computing is called in business.