What is a cloud solution? and what is not?

We all think we know what the cloud is—or, to be precise, what cloud computing is. Consumers, IT personnel, managers, and lawyers all have their own interpretations. Like many buzzwords (big data, artificial intelligence), everybody talks about cloud computing, most of us without pausing to consider whether each of us agrees on its definition. This tends not to be an issue. However, it can become problematic when the term is used in regulations, laws, or organisational policies concerning privacy and data protection. So, what really is the cloud? 

Let's take an enormous step back to the history of computers. In the beginning, were mainframes, and the mainframes were with terminals. Mainframes did all the processing until personal computers came along, incorporating processing, memory, and storage. To share some of those resources, we made computer networks with servers and clients. Need more server power? Let's create server clusters. There were periodic attempts to revert most of the processing back to servers, and the "thin client" concept fooled some enterprises. With the popularity of web applications and backend applications providing more efficient resource utilisation, software as a service (SaaS) became the dominant paradigm. Together with new software and hardware architectures, SaaS encouraged a transition to cloud computing. We'd arrived. Right? Everyone was happy. Well, not really; what about processing some data near the client? This led to edge and fog computing. And so it goes: the popularity of 5G may soon make edge computing less relevant. The history of computers has been a sort of loop between several centralised and distributed computing concepts. 

Cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction [1].

Cloud computing is related to centralised computing. Are they the same? The best definition might be from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) [1]: "Cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction." According to this definition, cloud computing has five essential characteristics:

• On-demand self-service: computing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, can be provisioned automatically without requiring human interaction.
•  Broad network access: capabilities are available over the network.
• Resource pooling: resources can serve multiple consumers in a multi-tenant model. Physical and virtual resources are dynamically assigned based on consumer demands. Customers generally have no control over, or even knowledge of, the exact location of the provided resources. However, it might be possible to specify a location, e.g., country, state, or data centre.
• Rapid elasticity. Capabilities can be elastically provisioned and released, sometimes automatically, to scale rapidly outward and inward commensurate with demand.
• Measured service. Resources usage can be monitored, controlled, and reported, providing transparency for both providers and consumers of cloud-based services.

There is also a broad understanding of cloud computing service models such as SaaS, Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). In reality, though, some commercial companies claim to provide cloud services such as SaaS without fulfilling any of the five essential characteristics identified by the NIST. A cloud service cannot cover rapid elasticity and even on-demand self-service and resource pooling without the proper use of modern architecture like microservices. 

Not every server-side or web application is a cloud solution. 
Please stop branding, selling or buying it as a cloud solution!        

Be critical and cautious about using cloud computing as a buzzword in contracts and product specifications. It might have consequences! Knowing the essential characteristics of cloud computing gives us the right tools to assess whether a given service or platform truly deserves the designation. Not every server-side or web application is a cloud solution! So stop branding, selling or buying it as one!

References

1. Ragland, Leigh, et al. “Red Cloud Rising: Cloud Computing In China *.” International Journal of Computer Research, vol. 21, no. 4, Nova Science Publishers, Inc., Oct. 2014, p. 281.