ANTenna Blog -- Services

Cloud computing is everywhere these days, with talk of it saving businesses money and streamlining their equipment. And now one company explains how the recession is feeding cloud computing.

Cloud computing emerged in 2008 as a viable alternative to software and hardware. And it's expected to continue to be incorporated into more businesses in 2009 as they look for ways to save money. That's because cloud computing allows you to reduce the costs of equipment, software licensing, energy, and IT.

Southern California-based 3Tera, Inc. is a vendor of cloud computing technology and utility computing services, and it's come up with seven reasons the down economy is feeding cloud computing:

1. Lower up-front costs. Instead of buying hardware and software and paying consultants to set up and run applications, businesses can pay a cloud-based provider "by the drink."
2. Faster time to market. Cloud computing allows the ability to deploy and scale your app in hours without changing code, ultimately enabling companies to see profits sooner.
3. Reduced financial risk. Instead of taking on the entire financial risk up-front, with uncertain return, a company's financial risk is taken monthly and matched to return.
   
4. Lower capital expenses. The cloud computing model leverages commodity hardware and eliminates unnecessary overprovisioning, allowing a utility pricing model.
   
5. Lower operating expenses. Administrators are freed from tedious manual provisioning and management of servers, so application operations are streamlined.
   
6. Decreased downtime and costly delays. Cloud computing provides the ability to add capabilities quickly without investing in new hardware or having uncertainty of data loss and downtime.
   
7. Additional services. Services include more security, redundancy, bandwidth, and dedicated expert staff than most small and midsize businesses can afford on their own.
   

And who makes all this cloud computing happen? The ManeyDigital blog lists its 2008 cloud computing all-stars:

• Jeff Barr of Amazon.
• Michael Sheehan of GoGrid.
• Reuven Choen of Enomaly.
• Sam Charrington of Appistry.
• Chris Gladwin of Cleversafe.

Click here to see ManeyDigital's reasons behind his choices. And check out the IT Management and Cloud Blog for its first Cloudies Awards, which, among all the "Cloud Heroes" and "Best Cloud Vendors" includes a nod to the "Worst Cloud CTO."

More From bMighty:

• Cloud Computing For Your Business



• What To Expect From Cloud Computing In 2009