The INTERNET & the

CLOUD
Janine Scott 07/01/2015

Images of the Internet

Images of the Internet

Images of the Internet

 All very pretty and they do have their

uses but not very understandable or
easy to explain.
Definition of the internet
Wikipedia):

(according to

TheInternetis a global system of interconnectedcomputer

networksthat use the standardInternet protocol suite(TCP/IP) to
serve billions of users worldwide. It is anetwork of networksthat
consists of millions of private, public, academic, business, and
government networks, of local to global scope, that are linked by
a broad array of electronic, wireless and optical networking
technologies. The Internet carries an extensive range of
information resources and services, such as the interlinkedhypertextdocuments of theWorld Wide Web(WWW) and
theinfrastructureto support email.

The Internet
Modems
Routers
Broadband DSL, Co-axial,
Optic

Firewalls
IP addresses static &
dynamic
TCP/IP
VOIP
VPN

Fibre

HTTP
HTTPS
FTP
DHCP
SMTP
POP3
DNS

How to visualise the

internet
The Internet is a worldwide network
(Internet stands for Interconnection of
Computer Networks) which connects
other smaller computer networks to
each other
Consider a network that is much more
familiar to us such as a railway network

A metro network

British Rail
Network
Maps like these are
much more
understandable
because we are
familiar with the
concept. Tracks
linking cities, towns,
ports and industrial
areas form a network
There are many
similarities between a
rail network and the

Assumptions
People tend to think of
the Internet and the
World Wide Web as the
same thing they are
not! The internet was
born way back in the
1960s as a military
project, the WWW wasnt
even thought about until
1980 ish and only came
into being in 1992.
Like having a railway
network but only using it
for passengers 30 years
after its built

Robert Cailliau, Jean-Franois

Abramatic and Tim Berners-Lee
at the 10th anniversary of the
WWW Consortium.

But we are thinking about

the Internet...
The internet is a collection of computers & in a
very real way when you connect to the internet,
you (or at least your computer) become a part of
it if the pictures at the start of the presentation
were fine enough wed be a dot at the end of line
even if you are not on the WWW!
How do you connect to and use it? Not quite how
most people imagine.
Going back to the rail network analogy it wouldnt
occur to you to have a railway track coming to the
house!

Connecting to the internet

By the same token we dont have an
internet connection zooming through
our house!
But we do expect to have a way to
catch a train.... We go to the station,
buy a ticket, get on a train, travel the
rails and get off at the right place,
hopefully.
That makes sense but we miss out some
important points because we take them

Connecting to the internet

train
1. To get out of the house we have to be mobile
ourselves
2. There must be a way out unlocked doors etc
3. There must be paths and open gates to the
road
4. There has to be a route and perhaps transport
to the station
5. You have to have the money for a ticket
6. You have to know where you are going
7. And if you want to get back ... Youve got to
know where youve come from!
And we havent even got to the station yet!

Connecting to the internet

To get out of the house we have
to be mobile ourselves i.e. We
have to be capable, mentally &
physically, of leaving the house
getting onto the network
Similarly for a computer to
connect to the internet it must
be capable of connecting to the
internet

Connecting to the Internet

The computer itself must be capable of connecting to the
internet in the same way that you must be mentally and
physically capable of catching a train.
A computer requires both hardware - e.g. an 'internet card
And software, i.e. a programme to tell it what to do. All modern
laptops and most PC's are equipped with both the necessary
hardware and software to connect to the internet
And a way of actually connecting either physically via a wire or
wirelessly - like having access to the door!

Belkin Fast Ethernet

Network RJ45 LAN PCI
Card Wired Internet
Adapter 100Mbps
approx 5

Connecting to the Internet

Ethernet cables they connect

computers together - colours
dont matter - connection is like a
fatter telephone connection. This
is what the helpline asks you to
use when you have problems with
your internet connection

Connecting to the Internet

Or a wireless connection

Built in
cards

Or widgets -you can

add if you havent got
an internal wireless
card - but you still
need a network card
to be able to link to
the internet

Connecting to the Internet

Connecting to the Internet

A Modem is needed..... daaaah

Stands for module demodulate
Modern modems

Connecting to the Internet

A Not so modern
modem

but they all do the same thing,

they are basically translators, they
translate computer speak which
is digital i.e. Numbers 0 & 1 into
phone line speak which is
analogue in this case frequency
dependent (?) (the moment you
use a telephone line you need a
modem)

Imagine not being able to

travel on the train unless you
can communicate in the
language of the rail operator
- a modem is your translator

Connecting to the Internet

A Router : - Routers are brilliant!
They are the unsung heroes that
guard our homes.
And if this looks like
your modem its
because nowadays
modems and routers
and our wireless
systems are all built
together in
combined units and
you dont even know
youve got them

Connecting to the Internet

So what does a router do?
Routers route! i.e. They direct
the traffic and send it to the right
place. If you have several
different devises connected to the
internet it is the router that sends
the right information to the right
devise. e.g. If you use 2
computers maybe one is
downloading e-mail, the other
showing football it is the router
that makes sure the signals dont

Connecting to the Internet

Routers
They also deal with all the
wireless connections
from laptops, phones etc
and sort them out too.
Both outgoing and
incoming so e.g. A query
sent out from a phone
doesnt have the answer
sent back to the laptop!
Look at the picture again -

The aerials allow the

wireless communications,
the Ethernet ports (a port
is just another name for a
connection socket) allow
you to also connect
Ethernet cables you can

Connecting to the Internet

But where does the guarding come in?
Your router is the gateway that anything from the
internet has to get through before it can reach your
computers or other devises its like having your
front door locked and nothing can get in or out
without the key or password.
If youve asked for something, is it allowed to get
through perhaps youve typed a web pages
address in the address bar or youve gone to get
it yourself e.g. Downloading a video from YouTube.
But if you havent asked for something it is blocked.

Connecting to the Internet

Even if youve only got one computer
and dont need any traffic directing you
should still use a router the original
set ups with just a modem allowed
anything lurking on the internet to just
waltz right in once you connected to the
net
If you have a router between
your computer and the world
you have a big hefty bouncer
checking the credentials of
everything coming in and
making sure it has been sent
for in other words a firewall
- its not the same as a virus
checker thats on guard in your
computer itself for stuff that you
have let through the router

Connecting to the Internet

And finally the router
assigns an identifier to
everything it connects
to - the IP address
(internet protocol
address). To the outside
world the router takes
on the IP address that
the modem would have
had and effectively
hides everything else
another level of security
from the big bad world

This lot should start to

make sense and make
you think because
there isnt a router

Connecting to the Internet

But you havent got out of the door yet more is
needed before connecting to anything
whether it is the internet or a rail network!
So how to get further...
You need a road or some other way to get to a station
where you can connect with the rail network!
Similarly you need a telephone line or wireless connection
to get to your ISP who connects you with the internet

ISP stands for Internet Service

Provider these are companies who
connect you to the Internet the
Internet is free but the ISPs and
phone lines arent - Cytanet, Holitech
and Primetel are all ISPs in Paphos

Connecting to the Internet

So you are now stood in the station does that
mean you are going anywhere?
So far weve covered the requirements for us to
link to the internet
a computer with the correct Hardware and Software
a router to send the signals to the right place
a modem to translate the signals
the cables or wireless signals to connect everything
together
and power connections to make them run

Connecting to the Internet

Then we need an ISP to actually link
us to the internet.
Whew it seems a lot to get us to the
station! And this is a simplified version
now we need to wait for a train !? But do
we get on???

What is the Internet?

Now were going to go back a step
and understand what it is we are
actually connecting to....!
Wikipedia definition was that its an
interconnection of computer networks
What is a network we are surrounded by
networks - phone networks, social networks,
power supply networks the connection is
connection! Especially when it is with
multiple things in a complex way

What is the Internet?

There are other words that relate to
connected computers
Home network
Public network
WAN wide area network this is linked
to VPNs
LAN local area network
Intranet
Extranet

What is the Internet?

The Internet is similar to all these other
networks but the main differences are: size , the Internet is seriously huge
Accessibility - it is open access to anything
with an IP address and is not subject to any
private ownership or rules
But is it still a connection of computers so
where are the computers

IP Addresses
can be checked

What is the Internet?

At the lowest level the
computers are here!
At the top level there
enormously powerful
computers that store,
transmit and protect
huge amounts of
information these are
called servers

What is the Internet?

Servers powerful computers
connected to a network that respond
to requests hence the name
server!
Servers can be multifunctional but most
are dedicated to a specific use Web
servers host web pages, e-mail servers
host e-mail services, there are file
servers, database servers, proxy servers
and DNSs -DNS Domain Name System
Servers

What is the Internet?

So servers are huge computers
containing masses of information, they
are scattered around the world but
linked together by communication
networks and we are allowed to access
the information for free but how?
First we need something that can travel to
the servers and get to the information

What is the Internet?

Unlike getting on a train we cant
physically get down a cable or transmit
through the ether but we know a
program who can!
I imaging the programs that travel the
internet are like little dogs fetching things
for you all waggy tail and lots of energy
you type in the address of something you
want and woof off it goes and back it comes
again then its ready for the next one

What is the Internet?

These little dogs have a name - they are the
programs called Browsers or Web Browsers
We all use and are familiar with Browsers..

Internet Explorer
Google Chrome
Firefox
Opera
Safari
The primary purpose of a web browser is to bring information
resources to the user ("retrieval" or "fetching"), allowing them
to view the information ("display", "rendering"), and then
access other information ("navigation", "following links").

What is the Internet?

Browsers are mainly used for retrieving
pages of the WWW
The World Wide Web consists of billions of
pages of text, pictures, video files etc. stored
in huge computers that are all connected to
the Internet. The computers are called Web
Servers and are the equivalent of enormous
filing cabinets holding equally enormous
collections of files just waiting for a Browser
to come along and ask for something.

What is the Internet?

Every site and page in the web is given an
'ID' consisting of the (IP) address at which
it is stored, this give the Browser an idea
of where to start looking for it.
The address (URL) might look something
like this
http://www.somewhereontheweb.com
Each part of the address has a meaning
which is vital to the browser trying to
locating the right information.

What is the Internet

http://www.somewhereontheweb.com
http:// - this is the' language or protocol' that the
computers and browsers use to talk to each other, other
'protocols' commonly used are, https:// a high security
encrypted protocol and ftp:// for transferring files
www. - this tell the browser that the site or page is to be
found in a 'world wide web' server (as opposed to an email server for instance)
somewhereontheweb.com - this is the final part of the URL
and is called the domain name.

What is the Internet?

Computers work with numbers, (so the URL is, in reality, a series of
numbers which might look like this http://209.116.69.66) but human
beings work better with words - the domain names are created
entirely to make it easier for humans to remember URL's - even
though it makes it harder work for the computers - nice of them!
Translating the human names into computer names is what the
DNS do.

What is the Internet?

The final part of the domain name e.g. .com, .org,
or .net etc. is called the 'top level domain name'
and can be a useful indicator of the type of
website you are linked to; . com domains are
allocated to commercial sites, .org is allocated to
non-profit organizations, .net to networks etc.
these particular names are available to any user
though so it can't be guaranteed that, for
example, a .org website is a charity, although
most will be.
A country locator may also be present e.g. uk or cy

What is the Internet?

After the domain name is a / or forward
slash, and the rest of the address may
consist of the locator for further pages in the
site e.g. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/scienceenvironment-18458544

What is the Internet?

Every time a browser heads
out bravely into the wilds of
the internet for you, to try and
find a web page, it initially
doesn't have a clear idea of
where to go -it simply
interrogates every server it
passes to check if it is
'hosting' the page it is looking
for, if the page isn't there it
gets directed on its way.

What is the Internet?

This takes time and increases the
traffic through already stretched
servers - a way to save time and
minimize unnecessary load on
servers is for the addresses of sites
you have visited before to be stored
on your computer, or in the 'history'
that is kept by your browser in case
you decide to go back to the same
site again.

What is the Internet?

The stored information is called
a 'Cookie' and consists of a tiny
file which tells the browser the
location of the server that holds
the website or page you visited
- so it doesn't have to scour the
internet for it again; this helps
to reduce on-line traffic and
allows a much faster
connection. A Cookie can also
hold other details e.g. what
language you speak and they
are used for extra security by
On Line Banking sites etc!

What is the Internet?

But Cookies can also take up space
on your computer and might send
information that you would rather not
share with a particular site. It is
therefore good practice to clear your
'cookies' from time to time though it
is better not to do it if you can't
remember all your passwords to
regularly visited sites

What is the Internet?

So cookies can save the browser
time

by remembering where an actual

address is but what if you dont
know the address in the first place?
Browser aint going no place unless
you tell it where to go ....

What is the Internet?

Need to find the address of a website
about wild flowers in Cyprus, a recipe
for hummus, who won the World Cup
in 1984 ?
You use a Search Engine.
Search Engines are programs that
search documents for specific
keywords and returns a list of
documents which contain them
We all use Search Engines

What is the Internet?

Best known are
Google
Bing
Yahoo
There are other specialist search engines though :-

Here are some Music ones

12.MixTurtle.com Basic music search engine by artist and /
or song title.
13.SongBoxx.com Search over 7,000,000 tracks from the
one location.
14.Music-Map.com Type in your favourite artist and then a
map of similar artists will be returned (very cool).
15.AudioGalaxy.com Search for and save your playlists in
the cloud from this very slick site.

What is the Internet

Typically, Web search engines work by
sending out aspiderto fetch as many
documents as possible. Another program,
called anindexer,then reads these
documents and creates anindexbased on
the words contained in each document.
Different Search Engines work in different
ways just using one may miss a site that
is useful to you

What is a VPN?
VPN stands for Virtual Private Network
It is a technology that creates a secure
network connection over a public network
such as the Internet (or a private network owned
by a service provider)

Large corporations, universities and

government agencies use VPN technology
to enable remote users to securely
connect to a private network
To link to the private network a user uses a
unique ID & a password this creates a
PIN... And the PIN changes every 30 secs

THE CLOUD
Let's say you're an executive at a large
corporation. Your particular responsibilities include
making sure that all of your employees have the
right hardware and software they need to do their
jobs. Buyingcomputersfor everyone isn't enough
-- you also have to purchase software orsoftware
licensesto give employees the tools they require.
Whenever you have a new hire, you have to buy
more software or make sure your current software
license allows another user. It's so stressful that
you find it difficult to go tosleepon your huge pile
of money every night.

Cloud Computing
Instead of installing a suite of software for
each computer, you'd only have to load one
application. The allow workers to log into a
Web-based service which hosts all the
programs the user would need for his or her
job. Remote machines owned by another
company would run everything frome-mailto
word processing to complex data analysis
programs. It's calledcloud computing, and
is changing the entire computer industry.

 In a cloud computing system, there's a significant workload

shift. Local computers no longer have to do all the heavy lifting
when it comes to running applications. The network of
computers that make up the cloud handles them instead.
Hardware and software demands on the user's side decrease.
The only thing the user's computer needs to be able to run is
the cloud computing system'sinterface software, which can
be as simple as a Web browser, and the cloud's network takes
care of the rest.
There's a good chance you've already used some form of cloud
computing. If you have an e-mail account with a Web-based email service like Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail or Gmail, then you've had
some experience with cloud computing. Instead of running an email program on your computer, you log in to aWebe-mail
account remotely. The software and storage for your account
doesn't exist on your computer -- it's on the service's computer
cloud.

 Cloud Computing Architecture

When talking about a cloud computing system, it's helpful to divide it into two sections: thefront endand theback
end. They connect to each other through anetwork, usually theInternet. The front end is the side the computer
user, or client, sees. The back end is the "cloud" section of the system.
The front end includes the client'scomputer(or computer network) and the application required to access the cloud
computing system. Not all cloud computing systems have the same user interface. Services like Web-basede-mail
programs leverage existing Web browsers like Internet Explorer orFirefox. Other systems have unique applications
that provide network access to clients.
On the back end of the system are the various computers, servers and data storage systems that create the "cloud"
of computing services. In theory, a cloud computing system could include practically any computer program you can
imagine, from data processing to video games. Usually, each application will have its own dedicatedserver.
A central server administers the system, monitoring traffic and client demands to ensure everything runs smoothly. It
follows a set of rules calledprotocolsand uses a special kind of software calledmiddleware. Middleware allows
networked computers to communicate with each other. Most of the time, servers don't run at full capacity. That
means there's unused processing power going to waste. It's possible to fool a physical server into thinking it's
actually multiple servers, each running with its own independent operating system. The technique is called server
virtualization. By maximizing the output of individual servers, server virtualization reduces the need for more
physical machines.
If a cloud computing company has a lot of clients, there's likely to be a high demand for a lot of storage space. Some
companies require hundreds of digital storage devices. Cloud computing systems need at least twice the number of
storage devices it requires to keep all its clients' information stored. That's because these devices, like all computers,
occasionally break down. A cloud computing system must make a copy of all its clients' information and store it on
other devices. The copies enable the central server to access backup machines to retrieve data that otherwise would
be unreachable. Making copies of data as a backup is calledredundancy.
What are some of the applications of cloud computing? Keep reading to find out.

 Cloud Computing Applications

The applications of cloud computing are practically limitless. With the right middleware, a cloud computing system could
execute all the programs a normalcomputercould run. Potentially, everything from generic word processing software to
customized computer programs designed for a specific company could work on a cloud computing system.
Why would anyone want to rely on another computer system to run programs and store data? Here are just a few reasons:
Clients would be able to access their applications and data from anywhere at any time. They could access the cloud
computing system using any computer linked to theInternet. Data wouldn't be confined to a hard drive on one user's
computer or even a corporation's internal network.
It could bring hardware costs down. Cloud computing systems would reduce the need for advanced hardware on the client
side. You wouldn't need to buy thefastest computerwith the mostmemory, because the cloud system would take care of
those needs for you. Instead, you could buy an inexpensive computer terminal. The terminal could include amonitor, input
devices like akeyboardandmouseand just enough processing power to run the middleware necessary to connect to the
cloud system. You wouldn't need a large hard drive because you'd store all your information on a remote computer.
Corporations that rely on computers have to make sure they have the right software in place to achieve goals. Cloud
computing systems give these organizations company-wide access to computer applications. The companies don't have to
buy a set of software or software licenses for every employee. Instead, the company could pay a metered fee to a cloud
computing company.
Servers and digital storage devices take up space. Some companies rent physical space to store servers and databases
because they don't have it available on site. Cloud computing gives these companies the option of storing data on someone
else's hardware, removing the need for physical space on the front end.
Corporations might save money on IT support. Streamlined hardware would, in theory, have fewer problems than a network
ofheterogeneousmachines andoperating systems.
If the cloud computing system's back end is a grid computing system, then the client could take advantage of the entire
network's processing power. Often, scientists and researchers work with calculations so complex that it would take years for
individual computers to complete them. On a grid computing system, the client could send the calculation to the cloud for
processing. The cloud system would tap into the processing power of all available computers on the back end, significantly
speeding up the calculation.

 Cloud Computing Concerns

Perhaps the biggest concerns about cloud computing aresecurityandprivacy. The idea of handing over
important data to another company worries some people. Corporate executives might hesitate to take
advantage of a cloud computing system because they can't keep their company's information underlockand key.
The counterargument to this position is that the companies offering cloud computing services live and die by
their reputations. It benefits these companies to have reliable security measures in place. Otherwise, the service
would lose all its clients. It's in their interest to employ the most advanced techniques to protect their clients'
data.
Privacy is another matter. If a client can log in from any location to access data and applications, it's possible the
client's privacy could be compromised. Cloud computing companies will need to find ways to protect client
privacy. One way is to useauthenticationtechniques such as user names and passwords. Another is to employ
anauthorizationformat -- each user can access only the data and applications relevant to his or her job.
Some questions regarding cloud computing are more philosophical. Does the user or company subscribing to the
cloud computing service own the data? Does the cloud computing system, which provides the actual storage
space, own it? Is it possible for a cloud computing company to deny a client access to that client's data? Several
companies, law firms and universities are debating these and other questions about the nature of cloud
computing.
How will cloud computing affect other industries? There's a growing concern in the IT industry about how cloud
computing could impact the business of computer maintenance and repair. If companies switch to using
streamlined computer systems, they'll have fewer IT needs. Some industry experts believe that the need for IT
jobs will migrate to the back end of the cloud computing system.
Another area of research in the computer science community isautonomic computing. An autonomic
computing system is self-managing, which means the system monitors itself and takes measures to prevent or
repair problems. Currently, autonomic computing is mostly theoretical. But, if autonomic computing becomes a
reality, it could eliminate the need for many IT maintenance jobs.

 This is what the cloud is

Are you ready for a single sentence to surmise the cloud?
"The cloud is a range of IT services that aren't on the premises" Craig Sharp, Director of Abusi, proclaimed.
IT service meaning; encryption, backup and storage, security, servers, applications, and any other IT
service you can think of. All these services are now available through the "cloud".
"The cloud" utilizes the speed of our communications networks to use Internet-based services as a sort-of
virtual hard drive (HDD). Instead of physically accessing data stored on your HDD (such as documents,
applications, or other data) or using your computer's processing power you can use offsite servers to
complete tasks.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (an arm of the US department of commerce) lists
five "essential characteristics"that determine if an IT service is under the cloud umbrella:
"On-demand self-service"-- A user can use more computing resources (storage, processing, bandwidth,
active user accounts) as need be without needing to talk to anyone
"Broad network access"-- The services can be used or accessed by different devices, such as
smartphones, laptops, work stations
"Resource pooling"-- The cloud service provider's computing resources are utilized by multiple
organizations, and the computing resources adapt to suit each organizations computing needs
"Rapid elasticity"-- The scale of the user's available resources can expand or contract according to
need, so that to the user computing resources appear unlimited
"Measured service"-- A user's computing resources use is measured and can be controlled. The usage
data can be reported to both user and provider.
Rather than treating the cloud as a separate entity, understand that "the cloud" is a set of Internet
services that have the aforementioned features.

 This is what the cloud does

In the previous section we looked at the "essential features" that a provider has to
demonstrate to qualify as a cloud service, in this section we'll discuss how those
features are actually utilized. I'm going to gamble that you're already using/have
heard of consumer cloud services, such as Netflix, Dropbox, or Spotify so I'll relate
those to businesses-use cases of the cloud.
On-demand self-service
In my household we have Netflix, me and my housemate like to watch on our
laptops but my girlfriend enjoys watching on her iPad. If suddenly my sister drops
by and demands "I must watch my television shows!" what we can then do is set
up another Netflix user on the same account and my sister can then watch Netlfix
on another device.
What Netflix allows consumers to do is set up more users on the same account,
with all the users having access to the same library, and assigns enough bandwidth
to the account for each user to watch different videos simultaneously. Using a cloud
based service such as Office 365 is the Netflix of office documentation. You can add
users on the fly, choose which documents your staff can access, and have
everyone use the same Office 365 account on separate devices at once.

 Broad network access

I have the Spotify app on said girlfriend's iPad, my laptop, and my Windows phone, this means that I
can use my login details on any of these devices and have access to my playlists, my favorited
artists, and artists Spotify has recommended to me. So I can enjoy a new album on my laptop, log in
to the app on my phone and listen to the same music as I walk to the shops, and then show-off my
musical discovery to my girlfriend on her iPad.
Because I can access the same data on a multitude of devices I have a much greater degree of
mobility. Utilizing a cloud service you can conceivably; write a first-draft of a report on your home PC,
re-read the report on your phone during your commute making annotations and editing notes, then
have the report with the annotations available at your work station. If you choose your data can be
synchronized across multiple devices. At a basic level this avoids embarrassing cock-ups like
forgetting a USB stick or bringing the wrong version of a document. At a complex level it allows
easier collaboration between staff regardless of their locations.
Resource pooling
Both my father and I use Dropbox, we have separate accounts, separate files, and separate
subscription models. Just because I have 10GB of storage and my father has access to 5GB it doesn't
mean that he couldn't upgrade to 10GB. Similarly if my dad suddenly needed a whopping 1TB of
Dropbox storage, Dropbox wouldn't need to limit my usage to accommodate my father's.
Essentially no matter how many people from different enterprises are actively using the service
there should never be a drop in quality for any user. What this means for businesses is that SMEs
(small to medium enterprises) have access to the same level of computing resources as MNCs (multinational corporations). This means your organization is incredibly scalable, we'll talk more about that
under the next heading.

 Rapid elasticity
I couldn't think of a particularly good analogous consumer service, but "rapid elasticity" is a simple
concept to understand.
Say your company is expanding and you need more storage space for your data and more people
need to access that data, so you buy more servers. Your company keeps expanding and you buy
more and more servers, but there's an unexpected financial crash and suddenly you can't afford to
keep on the same number of staff. The reduced staff number means that all those fancy servers
you bought are now just boxes with lights on, not being used by anybody.
As we touched on under the previous heading, one of the strengths of cloud services is their
scalable nature. This means that if your business begins hiring new staff, you don't need to buy
more servers or data racks to accommodate the new users, you can just acquire more computing
resources in the cloud. Similarly if you downscale your operation you can simply tell the cloud
service provider that you don't need the extra storage space, number of user accounts or
bandwidth anymore.
Measured service
Amazon's on-demand video service allows you to "rent" video for a single watch much like visiting
Blockbuster (other video rental shops were available). Assuming I don't want to clutter my house
with DVDs I may only watch once, this means that I only get charged for what I use.
Because cloud services are strictly measured and both you and the cloud service provider have
access to the measurement data, you can judge what level of computing resources you know you
need. Although most cloud services providers won't provide you with an exact you-pay-for-whatyou-use model, most will offer a flexible payment model that fits in with their product.

 Do you now understand the cloud?

The cloud is the future of IT infrastructure, owning
physical servers is expensive and cumbersome and
severely limits a business's agility and growth prospects.
The biggest takeaway from the roundtable was this: the
jargon surrounding cloud technology gets in the way of
selling it.
All of the attendees were confused by the tech industry's
insistence of using confusing terms to describe basic
functions. A great litmus test for determining if a sales
person is full of it or if they can actually help you is query
every word you don't understand, that'll have some sales
people nervously tugging their collar!

 Cloud computing service models, Part 3: Software as a Service

Explore the four primary factors that drive return on investment for Software as a Service
developers and how those factors are leveraged to make SaaS profitable for stakeholders. In this
final article of a three-part series, discover the business model opportunities that SaaS presents
and gain insight into the role of user experience design for SaaS applications.
In this three-part series, straightforward, real-world examples of cloud computing help eliminate
the confusion around the concepts. Each article in this series covers one of the three service
models: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), Software as a Service
(SaaS).
View more content in this series|PDF(196 KB)|3Comments
Software as a Service provides network-based access to commercially available software. Chances
are, you've already used SaaS, even if you didn't know it at the time. Examples of SaaS include
Netflix,Photoshop.com,Acrobat.com, Intuit QuickBooks Online, Gmail, and Google Docs. SaaS
implementations that may be somewhat less obvious include a significant portion of the growing
mobile application marketplace.
Frequently used acronyms
API: Application programming interface
GUI: Graphical user interface
IT: Information technology
LAN: Local area network
ROI: Return on investment

 UI: User interface

SaaS represents the potential for a lower-cost way for businesses to use softwareusing it on demand
rather than buying a license for every computer, especially when you consider that most computers sit
unused almost 70% of the time. Rather than having to buy multiple licenses for a single user, the closer a
business can get to putting a license to use 100% of the time, the more money that business will save.
The cross-concept matrix of the three services provided in Part 1 of this series is provided again inTable 1
for your convenience.
Table 1. Cross-concept matrix of the three classifications of cloud computing
Paradigm shift Characteristics Key terms Advantage Disadvantages and risksWhen not to useInfrastructure
as a Service (IaaS)Infrastructure as an assetUsually platform-independent; infrastructure costs are shared
and thus reduced; service level agreements (SLAs); pay by usage; self-scalingGrid computing, utility
computing, compute instance, hypervisor, cloudbursting, multi-tenant computing, resource poolingAvoid
capital expenditure on hardware and human resources; reduced ROI risk; low barriers to entry; streamlined
and automated scalingBusiness efficiency and productivity largely depends on the vendor's capabilities;
potentially greater long-term cost; centralization requires new/different security measuresWhen capital
budget is greater than operating budgetPlatform as a Service (PaaS)License purchasingConsumes cloud
infrastructure; caters to agile project management methodsSolution stackStreamlined version
deploymentCentralization requires new/different security measuresN/ASaaSSoftware as an asset (business
and consumer)SLAs; UI powered by "thin client" applications; cloud components; communication via APIs;
stateless; loosely coupled; modular; semantic interoperabilityThin client; client-server applicationAvoid
capital expenditure on software and development resources; reduced ROI risk; streamlined and iterative
updatesCentralization of data requires new/different security measuresN/AThe four driving factors of
ROI for SaaS

 SaaS presents new opportunities for

software vendors. In particular, four
driving factors are cited by SaaS
software vendors as leading to
increased ROI:
Increased speed of deployment
Increased user adoption
Reduced support requirements
Lowered cost of implementation and
upgrades

 Speed of deployment
Traditional desktop applications have historically involved significant deployment hurdles. In fact, I've heard desktop application developers refer to
updating their applications as a "deployment nightmare" on several occasions. As Tariq Ahmed states in the first chapter ofFlex 4 in Action(Manning
Press), "The logistical complications of trying to get thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of clients to run the precise version of your software at the
exact same time are immense."
Ahmed goes on to say that such complications are so immense that most desktop software development companies don't even consider it reasonable or
even feasible. Developers who have struggled with this in the past are good candidates for deploying SaaS versions of their software. However, the
biggest barrier to entry into the SaaS marketplace that traditional software houses experience is enabling desktop applications to run as SaaS
applications. In many cases, doing so involves re-writing the software on some level, which some companies find too cost-prohibitive.
This is one of the primary reasons the movement to cloud computing has been a slow and gradual process. In most cases, the logical solution is to move
software to the cloud in phases, beginning with a highly scaled-down version of the original application provided as SaaS. This makes obvious sense when
considering the level of control the developer has on version control. It's also where the specific anatomy of SaaS plays a significant role.
You can see many similarities between cloud computing and the "LAN computing" of years past. A typical LAN architecture consisted of an array of on-site
workstations, often referred to asdummy terminals,that ran applications by connecting to a powerful mainframe, usually provided by IBM, as seen in
Figure 1.
Figure 1. A simple diagram showing the relationship of client terminals and mainframe system in a basic LAN
This type of computing worked out nicely for enterprises, because IT departments had the ultimate level of control over versioning and updates could be
deployed on an iterative and seamless basis with little or no hassle. Similarly, the logistical barriers that prevented version control for developers of
desktop software applications in the past is nonexistent in the cloud, because the software runs on an infrastructure that the developing company has
immediate access to.
The size and scale of an SaaS infrastructure is clearly massive in comparison to that of a LAN in consideration of the number of clients that it must be able
to serve. But the underlying concept is the same. WhereasFigure 1shows a single mainframe that is able to host enough software instances to serve all of
the clients connecting to it within the local network,Figure 2shows a cloud that consists of many different computer resources, all contributing to the total
compute power able to run the many software instances required to service clients around the world.
Figure 2. A simple diagram showing the relationship of client devices to the cloud in SaaS
Increased adoption
If you step away from business or a moment and look at what SaaS does for the general consumer, you find that SaaS makes software available that
previously may have carried too high a licensing fee to be reasonable for general consumer use. A good example is Adobe's efforts to make Adobe
Photoshop an SaaS. Although this is still a work in progress and has been an evolving experiment for Adobe, it still shows progress. For instance, I've
noticed that a growing number of my friends and family members are starting to prefer the use of Photoshop.com for basic photo editing as opposed to
launching the full-blown version when they need to carry out rudimentary photo-editing tasks. The significance of this is in the fact that people who don't
require the functionalities contained in the full version will now save money. Meanwhile, others are using Photoshop.com who would not have otherwise
tried it, which presents an opportunity for Adobe to capture long-term customers that it would not have otherwise had access to.
The various business models for SaaS are particularly intriguing. For example, Intuit offers QuickBooks Online as an SaaS with a monthly service charge.
As a business owner who does a lot of traveling, I've found this to be particularly useful, especially because my business partner lives 400 miles away in a
different state. Meanwhile, Adobe leverages the power of SaaS with Photoshop.com and Acrobat.com by offering software as afreemiumservicea term
that was coined to describe a particular business model based on a scaled-down SaaS offering of a licensed software product.

 Freemium SaaS is based on a revenue model where it is anticipated that a certain percentage of free users will eventually
find it useful enough to upgrade to either a paid version of the SaaS that has additional features enabled or a licensed copy
of a desktop version of the software that includes all the additional features and functionalities available. This tends to be a
preferred method of trying out software in "restricted demo" mode compared to having to install an application on your
desktop that you may not end up buying. In addition, this model can be further supplemented with advertising if the ratio of
free users to upgrades is less than expected. This is a common method that traditional desktop software vendors use as a
way of adapting to the changing marketplace as cloud computing continues to evolve.
Reduced support requirements
The cost of large customer service help desks and the problem of increased support issues that occur as a result of having
to support multiple platforms is largely mitigated with SaaS. For starters, ease of deployment allows developers to
implement fixes shortly after bugs are initially found, which means that most bugs can be fixed before the vast majority of
users encounter them, resulting in fewer phone calls for customer support as well as a much higher likelihood for customer
satisfaction and retention.
In addition, manufacturers of traditional desktop software applications often have to support more than one platform. For
example, a developer that must support the Windows 7 and Apple Mac OS X version 10.6 operating systems has nearly
doubled the cost of development just by adding support for the second operating systemand this is before getting into the
problems associated with supporting the many different versions of such operating systems. Supporting multiple versions of
an operating system presents limitations, as well.
For example, if you are building a program to run on Windows 7 but it has to be compatible with Windows XP, you have to be
very careful that the features and functionalities will be able to run on both versions; otherwise, you'll be forced to branch
the project again, leaving you with separate code bases for each, which inevitably decreases productivity and efficiency and
increases your time-to-completion estimates. One of the quickest ways to give a business executive a heart attack is to tell
him or her that the estimated time lines for the next two years' worth of iterations have been doubled. Add to that the
increase in budget for supporting different operating systems and the different versions of those operating systems, and
(among other things) it's no wonder that you see such a high rate of failure for software development projects presently.
Lowered cost of implementation and upgrades
The fourth driving factor of ROI for SaaS is somewhat similar to the first. However,speed of deploymentdescribes the
advantages gained from being able to quickly and painlessly deploy application updates. In contrast,lowered cost of
implementation and upgradesdescribes the financial benefits to the development company, which are gained as a result of
having control over versioning and the infrastructure that runs the software.
A big savings to the developer comes from not having the added overhead of testing and deploying bug fixes and new
features on multiple platforms, because the developer has control over the platform on which the software runstypically
completely transparent to the user. This makes the upgrade path for SaaS applications less cost-prohibitive. The indirect
financial result comes from customer satisfaction and retention, because the substantial savings in both time and money
provide the developer with the opportunity to have a greater level of responsiveness to feature requests and enhanced
usability.

 Back to top
SaaS and user experience design
SaaS applications represent a sort of next-generation approach to application design. Although it might not be technically stated in any of the documents that I have seen to date, it
seems that SaaS programs also include a modern approach to UI design that is more consistent with the product design process seen in most other industries. This approach includes a
process known asuser experience design(UXD), where the GUI is designed by a product team rather than the development team.
The primary objective of UXD is to identify what will make the application most useful for the intended customer base and including that knowledge as part of the design. Although it
can be logically argued that this should take place in the development of any kind of software, it seems to be most prevalent among SaaS application development. Perhaps the reason
for this has to do with the different business models available with SaaS compared to that of traditional software as well as the substantial savings gained from developing SaaS.
Back to top
SaaS for developers
As you've learned, full-blown cloud computing is a massive transition for both businesses and consumers, and many challenges must be overcome. As a result, the process will take
time and go through several periods of gradual change. During this evolution in computing, it is critical for software houses to be able to adapt to the changing environment to continue
to fulfill the needs of businesses and consumers alike.
Just as businesses must be able to move with the changing environment as computing in the cloud evolves, software programmers will need to adapt their skill sets and understand
SaaS programming models in order to stay sharp and keep themselves in demand. Cloud computing is not just about scalable infrastructures and platform portability through
virtualization. It also takes software to an entirely new level and represents what could reasonably be considered the next generation of computer programming. That might be a bold
statement, but consider the opportunities that SaaS presents discussed in this article.
For instance, affordability means wider availability, which equates to a larger potential customer base. Add to that the savings that come as a direct result of having control over the
platform, infrastructure, and versioning of the software, and it quickly becomes evident that SaaS brings with it a certain level of "democratization," where small and medium-sized
development shops can play on the same field as the majors.
Back to top
Conclusion
In this article, you learned about the anatomy of SaaS, the third classification of cloud computing. More importantly, you learned about the opportunities and challenges presented by
the growing popularity of SaaS applications.
My hope is that after having read the three articles in this series, you have a clearer picture of what cloud computing means for the future of your career or business. In addition to the
resources provided on IaaS and PaaS in the previous two articles, theResourcessection provides links to more information on SaaS for your enjoyment.
Resources
Learn
Watchvideo on SaaSfrom InfoClipz.
Check out theBaseline Magazinearticle onwhat to expect for SaaS in 2011.
Check out theExperian survey on SaaS spending trends.
Sys-Con Media provides asolid article on open source software in the cloud.
ExploredeveloperWorks Cloud Computing zone, where you will find valuable community discussions and learn about new technical resources related to the cloud.
InIBM Smart Business Cloud Computing, get valuable business advise to enhance performance and efficiency in the cloud.
FollowdeveloperWorks on Twitter.
WatchdeveloperWorks on-demand demosranging from product installation and setup demos for beginners to advanced functionality for experienced developers.
Grace Walker's developerWorks article "Cloud computing fundamentals" provides a good introduction to cloud computing.
Check out "Flex 4 in Action" by Tariq Ahmed, Dan Orlando, John C. Bland II, and Joel Hooks (Manning, November 2010).
Discuss

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Total comments (3)
I love this articles and those in the same series. Very clear and concise. Thank you so much.
Posted byNhan T. Nguyenon 08 March 2013
Report abuse
In this article the description is very clear and helpful. It describes everything clearly. I enjoyed the article very much. I also have read a article about this topic here "http://www.techyv.com/article/saas-enhanced-cloud-computing-experience" which is very
helpful also.
Posted byJames84939on 16 July 2011
Report abuse
In short, the software of the future is a SaaS application with set of standard APIs for UXD team at customer side.
Posted bygpaliyon 02 February 2011
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 Best cloud services compared:

Google Drive vs OneDrive vs
Amazon vs iCloud vs Dropbox
http://www.techradar.com/news/i
nternet/cloud-services/bestcloud-storage-dropbox-vsskydrive-vs-google-drive-vsicloud-1120024