KEY FACTS ABOUT CLOUD COMPUTING By Ascellon Corporation

Introduction A management and information technology consulting

firm, Ascellon Corporation provides professional services to government agencies, businesses, and non-profit organizations. Ascellon Corporation uses its expertise in cutting-edge solutions, such as cloud computing, to help clients define and implement their technology strategy. According to the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST), cloud computing enables on-demand access to a shared resource pool that can be provisioned and released with minimal service provider intervention.

Cloud Computing has five general characteristics. Cloud computing:

Cloud Computing 1. Allows users access to the resources they

need without needing to contact a service provider. 2. Provides universal network access at any time, using any type of device. 3. Requires combining computing resources, such as servers, to meet consumer demand.4. Allocates and deallocates resources to quickly meet evolving user demands. 5. Meters services rendered, enabling users to pay only for the resources they use.

Conclusion Additionally, there are several cloud deployment

models, including: 1. Public cloud. Different organizations use resources on the public Internet, with some separation of resources by organization. 2. Private cloud. A single organization owns and uses its own cloud infrastructure, which may be managed by a third-party provider. 3. Community cloud. Multiple organizations with common interests share ownership of a cloud. 4. Hybrid cloud. Combining any of the cloud models described above results in a hybrid model.