The term “cloud computing” has gained currency in the information technology world in the past 18 months. Cloud computing describes the ongoing evolution in how people access and manage digital information. Recent evolutions in information technology have led to a more distributed computing environment, while also reviving the utility of centralized storage. The growth in high-speed data lines, the falling cost of storage, the advent of wireless high-speed networks etc. have helped drive this evolution.  Cloud computing takes advantage of this evolution in computing and networking..

Components of a Cloud Computing Environment

Cloud computing usually comprises a client and a web service. A cloud client consists of computer hardware or software for application delivery or which is specifically designed for execution of cloud services. The client can be a web browser like Mozilla Firefox or Microsoft Internet Explorer.

A cloud service includes products, services and solutions that are delivered and consumed in real-time over the internet.  For example: web services offered by Google or Amazon.

Cloud computing clients don't have to spend on the hardware resources or physical infrastructure for the software platform in question.  Instead, capital expenditure can be minimized by renting the resources from a third-party provider. Users only pay for needed computing resources.  

Cloud Computing in the Enterprise

Cloud computing is often seen as particularly useful to large corporations. A company may have employees in numerous locations running specialized software to carry out data-intensive tasks. Accessing data and software might be practically impossible without a grid of networked computers. Almost all the IT giants including Google, IBM, Microsoft, and Amazon have plunged into Cloud Computing market to allow their services to be used.

Google's CEO Eric Schmidt has termed such computing as "transformative".  However in the mainstream of enterprise IT, adoption remains fragmented by industry and acceptance among administrators is far from unanimous.

Cloud Computing for Consumers

 On the other hand, Consumers have for long accepted and used the offerings of Cloud Computing. According to a 2008 Pew Internet and American Life Project Survey, the top three cloud computing activities are accessing Webmail such as a Gmail, Yahoo or Hotmail, storing personal photos online and using online applications such as Google applications. Consumers can also access thousands of online songs through cloud music services – without directly owning any of the music.  One of the most interesting utility on the cloud is the ability to store data online or backup data to an online site.

Online data backup sites are offsite copies of data that are accessible through an Internet connection. The data is stored off-site and yet is on-line and accessible via the “Cloud”. Consumers can initiate a recovery anytime and from anywhere, as long as they have internet access. They pay only for how much storage and bandwidth they use, and don’t have to invest in infrastructure either in the form of additional local storage devices or the software to maintain backups.

In the same study, when asked why people use the different services that store personal information on the web, users cite a range of reasons that have mostly to do with ease and flexibility. They like how such services enable them to share data with others and let them easily access their data from any computer.  The accelerating consumer adoption of smartphones has further demonstrated the value of cloud applications – the smartphone becoming another client in the cloud.

Consistent with other Internet applications consumers are trailblazing with cloud computing applications.