I am a big fan of cloud computing, I leverage the power of Microsoft’s Windows Azure cloud infrastructure and for me right now it is ideal. It provides a stable and cost effective means for me to deliver stable and cost effective solutions to my clients and gives me all the access to my server as I need.
How does it work?
Well, basically, there are two main options:
1.) You create a website, Database or application/service in the cloud which is your little part of the World Wide Web where your code sits, or
2.) You create a Virtual Server(s) and host what you need, however this requires a little more knowledge about server infrastructure and maintenance
Both are cost effective solutions, and both scale as your need, which herein often lies the problem.
Recently I looked at expanding my cloud computing to allow for more fail over and server isolation so I had a server for each specific task relating to hosting and storing data each with their own fail over, but when I started looking at the cost it started to get out of control and I am just a small player compared to these bigger corporate’s. So I rolled back and stuck with what was working for me right now knowing that I can scale up later when there is an actual client need, or maybe I could buy my own server and find some rack-space in a data center and host it. I could get a grunty machine and run Hyper-V on it and virtualise my own servers as I need. Right now this is probably not the best approach for me, but perhaps it is for others, and it is something to seriously consider if you are looking to scale your infrastructure as your company grows. Don’t be put off by purchasing your own kit and employing the services of some IT professionals, who for a monthly fee can administer your server for you, you WILL reach a point where cloud computing will get to costly for what it is giving you.