IT And Cloud Technology Advances For A New Century

Cloud computing is clearly a 21st century paradigm that will likely carry us through the next few decades, but the technological advances and changes brought on by this paradigm are happening too fast, often as a blur. The concept of shared computer resources being offered on demand through the internet dates back to the 1980s; however, the true cloud computing paradigm emerged in the wake of the Dot-Com Crash of the year 2000 on Wall Street. The tech firms that survived that exhilarating era decided that the time had come to eschew the client/server architecture of yore. When companies such as Salesforce.com came of age, so did cloud computing. The following cloud computing milestones took place in recent years, and they will shape the near future of information technology.

Hybrid and Private Clouds, 2011

After a decade of cloud computing implementation and strong global growth, the idea of setting up private server protocols similar to those used by major data centers was welcomed by enterprise giants such as BMC Software. Once it became clear that certain compliance requirements forced the creation of private clouds, the idea of combining public and private cloud platforms became a reality in 2011. By 2013, nearly 40 percent of the global cloud infrastructure was hybrid.

Platform as a Service, 2008

When tech giant Google launched its App Engine online coding platform, the PaaS concept became formalized as a vital part of the cloud computing industry. The first private instances of PaaS were utilized by providers of corporate IT services. By 2010, PaaS was already maturing into what is known today as Infrastructure as a Service, which offers virtual computing resources that IT services providers can manage remotely.

Amazon Web Services Versus Oracle, 2016

There used to be a time when Oracle was known as the undisputed leader of cloud computing services for the enterprise world. That changed when Amazon Web Services introduced its Elastic Cloud platform, which welcomed not only enterprise users but also individuals who wished to develop cloud apps or who simply wanted to run a virtual desktop or include data back-ups for security. In 2016, Oracle is not only increasing its IaaS presence but also trying to regain market share from Amazon.

Microsoft Office 365, 2011

After several decades of dominating the desktop productivity software market, Microsoft Office entered cloud computing mostly as a licensing scheme. These days, however, Office 365 is considered the most powerful productivity ecosystem that really takes advantage of the cloud paradigm. Many tech analysts believe that Microsoft will continue to define cloud productivity for years to come.

In the end, it is safe to believe that the future of cloud computing will be strongly defined by the aforementioned tech advancements.