JazdTech has published a whitepaper on Enterprise Cloud Computing and how it is transforming IT.  They write:

In the sixty-plus years since business computing began, there have been two major trends: first there was mainframe computing, followed by client-server. Now we have a new paradigm. Cloud computing is the third generation IT model and the next phase in the evolution of distributed computing and the data center.

Whatever the model, IT departments have always been challenged to quickly and cost-effectively deliver IT resources to support user applications. Client-server architecture greatly increased IT’s ability to implement a dependable computing infrastructure that supported diverse lines of business and their applications.

However, client-server came with a price. It has contributed to server sprawl, skyrocketing capital and operating expenditures, and complex data centers that are difficult to manage and reconfigure quickly to address to changing demands. Servers dedicated to individual applications are usually underutilized due to fluctuating application workload demands. The IT technology stacks on these servers are often customized, requiring individual attention by IT administrators. To provision a business request for a new application, one or more new servers complete with management software have to be procured and deployed, often resulting in weeks or months of delay.

For over 10 years, distributed computing architectures such as clusters and grids have provided business users with access to shared and scalable IT infrastructure with high resource utilization. While primarily deployed to handle technical and scientific applications – often called high performance computing (HPC) applications – the lessons learned from implementing clusters and grids are relevant to general business applications. Specifically, the knowledge gained over the last decade can contribute directly to the new cloud computing model – a new paradigm in which sharing benefits both end users and IT.

Like software that has evolved from a proprietary, centralized model to an open, distributed structure, cloud computing is also a rapidly evolving trend that will have a profound impact on the way IT is delivered to business users. Cloud computing is the logical next step in the evolution of the data center from mainframe to client-server, and now to clouds.

• To download this informative whitepaper, click here.