Cloud Computing on WAMC's Roundtable: Tuesday, December 21, 2010

How better to celebrate the Winter Solstice than Jesse and Joe Donahue discussing Cloud Computing. What is it, will 2011 be the year of the cloud, and what does it mean?

There are two main aspects to cloud computing:

1. There's data storage up there in the cloud and accessible (subject to security constraints) from proprietary software.
2. There are cloud-based software products such as Google Apps and Microsoft Office Live as well as proprietary products -- you can access them from a browser and from anywhere.

Cloud computing relies on Internet connectivity and generally secure and redundant data centers that can be quickly reconfigured as demand varies. (That's why it's so critical for Facebook and iPhone apps where demand can fluctuate tremendously.)

And then there are the cloud-based services up there in the cloud. Amazon Web Services provides hosting, but it also can provide access to Amazon's  Flexible Payments System (FPS).

And what does it mean when the Office of Management and Budget includes cloud computing as a major component of its strategy for reforming Federal IT management? (You can read the entire document here.)

And the most mysterious question of all: what's going to live in Apple's Cloud Computing center in Maiden, NC?