INTRODUCTION TO CLOUD COMPUTING

Cloud computing is one of the most discussed and promising IT innovations in today’s technological market. It is very attractive for organizations thanks to the potential it brings, such as increased efficiency and cost savings. It constitutes a fundamental shift in how organizations are provided with computing resources. The provision is moving from computing as a product to computing as a service, as this shift is inevitable and irreversible. This technology is evolving and growing very fast. According to research firm IDC, the Worldwide revenue from public IT cloud services exceeded $ 21.5 billion in 2010 and will reach $ 72.9 billion in 2015 (IDC, 2013). Many IT players, such as Google, Amazon, Microsoft, etc., are involved in developing and offering cloud services. Cloud computing is at its infant stage of life, but it will look completely different in 10 – 15 years.