The Cloud Makes It Rain Money: The Business in Cloud Computing - Deploying and Managing a Cloud Infrastructure - page 359

involved in the service delivery. The following list offers factors that can be used to consider
accountability on a layer-by-layer model:
Cloud Consumer The consumer is responsible for properly provisioning, configuring, and
operating their applications. They are also responsible for their operational policies and the
correctness of their data.
Virtual Appliance Supplier Software vendors are responsible for ensuring that their appli-
cations are stable and reliable.
Infrastructure Supplier The resource provider for compute, storage, network, load bal-
ancer, monitoring, and platform software resources are responsible for ensuring that their
systems are robust and reliable.
Cloud Service Provider The cloud service provider is responsible for robust and reliable
operation of the cloud infrastructure and facilities. This includes their data centers, any or
all virtualized hardware platforms, and the consumers' data.
Network Service Provider The network service provider is responsible for making sure the
network is available, reliable, and running robustly.
End user The end user is responsible for their equipment.
The Enterprise Cloud
The enterprise cloud utilizes cloud computing for competitive advantage and breakout
opportunities. It allows business innovation with unprecedented speed and agility. It empow-
ers improved collaboration among business partners and customers. It allows reducing costs
considerably, especially capital and maintenance expenses. And it offers a larger revenue
stream while dramatically cutting risks and startup expenses.
Moreover, it offers massive scalability and elasticity, which gives companies a sandbox
to try out new innovative ideas without capital expenses. Companies are empowered and
can scale up instantly if their idea succeeds or shut down quickly if it fails.
In the following sections, we will share the most crucial components of the enterprise
cloud: enterprise applications, collaboration, and telepresence.
Enterprise Applications
The term enterprise applications is used to describe applications or software suites that an
organization uses to solve enterprise problems. The term refers to a large software platform
that is complex and used by individuals or small businesses.
Enterprise applications are designed to integrate with other enterprise applications
used within the organization. They can be deployed to different networks, including the
Internet, intranets, and corporate networks. Enterprise applications have to meet strict