Cloudware Basics - Guide to Cloud Computing for Business and Technology Managers - page 268

grid computing, and this is one aspect of cloud computing that can facilitate
much more flexible, abstract architectures.
13.4.4 Community Clouds
Community clouds are a model of cloud computing where the resources
exist for a number of parties who have a shared interest or cause. This model
is very similar to the single-purpose grids that collaborating research and
academic organizations have created to conduct large-scale scientific experi-
ments (e-science). The cloud is owned and managed by one or more of the
collaborators in the community, and it may exist either on or off premise.
13.5 Cloud Benefits
Cloud computing is an attractive paradigm that promises numerous ben-
efits, inherent in the characteristics, as mentioned earlier. These include
• Optimization of a company's capital investment by reducing costs of
purchasing hardware and software, resulting in a much lower total
cost of ownership and, ultimately, a whole new way of looking at the
economics of scale and operational IT
• Simplicity and agility of operations and use, requiring minimal time
and effort to provision additional resources
• Enabling an enterprise to tap into a talent pool, as and when needed,
for a fraction of the cost of hiring staff or retaining the existing staff
and, thus, enabling the key personnel in the organizations to focus
more on producing value and innovation for the business
• Enabling small organizations to access the IT services and resources
that would otherwise be out of their reach, thus placing large orga-
nizations and small businesses on a level playing field
• Providing novel and complex computing architectures and innova-
tion potential
• Providing mechanism for disaster recovery and business continuity
through a variety of fully outsourced ICT services and resources
Cloud computing can be massively scalable, and there are built-in benefits
of efficiency, availability, and high utilization that, in turn, result in reduced
capital expenditure and reduced operational costs. It permits seamless shar-
ing and collaboration through virtualization. In general, cloud comput-
ing promises cost savings, agility, innovation, flexibility, and simplicity.
The offerings from vendors, in terms of services of the application, platform,