Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
more during peak periods and can scale back to save costs during periods of less
intense activity. Utility pricing for cloud-based infrastructure can especially be
attractive for software development projects where the use levels remain quite low,
and can even remain in the tier of free services. Once the service is ready to be put
into production, the resources expected to support higher levels of use are deployed,
including redundant components and other configurations needed to provide adequate
performance, reliability, and security.
Alternatively some services are priced through fixed monthly or annual
subscription fees. This subscription model of pricing prevails in library software,
where the company negotiates the amount of the annual fee with the library according
to factors such as the components of the system employed, the size of collections, the
number of users served, and other factors that represent the scale and complexity of
the implementation.
9
Software-as-a-Service
The most common form of cloud computing today involves deploying applications
through software-as-a-service. Characteristics of this model include interfaces
delivered entirely through a Web browser and with no requirement for local servers.
The service will consolidate or segregate uses and data as needed so that individuals
or organizations gain access only to their own data, with safeguards in place to
prevent unauthorized access. For a mail application such as Gmail, for example,
individual accounts can operate both privately and within organizational structures,
with the appropriate domain name, user authorizations, branding, and other
parameters. Each individual user can see only their own messages, unless explicitly
shared within organizational folders. Data architectures have been well established for
partitioning multi-tenant software-as-a-service so that each user of a system can
access the appropriate data.
Software developers benefit from multi-tenant applications through the ability to
deploy a single code base that serves all users of the system with appropriate
branding, configuration, and data segregation. New features, security patches, or bug
fixes can be deployed once for all users of the system rather than having to install
updates on many different server installations and workstation clients.
Many applications deployed through software-as-a- service give users control over
the way that new features are deployed. An administrative console gives
organizational administrators the ability to manage the configuration and behavior of
the system. When new features become available, they may be suppressed initially so
that they can be tested and users can be notified or trained as needed before they are
activated. Existing features can be improved through incremental changes that do not
disrupt the productivity of users as might be the case when major changes happen
abruptly.
10
Efficiency and Collaboration
Cloud computing not only enables more efficient and convenient use of applications,
but it also brings forward some opportunities that can be transformative to libraries.
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