Cloud Computing

Google Apps

Google's SaaS offering that includes an office productivity suite, email, and document sharing, as well as Gmail, Google Talk for instant messaging, Google Calendar and Google Docs, spreadsheets, and presentations.

Hosted Services

Hosting services are most often used for hosting Web sites but can also be used for hosting files, images, games and similar content.

Vertical Cloud

A cloud computing environment that is optimized for use in a particular industry, such as health care or financial services.

Cloud Computing

A metaphor for a global network, first used in reference to the telephone network and now commonly used to represent the Internet.

Hybrid Cloud

A networking environment that includes multiple integrated internal and/or external providers. Hybrid clouds combine aspects of both public and private clouds.

Cloud Storage

A service that allows customers to save data by transferring it over the Internet or another network to an offsite storage system maintained by a third party.

Application Program Interfaces

API, an abbreviation of application program interface, is a set of routines, protocols, and tools for building software applications. The API specifies how software components should interact and APIs are used when programming graphical user interface (GUI) components.

Software as a Service

Cloud application services, whereby applications are delivered over the Internet by the provider, so that the applications don't have to be purchased, installed, and run on the customer's computers. SaaS providers were previously referred to as ASP (application service providers). In the SaaS layer, the service provider hosts the software so you don't need to install it, manage it, or buy hardware for it. All you have to do is connect and use it. SaaS Examples include customer relationship management as a service.

Infrastructure as a Service

Cloud infrastructure services or "Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)" delivers computer infrastructure, typically a platform virtualization environment, as a service. Rather than purchasing servers, software, data center space or network equipment, clients instead buy those resources as a fully outsourced service. The service is typically billed on a utility computing basis and amount of resources consumed (and therefore the cost) will typically reflect the level of activity. It is an evolution of web hosting and virtual private server offerings.

Cloud Provider

Computing service providers whose product/platform is based on virtualization of computing resources and a utiliy-based payment model.

Platform as a Service

Platform as a service — Cloud platform services, whereby the computing platform (operating system and associated services) is delivered as a service over the Internet by the provider. The PaaS layer offers black-box services with which developers can build applications on top of the compute infrastructure. This might include developer tools that are offered as a service to build services, or data access and database services, or billing services.

Private Cloud

Private clousvirtualized cloud data centers inside your company's firewall. It may also be a private space dedicated to your company within a cloud provider's data center.

Public Cloud

Services offered over the public Internet and available to anyone who wants to purchase the service.

Elastic Computing

The ability to dynamically provision and de-provision processing, memory, and storage resources to meet demands of peak usage without worrying about capacity planning and engineering for peak usage.

Cloud Migration

The process of transitioning all or part of a company's data, applications and services from on-site premises behind the firewall to the cloud, where the information can be provided over the Internet on an on-demand basis.

Cloud Apps

a software application that is never installed on a local machine — it's always accessed over the Internet.

Cloud Operating System

also known as platform-as-a-service (PaaS). Think Google Chrome.