SoLiXG:Cloud infrastructure
Cloud infrastructure
Cloud infrastructure combines a particular hardware and software approach with subscription as an economic model. The term 'Cloud' is a "a kind of encompassing atmospheric metaphor"[1] which by now has become a commonplace way to refer to centrally managed computational or digital infrastructure. The Cloud is currently the dominant model for delivering compute across a growing number of industries, from financial markets and health institutions to game industries, mining, governments, agriculture and logistics. In recent years, the reliance on this type of infrastructure has significantly expanded with the integration of sophisticated AI into many mundane tasks. The economic model of Cloud infrastructure is based on 'pay-per-use', promising to eliminate overprovisioning and adding flexibility for new or unexpected demands. On-demand computation is profitable in the short run because it allows organisations to shift Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) to Operational Expenditure (OPEX), meaning they own less physical assets such as property, buildings, technology, or equipment, and they can therefore increase their cash flow. In the long term, it creates increasing dependencies, costs that fluctuate and depletion of expertise. For delivering services such as file storage and on-line applications, Cloud infrastructure deploys specialised software on multiple interconnected servers to carry out the desired amount of computation. It consolidates an agile approach to software production which allows for continuous, centrally managed updates which in turn necessitate clients to remain always connected.[2] Ultimately, The Cloud exports agility to many areas of life as it shifts the management of and responsibility for core operations away from industry, governments and institutions.
- ↑ Neubert, Christoph. “‘The Tail on the Hardware Dog’: Historical Articulations of Computing Machinery, Software, and Services.” In There Is No Software, There Are Just Services, edited by Irina Kaldrack and Leeker, Martina, 32. meson press, 2015.
- ↑ Gurses, Seda, and Joris van Hoboken. “Privacy after the Agile Turn,” May 2, 2017. https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/9gy73.