SoLiXG:Cloud infrastructure
Cloud infrastructure
Cloud infrastructure is a particular approach to digital infrastructure which combines subscription as an economic model with a particular hardware setup and software approach. 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 digital or computational infrastructure which offers Compute-as-a-Service. Cloud infrastructure is currently the dominant model for delivering compute on demand across a continuously growing number of industries, from financial markets and health institutions to game industries, mining, governments, agriculture and logistics. The economic model of Cloud infrastructure relies on 'pay-per-use' with the promise to eliminate overprovisioning and to add flexibility for new or unexpected demands. For organisations this model is profitable in the short run because it allows them to shift Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) to Operational Expenditure (OPEX), meaning they own less physical assets such as property, buildings, technology, or equipment, and therefore can increase their cash flow. In the long term, the subscription model creates increased 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 that carry out the necessary computation. This approach allows for continuous, centrally managed updates which in turn necessitate their clients to remain always connected.[2] Cloud infrastructure consolidates an agile approach to software production and ultimately to many areas of life because under the Cloud Regime, the management of and responsibility for core operations shifts 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.