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The Evolution of
the Business Computing Model: "From the Mainframe to the Cloud"!
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In less than twenty years, business
applications have evolved from batch-type applications running
on mainframe computers located in company-owned data centers to
online, highly-interactive applications running on cloud server
owned and managed by Cloud Service Providers (CSPs). During this period
business applications has evolved through three distinct phases:
- Mainframe Computing Phase −In
this phase, terminals
located on employee desktops accessed static business applications
and databases residing on mainframes.
- Client-Server Computing Phase −
In this phase, personal computers located on employee
desktop assumed some of the business application processing
function in partnership with mainframes and/or network-connected
servers located in the company data center.
- Web Computing Phase −
In this phase, web-based business applications residing on
either – public and private cloud servers, or
public and private web servers –
are accessed by a variety of end-point devices including
PCs, MACs, tablets, and smartphones.
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Public Cloud Computing Applications −
End-point devices owned by the company accessing
business applications located on shared servers owned
and managed by Cloud Service Providers (CSPs).
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Private Cloud Computing Applications −
End-point devices owned by the company accessing
business applications located on shared servers owned
and managed by the company.
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Internet Websites − End-point devices
attached to LAN or to the Internet accessing business
websites residing on web servers owned and managed by
web hosting service providers.
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Intranet Websites − End-point devices
attached to LAN or the Internet accessing business
websites residing on web servers owned and managed by
the company.
- Social Network Sites −
Social network sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and
LinkedIn can be accessed by Bring
Your Own Device (BYOD), and company end-point devices.
This evolutionary shift
from the
mainframe to the cloud was driven by
two factors the commercialization of the Internet, and;
revolutionary changes that have occurred in microprocessor
technology. Whereas in the
late eighties through the early nineties, processor speeds were
measured in thousands of instructions per seconds, today processor
speeds are measured in billions of instructions per second. Many of
today's smartphones have more processing power and RAM than was
available in the mainframe computers of the sixties and
seventies, and if this computing power is properly leveraged, it
can provide your small business with a formable competitive
weapon.
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Business
Application and Database Components
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Public Cloud Computing |
Public Cloud
Computing
Cloud Computing is commonly referred to by
complex and sometimes confusing terms such as
Virtualization, Utility Computing, and
Software as a Service (SaaS). Regardless of the
definition that you choose to use, Cloud
Computing is a metered, web-based distributed
processing service where resources are allocated
and deliver on-demand. Important charactistics
of Cloud Computing include scalability,
high-availability, agility, multi-tenancy, and
load-balancing. The Cloud Computing model is based upon the premise that
economic economies of scale can be achieved by
building a large, secure, robust, and scalable
server farm, and then sharing the processing
resources of this farm with a large number of
users. Users access the shared applications
located on these server farms via of the
Internet using a standard web browser.
Selecting a
Cloud Service Provider (CSP)
If you
are considering migrating some or all of your
company's business applications and databases into
a cloud computing environment, we can help you
select the CSP that
meets your company's business requirements, and
will then assist in the development of a cloud
computing migration plan. This migration project
plan will include all tasks required to
successfully complete the migration plus
important performance and continuity
requirements such as:
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network-related
Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
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traffic and activity
reporting requirements,
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application and
database
backup & recovery,
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disaster recovery planning, and;
-
business continuity
plans.
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Internet Web Server w/Email |
Internet Web
Servers
An Internet website is a
collection of interrelated web pages hosted on
secure, high-availability server farms, referred
to as Web Servers. The information contained in
these websites include text, images, video, and
other multimedia content. The primary audience
for small business websites are customers,
prospective customers, and anonymous Internet
users. While most small business websites are
targeted to a local metropolitan area, the
content of these sites can be viewed by Internet
users located anywhere in the world. The
underlying premise of the Internet is "That
It Can Instantaneously Deliver Information About
Anything To Anywhere At Anytime!"
And because of these stringent information
delivery requirements, business websites are
normally hosted by web hosting companies
that can guarantee 99.99% (or higher) up-time.
In addition to providing web services, leading
web hosting companies provide a variety of
web-related services such as domain name
registrations, eCommerce, and Electronic Mail
(Email).
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Legacy Applications & Databases
Our Small-Business
Technology Infrastructure will provide support
for your Legacy Application & Databases for the
foreseeable future. This will allow you to
continue to support your existing applications
and databases without making any changes to your
current domain or workgroup network. It will
also enable you to develop a long-term strategy
for migrating your legacy applications and
databases to cloud computing, Internet, and/or
Intranet servers. |
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Legacy Applicatons & Databases |
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Other Specialized
Web Servers
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Intranet Web Server |
IP Surveillance Camera with Embedded Web
Server |
Surveillance Camera DVR with Embedded
Web Server |
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